Can’t wait for spring. Have the ‘beginnings of a pomegranate orchard’ to plant. Makes me nervous having all these dormant ‘sleepy’ plants in my garage.
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Great I hope to see photos and to hear more about them, there are 3 varieties originating from Williamsburg, Virginia that I know about.
I am trying to grow pomegranates in North Carolina. Some do grow here, in Georgia, in Alabama and even in Florida.
Can you describe your success? 3 fruit? 100? In a pot? In ground? Varieties?
This fall I placed an order for 10 more pomegranate plants. They will come from 2 different nurseries - both in the Northern FL/Georgia region. The summers are similar in these areas . . . but our winters are more severe. So many more varieties are available, now, than when we started ‘playing with pomegranates’ over 20 years ago!
My husband and I are going to try a small ‘grove’ . . . just for the fun of it - and our love of the fruit.
We have HOT humid summers, here in Chesapeake VA. We are in Zone 7A-7B. Fungus is a problem when the trees/bushes do not get adequate air ventilation. I am going to use Copper Spray - and make sure that I change out the mulch beneath the trees, spraying the ground as well. I’ve even considered hooking up a fan near the trees when it gets especially wet!
Varieties that did well for me, thus far . . . Grenada and Wonderful. I’ll post some pics of the bushes and the fruit. My new order, which will arrive in early spring of 2018 includes these varieties:
Afganski
Salalvatski
Kaj-Acik-Anor
Nikitski-Ranni
Golden Globe
Agat
Bala Miursal
Hotuni Zigar
Phoenicia
Purple Heart
I spent quite a lot of time, reading about each variety - and talked to a very knowledgeable guy at JustFruitsAndExotics.
We are getting ready to prepare our soil now - so that when these ‘babies’ arrive . . . we can plant them soon after.
Anyone else have success in the Mid-Atlantic US?
We know that Poms can grow here . . . because we have seen them in other people’s yards laden with good-sized fruit! Here are some shots of my trees and fruit.
Hope to hear from others! - Karen
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I keep trying to upload the photos . . . but no luck so far. Let me try one at a time.
Here are some Granadas from 2015 and 2017.
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I’m having trouble responding, as the ‘site’ requests - in one post . . . so I’ll answer your question here, SanJoseFool. You asked:
“Can you describe your success? 3 fruit? 100? In a pot? In ground? Varieties?”
I have two trees, planted in the ground. They are about 6 (?) years old, and have been bearing for the last 3. I pruned them rather severely last winter - so I didn’t get as many fruits - per tree - as I was hoping. But, my Granada had about 40 poms. And the Wonderful, not so many. We have been harvesting the Granadas - one or two at a time . . . and they are super!
I listed my new varieties in another post. There are several great sources. If you are in SanJose, you should look at Rolling River Nursery’s site. (located in Oakland CA) They are very knowledgeable and willing to chat with you about the different varieties.
I also bought from JustFruits&Exotics - and they are great, too. They are in Crawfordville FL - near Tallahassee.
We will plant the 10 new trees ‘grove-style’ in 2 rows of 5. With 10 feet between. We’re going to start preparing the ‘holes’ this winter - so that we’ll be ready to drop them in, when they arrive in the spring. Some already arrived - from Rolling River. They were potted nicely, and I repotted them in 5 gal fabric pots. (by Gardzen) They are now resting for the winter, against a wall that faces south.
Here’s what my Granada fruit looks like. It is tarter when picked early. Turns sweet as it hangs on tree. I like both!
And my Granada, in the landscape.
From Rolling River. Nice little plants - came packaged well.
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Wow! Great looking bush and fruit!
I had to google Chesapake, surrounded by bay, estuaries, and ocean. Definitely a nice microclimate. I think most 7b’s can’t have the success you can. I planted some figs at my parents summer house in NJ, it’s a barrier island with 7b climate and there was no dieback last year with no protection. I should have planted some pomegranates too.
I just moved to 7b Georgia and wanted to try poms out here since they were one of my favorites to grow/eat in San Jose.
Here are some pics of mine, hope the new homeowners enjoy them.
http://www.kevinsedibleyard.com/2015/12/28/pomegranates/
Do you spray anything currently? One thing that can help is morning sun to help burn off dew. Another thing (more intensive) would be to esaplier them. This would allow more air pass through. This video talks about how espalier cut down on fungal problems for their subtropical fruit: Growing custard apple on a vertical trellis on Vimeo
I am envious of you. I hope to be as successful as you out here they are so much better from the tree/bush compared to store.
I bought a bunch of pomegranates and olive trees from Rolling River in spring 2014, and it seems like quite a few of those were mislabeled. It’s very frustrating. I’m going to replace what they sent me as Bala Miursal, Hotuni Zigar, and Phoenicia, since I don’t like the fruit, but it’s possible those have been mislabeled, so don’t want to trash the cultivars. I also tried Phoenicia at a tasting in the Wolfskill Experimental Orchard in Winters, CA, and it was too acidic for my taste. I reported on my experience at this tasting here: Pomegranate tasting at Wolfskill Experimental Orchard, 2016
I’ve had very good success rooting pomegranate cuttings (from CRFG scion exchanges in the SF Bay area), and I expect those should be true to label. I will plant them as replacements.
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It should be noted that Rolling River sold their business a couple of years ago. The new place in Oakland is with new owners, although the prior owners were supposed to get them up to speed.
Oh you did already! How’s the new place? Have you bought a house already?
