How to grow pomegranates correctly: tips for beginners

Varieties for growing in the garden

Today, several hundred varieties of pomegranate are known, of which more than a hundred are cultivated varieties, and are widely cultivated on an industrial scale. Pomegranate varieties are distinguished by the hardness of the seeds. There are fruits with hard and soft bones.

Of course, in every country where this culture is cultivated, there is its own beloved pomegranate variety, but there are also well-known, very productive garden varieties, which include:

1. "Kizil-anor". Early ripe (early October) variety cultivated in Uzbekistan. Fruits are medium or large (300-500 g). The peel is dense, pinkish-red in color, the grains are scarlet, with a sour taste.
2. "Guleisha". This Azerbaijani variety has two varieties, which differ in the color of the peel: "red" and "pink". The fruits are large, slightly elongated. The peel is thin, in "Gyuleisha red" it is dark purple in color with small stripes at the base, in "pink" it is light, slightly pinkish. The grains are maroon, sweet and sour taste.
3. "Shah-nar". Azerbaijan variety of middle forty ripening (end of October). Fruits are medium (up to 300 g), round, slightly flattened. The peel is dense, bright red color. The grains are medium-sized, very juicy (up to 50% juice), sweet and sour.
4. "Nazik-kabukh". Also Azerbaijani, relatively early variety (early October). The fruits are large (up to 500 g), the peel is dark red, thin. The grains are dark ruby, the juiciness is about 49%, the taste is not pronounced, slightly sour-sweet.
5. Bala-Mursal. Another local Azerbaijani variety, ripening by the beginning of October. The fruits are large (400-600 g), the peel is dense, maroon. The grains are juicy, ruby-colored, rather sweet (acids are only 1.5%).
6. "Ak Dona Krymskaya". Winter-hardy variety, zoned in the Crimea. The fruits are large, oval in shape. The skin is thin, cream-colored with a slight blush on the sunny side. The grains are dark red, harmonious, sweet taste, with a subtle sourness.

It should also be noted the excellent taste of Iranian pomegranates "Ahmar", "Nar-Shirin", Indian and Israeli varieties (Dholka, Mangulati), which are not cultivated in the CIS, but can be grown in the conditions of the Central Asian zone.

Video "Growing"

From the video you will learn how to grow pomegranates.

Varieties for growing in the house

Homemade pomegranate is an amazingly beautiful ornamental plant with bright flowers and small exotic fruits. Those who have dreamed for a long time, but do not know how to grow pomegranates at home, should know that there is nothing difficult about this, the main thing is to choose the right variety.

There are several low-growing varieties of indoor pomegranate that are highly decorative and intended for growing in a pot:

1. "Nana". Dwarf (up to 70 cm) hybrid form.It begins to bloom in the first year, reaching a height of 40 cm. Abundant flowering, large flowers, orange-red. The fruits are small (up to 5 cm in diameter), from a few dozen flowers on the bush, no more than 10 ovaries are formed.
2. Baby. The smallest (up to 50 cm) indoor variety. The shrub is very decorative, especially during the flowering period. The flower of this pomegranate is large, bright red. Flowering begins in the middle of summer, and by the beginning of autumn 4-5 rather large fruits ripen on the hedgehog bush.
3. "Carthage". The most abundantly blooming dwarf pomegranate. It can reach a height of 1 meter, the bush is compact, dense, well leafy. The pomegranate flower is bright red, semi-double. Fruits are small (4-5 cm in diameter), burgundy red.

Reproduction methods

The most common breeding methods for pomegranates are cuttings and seed material (seeds or seeds). It should be clarified right away that for planting in the garden it is easier to purchase ready-made seedlings in nurseries, since they are already grafted with varieties that guarantee abundant fruiting and high taste characteristics. If you want to grow a garden plant with your own hands, then the most acceptable way would be cuttings, since the seed method does not allow you to preserve the taste of the variety.

If the main goal is to grow a decorative pomegranate form, then you can plant a pomegranate tree at home using seeds or seeds.

The question may arise here: what is the difference between seeds and seeds? The seeds form in a pomegranate flower when it fades. They can be collected and planted in the soil. Of course, pomegranate grown from seeds grows more slowly, and the percentage of germination is lower than when grown from seed.

The seeds can be taken from fresh fruit seeds. If the planting will be done immediately, then you do not need to cleanse the bones from the pulp. If later, then the material must be separated from the pulp, rinsed and dried a little to prevent decay. The dried seeds, before planting the pomegranate in a pot at home, will need to be soaked in a solution that stimulates root formation. Then, sow seeds into the prepared substrate, spreading them evenly over the surface and sprinkling them with a 1.5-2 centimeter layer of soil. Until the seeds have germinated, the soil must be kept moist. When the sprouts reach a height of 3-4 cm, they can be dived into separate pots.

Now, in detail about how to plant a pomegranate from a cutting at home:

• at the end of spring, cut blanks about 20 cm long with 3-4 buds from annual young shoots (you can use root shoots);
• put the cuttings in a solution that stimulates root formation for a day;
• prepare the soil (add sand, peat, organic fertilizers to the soil) and moisten well;
• deepen the prepared cuttings into the soil so that 1 bud remains on the surface;
• each cutting needs to be provided with a film cover (you can use a plastic bottle);

Cuttings should be planted in warm soil, the temperature of which is not lower than + 12 ° C. If all the conditions have been met, after about a month the cuttings will begin to take root - this will become noticeable by the growth of the bud, and in another month the seedlings can be transplanted.

