2023 NEW to your garden / orchard this year?

[swincher]

@WildApple23

In addition to this, I’m starting two breeding projects this spring: figs and pomegranates. My zone is just on the edge of where the cold-hardiest of these fruits can grow (coldest winter temps are usually -3F to 0F annually). I’m planning on testing the viability of existing varieties (step one), taking the cold hardiest of these and crossing them and planting out the seeds to see what survives, if anything. Not sure how it’ll go, but it’s exciting nonetheless

Not sure if you’ve seen this thread, but it would be a great one for you to post updates in as your own experiment proceeds:

Breeding cold hardy and frost resistant pomegranates

Most pomegranates aren’t adapted to my climate and aren’t cold hardy enough to survive here in zone 7b. They also bud out before the last frost and are severely susceptible to late freezes and frost damage which can kill back the plant that otherwise would have survived the winter. I hope to select for cold hardiness, excellent flavor, high vigor, productiveness, late budding out, and disease and pest resistance. I feel that maybe by selecting cold hardy pomegranates in my zone 7b and creating…