Hi everyone, sorry it took me until now to get back. College is kind of keeping me busy, and wouldn't ya know it, I clicked the notify me when I have a post back on this button, and just today got an email for it.

I live in northern Ohio (by Toledo). I wasn't too sure if I'd try to grow one or not, but I thought they might look nice in a big enough pot and keep trimming it back so we can keep it on the patio here and store it in my neighbors basement through the winter, but it seems like maybe I shouldn't try that. Thanks for all of the info on it... I guess I will just have to find something else that looks great to put out there. Thanks again!

Matt

Titanhockey,

It seems to me that keeping a pomegranate in a large pot or tub and putting it in a basement through the winter would be a great idea for you to try! People do this sort of thing with figs all the time, so why not do it with a pomegranate!

Whether you could get fruit, I couldn't say. But pomegranates are well-worth growing as ornamentals.

In fact, I have a gardening-circle friend who keeps a whole collection of potted pomegranates on her deck just so she can enjoy their form, foliage, and flowers. (Her plants never ripen fruit, as she lives in a cool and foggy microclimate by the San Francisco Bay.)

Dwarf pomegranate will tend to stay small, should be possible. Even grocery stores here sell them with flowers on them, in small pots.

Cool and foggy is more than a microclimate in San Francisco (and the northern California coast). The San Francisco climate extends all the way up to southern Oregon.

I'm not too worried about getting the fruit fomr one as only my mom and I like it and it's kind of one of those things where it's really good if you have it 2-3 times a year.. but anymore than that, and it is kind of sick.

I think I might just pass up the pomegranate's as I am going to have to ask my neighbor to store our potted plants in his basement due to my moms health (she's recovering form an adult stem cell transplant for leukimia) and I am sure he'll say it's no problem.. but I don't want to over load him. lol. I think he and his wife already have a very very large pots/plants to go down along with some smaller ones. Maybe I'll get some seeds for a dwarf one and try growing it next season in a pot and maybe I'll just do it as an annual... just leave it outside and if it dies over winter, so be it... I'll grow another one.

Thanks again for the info!

Matt

Felt I needed to revive this string. I received cuttings from UCDavis for 10+ different pomegranates. The leaves are starting to appear and it looks like most of the the 30+ cuttings will make it. I received cuttings for some really interesting poms including some of the newer ones from Turkey and Russia. Yadda out.

That's great news Yadda. I toyed with the idea of requesting cuttings from them for pomegranates, but wasn't so sure how easy they are to root. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the ones I have in the ground might bloom this year. I rarely, if ever have winter dieback here. The only question is whether the season will be long enough to ripen fruit.

Pomegranates are very easy to root. You should be able to just stick a cutting in the ground.

I have two pomegranates that are said to be very hardy. One is Kazake, from Uzbekistan, which is said to be the hardiest pomegranate known. The other is Salavatsky, which is not quite as hardy as Kazake. I am growing these as part of a trial to see how hardy they really are. The hardy pomegranates also have very hard seeds. There have been attempts to cross hard and soft seeded varieties in Russia, to get hardy plants with soft seeds. However, the trait for hard seeded fruit appears to be tightly linked to cold hardiness, so efforts to breed hardy plants with soft-seeded fruits have failed.

The Salavatsky appears to be dead to the soil line. Kazake had about 70% killed, but the main trunks and largest branches have green cambium. These were planted last spring, so they may get hardier as they mature. We did not get extremely cold, but we did have more than our normal level of wildly fluctuating temperatures. We hit the upper single digits and lower teens several times, often after days of 70+ F temps. This often injures or kills plants that are much hardier in colder, but more stable climates.

I'll post an update in a few weeks, after I see how well they recover.

BTW, these things have wicked thorns!

~kiwinut

So far the cuttings appear to be rooting fine. I received cuttings from 10 different varieties. At this time 6 are already sprouting leaves. I received these at the same time the fig cuttings were sent out. I also received a cuttings for warm weather table grapes and grape rootstock. Yadda out.

