Pomegranates

[Hermitian]

Today I prepared 4 cuttings from my pomegranate bush and potted them up in rooting pots. The variety goes by both the GRIN accession number "DPUN 0139" and its Russian name "Myagkosemyannyi Rosovyi".

[Zana]

Just curious....How long before those would be fruit bearing?

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by Zana

Just curious....How long before those would be fruit bearing?

Cuttings from a mature fruit-bearing perennial plant will bear fruit at the next opportunity; i.e; the next bud and bloom cycle. Typically we remove any fruit that sets because the rooting (or grafted cutting) will not be able to support the development or weight of the fruit. Small berries though are one exception.

These cuttings -- if they survive will flower this summer.

[Zana]

I was wondering if you did get viable fruit the first bloom cycle because of the weight...so that makes sense to me to remove them. How long before they're strong enough to support the weight?

[brokenbar]

I really missed pomegranates in Wyoming...they were so much a part of my childhood (dyed red lips, hands and ruined cloths!) We have two trees here in Mexico and they grow fabulously. I read an article about "pomegranite wine" made for cooking and I think we are going to give it a try. I know you are a wine buff but to me, it's all over-priced vinegar and a great vintage is totally wasted on me...Of course, I don't drink very often anyway...

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by Zana

I was wondering if you did get viable fruit the first bloom cycle because of the weight...so that makes sense to me to remove them. How long before they're strong enough to support the weight?

The following year.

Originally Posted by brokenbar

I really missed pomegranates in Wyoming...they were so much a part of my childhood (dyed red lips, hands and ruined cloths!) We have two trees here in Mexico and they grow fabulously. I read an article about "pomegranite wine" made for cooking and I think we are going to give it a try. I know you are a wine buff but to me, it's all over-priced vinegar and a great vintage is totally wasted on me...Of course, I don't drink very often anyway...

There are pomegranate cultivars with stainless juice. For example, commercially available from nurseries in the U.S. is the variety "Eversweet".

[NarnianGarden]

Growing pomegranates from seed that I got from a supermarket bought fruit. Two tiny seedlings almost ready to be re-potted! They'll do fine indoors in the winter.
Love pomegranates - one of my fave fruit. But peeling sure is a bit tedious.

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Growing pomegranates from seed that I got from a supermarket bought fruit. Two tiny seedlings almost ready to be re-potted! They'll do fine indoors in the winter.
Love pomegranates - one of my fave fruit. But peeling sure is a bit tedious.

It's about 5 years from seed to fruit, and they don't come true to type. Perhaps nature will throw some random goodness your way!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Hermitian

It's about 5 years from seed to fruit, and they don't come true to type. Perhaps nature will throw some random goodness your way!

I have two Pomegranates that are doing well from seed from Wonderful.

It just so happened they sprouted in a good spot.
Cant wait to see what kind of fruit they have.

Worth

[NarnianGarden]

Mine were grown from a Californian pomegranate

Not expecting fruit any time soon. Just to see the plant is Biblical enough for me. I was planning on buying some miniature bonzai pomegranate seeds, but since these germinated so well, I will just let them grow. On the other hand, I have seen pics of little trees grown from supermarket fruits, in full bloom. Never underestimate the power of a plant to reproduce...

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Mine were grown from a Californian pomegranate

Not expecting fruit any time soon. Just to see the plant is Biblical enough for me. I was planning on buying some miniature bonzai pomegranate seeds, but since these germinated so well, I will just let them grow. On the other hand, I have seen pics of little trees grown from supermarket fruits, in full bloom. Never underestimate the power of a plant to reproduce...

The world's largest repository of Pomegranate species and cultivars is at Wolfskill Orchards, operated by ARS/GRIN contracted through UC Davis. There's about 400 accessions in all. I've tasted many of them over the years -- both casually and in double-blind tests. There is a huge variation in size, fruit quality, hardness of seeds, type of flavor, quality of flavor, and climate/environmental requirements. There are pomegranates that taste like pomegranate, and then those which distinctly taste like blackberry, some that have strong peach flavors, some are sweet like sugar cane, a few with banana flavors, many that are just plain sour and not worth growing, and so on. A few of the better ones have seeds so soft that you can eat the fruit without knowing they are there. The best I've ever tasted requires summer heat greater than I have and it has seeds so hard that the only way to enjoy it is by juicing it. Purpose-made pomegranate juicers are common place in the native range of pomegranates but somewhat of an oddity in the U.S. Pomegranate juice you buy in the store does not taste like anything you make fresh because the store-bought juice has been pasteurized.

I want nothing to do with a fruiting perennial plant grown from seed when there are hybrids that have been refined over decades, centuries, and in the case of pomegranate: millennia. People who settle for less just don't know what they are missing -- or they don't understand what it means to "not grow true to type".

[NarnianGarden]

Don't know about that, but pomegranates are native plants in much of the Middle East/Mediterranean region, and they grow everywhere, reproducing naturally. The 'wild' types that grow outdoors in the wild are delicious, and that is how they have grown for centuries. Yes, they're cultivated in orchards as well, but the wild ones are every bit as juicy as the garden ones.
And yes, I have tasted freshly squeezed juice from pomegranates, it's available on every street corner in Israel.

I didn't know that American pomegranates are mostly hybrids, now I have learned that as well.

Looking forward to see what my supermarket one from California will produce - will be fun to see if I can get it to flower. I am not growing my plant for competition or fruit production, this is a hobby and a joyful experiment to see what I'll get. So relax, all you professional growers, you do not need to lose your cool just because someone on the other side of the globe lets a pomegranate seed germinate

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

...
I didn't know that American pomegranates are mostly hybrids, now I have learned that as well. ...

That's not a true statement Nearly all the hybrids and cultivars (there are both) in the ARS/GRIN collection are from the eastern hemisphere!

[NarnianGarden]

Any ideas for the type of soil one should use in potting these? It seems they prefer sandy ground and enjoy to stay on the dry side.

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Any ideas for the type of soil one should use in potting these? It seems they prefer sandy ground and enjoy to stay on the dry side.

They're not picking about soil, provided you avoid the extremes of pure sand and pure clay. They will grow prolifically if planted in good fertility soil that contains about 1/4 volume of sands and tiny gravels from igneous rock. It is true that they can tolerate an infrequent water supply but the fruit quality and production will be equally poor. They will prosper with the same water and fertility program that would be beneficial for an apple tree in the same climate/environment.