Planting in the garden

Pomegranate is a southern plant, so growing it in the garden only makes sense if you live in a region with a subtropical climate, on the seaside or in the steppe area. Of course, there are relatively winter-hardy varieties that can grow and bear fruit not only in the subtropics, but all the same, if the winter temperature has indicators with a minus sign, then the pomegranate growing in the garden will require maximum efforts and worries from the gardener.

The pomegranate tree is not demanding on the composition of the soil. In nature, it grows successfully on stones, poor, even saline sandy soil. In addition, an adult plant is very drought tolerant.

To make the pomegranate planted in the garden feel comfortable, you need to try to create conditions close to natural ones: prepare loose soil with good drainage, plant it in a sunny place, water it from time to time. Sun exposure is essential for large and sweet fruits.

A planting hole for a pomegranate is dug and prepared in the same way as for other fruit trees. The average size of the pit is 60x70 cm with a depth of at least 50 cm. But these parameters are individual for each tree, since they depend on the size of the seedling rhizome. A layer of fertilizers (humus, compost) is laid at the bottom of the pit (about a quarter), sprinkled with a layer of earth. Next, a seedling is placed in the pit, the roots are straightened, and carefully covered with earth, slightly shaking the tree so that voids do not form in the soil. In conclusion, the seedling is well watered, if desired, the trunk circle is mulched.

Growing conditions and tree care

As already mentioned, the main thing for a grenade is good illumination and warmth. The tree begins to dissolve its leaves in the spring at a temperature of + 12 ° C, and at the same temperature in the fall, it begins to shed them and prepare for rest. Flowering begins at a temperature of + 18 ° C, and the fruits ripen within 5-6 months, depending on the variety, by the end of October - mid-November. You need to understand that if snow already falls in your region in November, then you should not experiment, since the pomegranate grown in such conditions will still not bear fruit.

Growing in dry climates, the tree needs watering, especially during flowering and ovary formation. If the blooming pomegranate does not have enough moisture, the flowers may crumble. The same thing happens with the ovary. During the ripening of the fruits, watering is reduced, since excess moisture can lead to cracking of the peel. As for low temperatures, spring frosts are not terrible for the pomegranate tree, since the pomegranate blooms quite late, but the autumn frosts can cause significant harm to the culture, therefore, in our latitudes, pomegranates need to be thoroughly covered for the winter, and not only the roots, but also the crown of the tree ...

An adult fruiting pomegranate, the care of which involves the application of fertilizers, is responsive to mineral and organic fertilizing. At the beginning of summer, the tree should be fed with a complex mineral mixture, and during the summer, it is recommended to apply liquid chicken droppings by watering every two weeks. In the fall, before wintering, potash and phosphorus fertilizers (superphosphate, potassium salt) are scattered around the tree, and the trunk circle is covered with a layer of humus.

Forming the tree and preparing for winter

Crown formation is a mandatory step in caring for both home and garden pomegranates. Scheduled pruning is carried out once in the spring, or after harvesting. First of all, damaged, dried branches, as well as small ones, leading to thickening of the tree, are completely cut out. Then you should remove all root shoots, shoots formed on the trunk.

For good fruiting, it is recommended to leave 5-6 main shoots on the tree. With this shape, the bush is easier to cover for the winter. Like any fruit tree, pomegranate ages, so every 20-25 years it needs a thorough rejuvenating pruning.

Growing at home

Growing a pomegranate at home is a very pleasant process in all respects. Observing how a rapidly growing bush is densely covered with bright orange-red flowers, from which miniature fruits are then formed, gives pleasure not only to the grower, but also to all household members. In addition, taking care of an indoor pomegranate is not difficult at all.

Its main requirement is good illumination and a temperature not lower than + 20 ° C, therefore it is better to put a pot with a tree on the windowsill on the south side. And the rest of home care consists of the following activities:

• it is necessary to water the tree as the soil dries up, during the flowering period, watering should be more intense, during the ripening of the fruits - moderate, and closer to winter, very rare;
• before reaching the age of three, the home pomegranate must be transplanted annually into a larger pot, then the transplant is carried out at a frequency of 1 time in 2-3 years;
• for abundant flowering, the bush is fed 1 time in 2-3 weeks with a mineral mixture;
• in the fall, after the fruits ripen, the tree should be cut off and placed in a cool place (+ 12 ° C) - from December to early February, the pomegranate has a dormant period.

Diseases and pests: control and prevention

Pomegranate is not very susceptible to diseases or pests, but since the neighborhood with other fruit crops always carries the threat of infection, then every spring, in order to prevent it, it should be treated with a solution of a complex insecticide, for example, Bordeaux liquid. This drug will protect pomegranate from fungal diseases (gray rot, leaf spot), and will also serve as a prophylaxis against aphids and spider mites.

If these pests still attacked the tree, then you can get rid of them with the help of tobacco dust or a decoction of tobacco (400 g / 10 L of water, insist 2 days), as well as a decoction of walnut leaves (50 g of leaves / 1 L of water, insist for a day ). The most dangerous enemy of the pomegranate is the pomegranate moth. These are caterpillars, crawling inside the fruit and eating unripe seeds, which leads to the dropping of the ovary and the death of the crop. To avoid the spread of moths, you need to regularly inspect the tree, immediately remove and burn diseased parts of the plant.

Video "Leaving"

From the video you will learn how to care for a pomegranate.