Kevin! Your poms look great! I will not know, for a couple of years, exactly how my new varieties will do. I plan to spoil them - and give them lots more room than the 2 that are part of my landscaping . . . so maybe they will be GREAT! I will be watching everyone else’s experiences as i wait and wait and wait for ours to mature.
Stan! I did not know that about Rolling River. I sure hope that they sent the types that I requested.
I may be a bit of a pessimist, but I don’t expect that all of the new trees will survive - and I will replace them with other varieties and keep trying.
Thanks, everyone for sharing your experiences. I’m having a good time on this site!
Later! - Karen Kinser AKA Kiki in Virginia
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We bought a house just to live in for the time being while we look for another place. Unfortunately the lot is completely wooded. However my wife has come around to the idea of building our own place and are in the process of searching for land 3-5 acres to build on. I will have plenty of room to play around with fruiting plants but it might be a couple of years.
I also plan on building a greenhouse into the south side of the custom built home, I need my subtropical fruits you know how that is 
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I am not sure about the soil in the part of Virgina you are in yet the soil in Williamsburg, Virginia not that far from you the native soil there is great for pomegranates. I did some research and in my research I learned that high nutrient loamy soil that is high in sand, pomegranate plants bare larger crops of fruit at a younger age in it and I think that soil type is especially important in the South east. Yet it is the best soil in even a desert climate in the western USA. Pomegranate bushes need very easily draining soil that stays moist, especially in wetter conditions, since they have tap roots they can get moisture and nutrients deep once the roots of the bushes are deep enough yet that also can get them too much ground moisture/wetness which is a problem they face in even the driest parts of the Mediterranean, pomegranate bushes stress out when the soil goes from very moist or wet to dry during the flowering and fruiting times which is common on Malta. When there is soil that is highly loamy and highly sandy that is when nutrient run off happens fast and so that is why the soil needs to be high nutrient too. When there is too much sand the soil can not hold any nutrients it just all washes away which can make the plants naturally dwarf due to being malnourished. Do you fertilize or add any compost or manure?
Thats a bummer, I also ordered a few from them (but different varieties). Previously I had bought some on eBay which were also mislabeled.
Alan, I used some basic 10-10-10 in the spring - sprinkled it liberally under the canopy of each tree. (Maybe 1Cup per tree?) Other than that, I haven’t fertilized. At that point, I had not really done much research - and just followed whatever information I had gotten off the web.
In Chesapeake, I’ve found that I can only dig and work the soil about 12" deep, and then hit a hard ‘pan’. This is troubling, when I know that a plant has a tap root. I just hope that the roots have more success than my shovel, in getting through that soil!
I find it confusing - and read different information of exactly how/where a pomegranate sets its fruit. Some sources say ‘on new growth’. Some say ‘on old wood’.
If I leave the new growth to get too long . . . the fruit weighs it down - sometimes to the ground.
It’s always kind of a crap shoot - as to which branches ? and how much ? - to prune.
I tend to prune in late winter . . . but sometimes life gets in the way . . . and I end up pruning and thinning when new growth has already begun.
Any advice from any of you guys?
Ok, your summers are hot … but for how long?
For a few decades, Parfianka (and synonyms) were advertised as the best Pomegranates to grow in southern California, but most years they cracked and rotted on the whips before ripe. Many people (incl. members of CRFG) thought that was the revered taste of pomegranates. I knew otherwise, having grown up further inland.
You folks in Virginia, San Jose, etc. … You’re looking for “Eversweet” – a cultivar produced by John Chater, and also “Myagkosemyanni Rosovyi” – a cultivar selected for cooler (9b) climates by Wolfskill.
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I live in interior NC zone 7b and have had good luck with salavatski and suhr anor. Kazake grows well but has not been as productive as these other two. I tried kaj acik anor and it grew fine but never produced a single fruit in the 6 years I grew it. Suhr anor has been the most productive of them all.
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That is odd, someone in NC told me that Kazake does much better than Salavatski in NC Zone 7b, I am in NC zone 7b and my Salavatski has not fruited in the 6 years that it has been in the ground. Yet this year it’s taking off growing much faster than any other year, that faster growing started late in to last year’s growing season. I suspect that your soil is much different than ours. Does your soil have any sand? Please explain the soil your pomegranate bushes are planted in.
Pomegranates roots are way tougher than a shovel, they are tougher than the average fig tree roots too. They can go through just about anything. up to 8 inches of amended soil is all that you really need so you should be fine.
I am learning that different varieties bare fruit much younger and way more easily than others. I have one variety that bares so young that one cutting of it had a flower, yes actually a flower on a cutting. Those are the kind that can have flowers on old wood, yet that kind is very rare. odd thing is that this variety only seems to produce fruit on old wood under only some situation(s) and I am not sure what causes it or why. I do not know much about that kind because there is very little info about that kind. Keep in mind there are over 1,000 varieties of pomegranate, there are more types than anyone understands and the pomegranate community is only just starting to form. I’d like to send you a plant of that variety. It should be able to handle your climate fine and is high production.
Weighing it down is ok, yet some people let the pomegranates grow big enough so that the fruit does not touch the ground, and grow strong enough so that the bush it’s self is strong. It’s personal preference to some extent. Some people prune heavily every year until they are happy with the plant. Me I prune my Salavatski only in an emergency. As fast as it’s growing it’s not growing too fast. When I prune I seal the wound with Gorilla wood glue because it keeps the bacteria out and keeps certain beetles that can easily destroy a pomegranate bush above ground from going after the bush! I usually prune during the growing season.
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