I have a huge one that came with the house I just bought and it has little trees growing up from the roots. Do you just cut them off and replant to make new trees?

Fool,

Try to get some of the roots with the suckers and replant.

~james

Thanks, I'll try it and let you all know if they makes it or not.

I planted two in my yard near Pensacola. I bought one about 5 years ago it was about 4 feet tall when I planted it, now its maybe a foot tall. The other one lasted a year and froze this past winter.
I seen some growing in Northern Italy where it snowed and often froze, one of them was maybe 8 feet tall.
Thats one thing I hate about most nurseries, they sell things they know won't grow in the area. I have no idea what grows here so I rely on them, which is a mistake.

I have two pomegranates growing at my parents' home, just outside of Auburn AL, on the zone 7/8 interface. These are probably 'Wonderful' - I started them from cuttings I took from a neighbor's trees, as a kid, some 40 years ago.
They've been fruiting heavily for the past 20 years - and probably would have been fruiting long before that, except that I (unknowingly, at the time) had planted them not 20 ft from a black walnut tree; 20 years ago my parents had to have a new septic line run, with the trencher running between the pomegranates and BW(and the BW subsequently succumbing to the root damage, as they ran as close to the BW as they could with the trencher), and the pomegranates came on like gangbusters. Coincidence? I think not. I was home this week, and they're loaded with fruit, but none will be ripe until Sept/Oct.
I'm trying some of the Russian & Turkish pomegranate selections here in KY - Salavatski & Kazake came through their first winter with moderate to no winter damage, even though they were just in pots, above ground, surrounded by bags of leaves and covered with pine needles. Received cuttings of a dozen or more varieties from NCGR this spring to trial. As kiwinut indicated, they're extremely easy to root.
I've had a seedling that popped up beneath one of the Wonderful trees back in AL, in a pot for 3-5 years now; I bring it into my office every fall before killing frost - and that's when it usually begins blooming. I've tried hand-pollenating the blossoms, with a cotton swab, but the flowers just drop off, and no fruit has yet formed, much less matured. It's a fairly nice little ornamental, but I'v about given up on getting fruit from a containerized indoor pomegranate.
Had several clumps of seedlings pop up in the flowerbeds last year, where I had tossed a couple of rotten fruits, and most survived the winter with no appreciable damage. Probably ought to line 'em out and do a hardiness trial.

Lucky,

My Salavatsky is quite dead, and the Kazake was killed back severely, probably more by the Easter freeze, as it had a couple of buds slightly pushing out on the lower trunk at that time. It is just now beginning to send up a couple of new shoots from the roots. Everything above about 5 inches below the soil line was killed. The new growth is pretty weak, so I don't expect it to get anywhere near the size it attained last year. Maybe I should consider protecting it next winter to see if it can fully recover.

I'm only 40 miles from San Francisco, but forty miles inland and a much warmer climate. I've been considering planting a pomegranate myself. Already have the fig. (And the oranges, kumquats, loquats, lemons and apricots people grow around here.) One of these days perhaps an avocado, too.

This conversation has been very inspiring to me. I think I'll look around for sources.

Rosefolly

I've got a 'wonderful.' I planted it last year, in Feb. We had a late freeze (25F) after planting, but prior to any growth. Apparently, the freeze killed the branches, but not the roots. A month after everything else came up, the 'wonderful' came back to life.

This year, the winter/late freezes killed the existing branches. New growth appeared right on schedule, though. The tree (bush) is now twice the size it got to last year.

Hi again Rosefolly. Rollingrivernursery.com sells potted pomegranates this time of year. RR is one of my favorite suppliers, right behind ediblelandscaping.com. If I had your climate, I would plant a black mulberry (morus nigra), specificly a Persian mulberry or a Pakistan Mulberry (morus alba) before anything else. Search mulberry on cloudforestcafe.com (out of Santa Cruz) for a very interesting thread. Fruit authority and author Lee Reich says Persian may be the best fruit he's ever had.

Fruithack, we do have a mulberry. I don't know what kind it is. It is dropping fruit onto the sidewalk right now. I've never tasted it. I heard once somewhere that you couldn't just eat it, that you had to make jam. I hate making jam. The tree is quite old, having been planted by the original owners of our house many years ago.

Rosefolly

You're giving me a cardiac here, Rosefolley! Never even tasted your mulberries? No, they don,t have to be cooked, like elderberries, for instance. Whatever quality they are, many of the best mulberry varieties have only become available in the recent past. Also, I got one of the websites wrong- cloudforest.com.

I see a lot of people talking about figs in relation to pomegranates. Does this mean pomegranates like similar conditions to fig trees?

If it does, I have a hard time believing it because I know a few people around me that have fig trees, but no one with pomegranates. The fig trees seems to do fine with the freezing temps and snow.

crabjoe,
I'd say that the typical fig & pomegranate are probably fairly comparable, so far as their tolerance of winter temps - however, if killed to the ground, some figs can resprout and fruit on new wood, whereas pomegranates fruit on 2-yr old wood, so if they're killed back every year, you never get any fruit.

I've given up on figs in the ground here, as they always froze to the ground, whether I tried to protect(though, I'll admit I didn't try really hard)'em or not. They almost never were able to put on new growth, set figs, and mature them before winter arrived again. Currently have 10 varieties in pots, which I just store under the house for the winter. So...I may fail with the 'cold-hardy' pomegranates, but I'm never satisfied 'til I kill things at least a couple of times.

California Rare Fruit Growers mention on their web site that pomegranates do poorly in humid climates. Also they are severly damaged at 12 degrees. They say pomegranates will grow as far north as Washington D.C. but will probably not fruit. They say that they can be grown in containers. They don't mention Kazake or Salavatsky cultivars. You might contact them for more information.
John

Fruithack,

Okay, I just tasted one of the mulberries. It may well have been the sweetest, most flavor-intense experience of my fruit-tasting life.

I began to wonder. How is it that I didn't know this? How is it that everybody doesn't know this? People hardly know what mulberries are, other than the children's song. I thought about it. The berry crushes in your fingers as you pick it, no matter how gently you try. Clearly it cannot be picked and sold commercially. That must be the answer. So the only way to have mulberries is to grow a mulberry tree.

Everyone -- it is well, well worth it! Though I think I will plant a pomegranate too, and perhaps a second mulberry. This one is getting old, and there are a couple of dead branches. I'll take out that young pear tree that keeps getting fireblight to make more room.

Rosefolly

You know you can make wine out of mulberries? If you're interested. And the birds love mulberries.
As for pomegranates, mine have not been very hardy where I have them and I am going to move them this winter to a more protected location. If that doesn't work, I will see about buying one of the more cold hardy species from Plant Delights nursery (Raleigh, NC). "Eightball"- "It survived our 9 degrees below zero winter with minimal damage." They also offer 2 other varieties, and list them as zone 7-10 and zone 7b-10. I bought my two locally and I think they are Nana's. Brandy

It's a strange world we live in, Rosefolly. Think of the millions of fruitless mullberries planted in landscaping that could just as easily have been fruiting mulberries. Actually it's just a strange country, as most of the rest of the world is all over mulberries, loquats, persimmons, etc. Pomegranates are widely planted for landscaping but rarely eaten in the good ol' US of A. No need to plant your own, just steal your neighbor's landscaping and eat it.

Michiganbulb and Raintree are selling Pomegranate. Most of variaties from those two nurseries are for zone 8-10. However there are few could be grown from zone 7.

I live in Atlanta, zone 7. I bought Eversweet pomegranate from Nursery almost 2 years ago. This pomegranate is quote for zone 7 and up.
Last winter killed the all the branches and the trunk of my Pomegranate. When the spring came, some new branches showed up slowly and that gave me some hopes. I will wait to see how it survive this winter.

Could anybody from GA report how your pomegranate doing in your gadern?

Thanks

I have a few cuttings started (I hope) from a tree on Lake Hartwell. Someone at work has brought me some pomegranates from it the last couple of years. Large red fruit and they describe it as a fairly good sized tree (for a pomegranate). Also have some UC Davis cuttings started.

Hi Scott: I also got the UC Davis cuttings yesterday and plan to start them this weekend.
What type of media are you using? And do you use the heated matt?

Changsong

i would like to grow a pomegranate tree outdoors in northeast arkansas (zone 7).Can anyone suggest a variety that will do well here? we occasionally go down t the teens (fahrenheit) in winter. summers are hot and humid.
thanks

Try the Hardy Russian from Edible Landscaping -- it does well in Georgia.

Scott

Ok, I had to post this. I am from Azerbaijan -- a country stuck between Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Now picture my childhood with pom trees, mulberry - white and black, hazelnuts and sour cherries growing in yards, on the streets, free for anyone to pick, which we did as kids -- climb up the mulberry, fig, cherry tree and eat until you can't eat any more. No washing, no cooking. We are actually the only country that produced pom sauce -- anyone I give it to, asks for more!! My husband and FIL (American boys) both love to cook and can't wait for my mom to bring more of the sauce. When I got here 7 years ago, no one ate pomegranate, no one knew what it looks like, I was just stoned. Now - it's a cool thing to add it to any cocktail or juice, any shower gel , etc. So, now I am in Central VA trying to replicate that surrounding in my garden. So far I got the sour cherry and fig, fig is barely a foot tall and has three figs on it. Hazelnuts and pom are next. We actually have a wild mulberry on the property but it dropped berries before we got to them. Also found wild blackberry bushes around the house and plan to replant them along the fence, but yesterday I just ate all berries I could find on the bushes!!

To answer fruithack -- they probably don't plant fruiting mulberries here for one clear reason that you have to see -- a row of them would create a mess (black stain) all over the ground or anything under it, if one berry ever drops on your clothes you will hate it for the rest of your life. So I don't blame the cities. If not picked, the ripe berries will drop from a minor wind, I remember we were very careful not to walk under the tree in slight wind if we were going somewhere all dressed up.

Thanks for the fascinating post, jollyrd. That's an interesting picture you painted of your childhood. Sounds like vanity is universal, just the degree varies.

We are spoiled by convenience. A hundred years ago, anyone who had a back yard grew a garden in it, fruits and vegetables, and hung the laundry there to dry as well. Only the front garden was for grass and flowers. If it is indeed true that gas will keep going up making store bought food more expensive, I expect to see the pleasant custom of growing part of one's food revive all over the place. Actual farming is challenging and a risky way to make a living, but growing a part of one's food is enjoyable and satisfying.

This year I picked a basket of mulberries and made jam. It did stain a T shirt. I'll just keep that shirt for the next berry picking session. My DH has been devouring the jam. We got plums too for the first year. And the fig tree is covered with young figs, not yet ready to pick.

I successfully rooted all UCD pomegranates I received:
Ink, Parfyanka, Koine and also the unknown from here in Georgia. Hardest thing I've done--these things really need bottom heat or the leaves outrun the roots. Also starting medium needs to dry out between waterings. I expect to get some ripe pomegranates this week from the Georgia "mother tree"

Here are North Georgia grown pomegranates.

{{gwi:122031}}

Yummy!

Are those the Hardy Russian? I have a couple of those but haven't gotten ripe fruit yet. Maybe next year if they survive my winter. I'm in zone 7 in the latest hardiness zone map but was in zone 6b in earlier ones. So, I have my doubts about how much luck I'll have trying to grow poms on the high plains.

My best guess is that even if I get them to survive, the ripening time in our shorter growing season here may be a problem. Time will tell.

These are from an unknown tree up by Lake Hartwell. Has been there for years judging by the size of the trunk. Red arils with small hard seeds.

here in dallas, i've got 3 2 year old trees; wonderful, russian, sweet. i've gotton these ripened fruit: 3 wonderfuls, 12 russians, 1 sweet. wonderful tastes the best; but there are 6 more fruit on the wonderful which i dont know will ripen or not

I have one little 15" bush. I is almost always in bloom but just recently it set two fruit. One got knocked off it is about 2" in diameter. The other One is a little bit bigger I have hopes. The bush is about 2 years old. How long do Yall think before it puts on more fruit and ususally what time of year is that?

jellyman,

Actually, flowering dogwoods are native down to central Florida.

Gary

"unknown tree up by Lake Hartwell"

Is that tree in someones yard or is it in a public place where it can be viewed and possibly even a cutting obtained?

Hi,
I live in the far North (Canada) and would like to grow a pomegranate in a pot because our winters are long and the days are short. I see many of may neighbours of Mediterranean descent who have fig trees, which leads me to believe that using the same method they use to preserve the trees in the winter, the pomegranate could also survive.
Has anyone grown them from seed? Is so, How do you go about it? do the seeds need to be dried or fresh as when you open the fruit? Can anyone give me some instructions? I'm completely new to the art of getting plants from seed and would need to know basic methods as well.
P.S. please do not suggest I run to the nearest nursery to get a plant, I wouldn't find it because these plants are only for the adventurous and under normal circumstances would not survive in this cold climate. I live in Montreal and winters can be dreadfully cold but summers can also be hot and humid, so maybe I would be lucky.
Thanks everyone! Happy St- Valentine!!!

All mine have come from cuttings. I have read where people throw old fruit out and they sprout. Others say they have good luck with a dry seeds. I suggest plant some seeds with pulp attached and then dry some out and plant them.

I don't know about growing them from seeds. Seems I have read they may not come true to form.

But, I got mine mail order and you'll get a nice sized plant faster that way and can choose from many varieties. If you check around some might even be better for pots, cooler weather, etc.

That may be your biggest problem. Many poms are accustomed to lots of sun and hot weather to ripen properly.

Thank you islandmanmitch andrcnaylor for your quick replies.
I will try both your suggestions; however, I doubt very much that any Canadian supplier will carry this plant due to our climate conditions and the US suppliers would not be very ready to ship them into Canada. I have run already into this problem while ordering other plants I am interested in. It seems that it is very troublesome and expensive due to importing regulations, thus, the US suppliers would not do it unless it is worth their while.
I'll keep you posted, though. Thanks again!

Do you know anyone with a pomegranate tree? If you do, takes some cuttings. I have taken seven cuttings of my trees anywhere from 6" to 3' long and so far all seven seem to be surviving. I keep reading they root easy. I am beginning to believe it.

Here is a past link that has much info you can use Consentida. Since you have trouble getting in mail orders, even not true seeds might be a decent option. That six month to seven month ripening time may be your biggest problem up north.

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pom thread

Hi all,

I've been enjoying your posts tonight as inspiration for the coming year. I just found a 1.5" pomegranate sprout in my worm bed! Though the odds are stacked against me in a coastal climate and an area full of persistant deer, I'll enjoy attempting to grow the tree. :) Happy gardening.

Does anyone know where I can get:
Punica granatum 'Eight Ball'
I'd like to get it for my mom, but the only places I found that have it are: Plants Delight (that has a min order)
and Woodlanders that has the cost of shipping as much as the plant. She wants it for an indoor plant, to start at least, and then maybe test some cuttings outside. I'd settle for getting some seeds if I can't find the plant.
Help Please!

I live in the Norfolk, Virginia area. We had (and it's still there - next to my nieces house) a Pomegranate tree now about 13-15 feet tall . But guess what-

i am 72 yrs old, and I believe my grandfather planted it. We had fruit every year, and I remember some cold winters. Not familiar with different varieties.

larry