Hey all, just curious anyone know of any universities w/ plant programs or farms/arboretums (or yourselves if you got the space and aren’t moving soon ) that might be interested in trialing hardy pomegranates down South?
More interested in universities or arboretums in a similar Byron,GA-like trial where can plant 15-20 trees in a row to trial out (they did a cold-hardy pom trial back in the day), but if you can handle 15-20 poms i may be interested to give to an individual.
Optimally you’d take cuttings and start more rows just in case one tree accidentally died for a larger sample-size test trial.
I have been trialing them in Philadelphia and even though they survive (a few with minimal dieback), I realized they might be best to fruit in a more southern test like Virginia or North/South Carolina.
There are ALOT of hardy poms that I colected (only 3-4 have truly died on me).
Realistically, I’d hose off the dirt in their pots in late March (some are in very large pots), put wet newspaper around them, and put them in the back of a truck and drop them off (or better yet, you can pick up yourself hehe).
Just trying to gage interest (I’m not sure I even wanna do it yet and let go of my beautiful collection haha).
I was impressed with the Biltmore Estate around my sister in Asheville NC so I asked recently if were interested but haven’t gotten a response yet, so thought I’d try my luck here.
Alk Pust Ghermez Saveh
Agat(think this one is dead, for full trial maybe reorder?)
“Russian” E.L. (probably Salevatski/#R8)
Salevatski
Kaj-acik-anor R9
Lyubimyi (aka Favorite)(think this one is dead, for full trial maybe reorder?)
Bala Miursal R25
Entekhabi Saveh
Sumbar
Kazake
Surh-anor
Al-sirin-nar
Sakerzde
Afganski
Apseronski krasnyj
Kaim-anor
Kunduzski
Mejhos 6269
DK From Shevlan
Saartuzski (Yalta) R31
Apseronski
Sejanic 5/8
Tabestani malas Biranden saveh
Dorosht Shahanshahi Khoramabad
Mahali Dezful
Greek Red
R35(may have died, for full trial maybe reorder?)
Nikitski Ranni (aka Crimson Sky)
Universities will definitely not be interested, they need a funds allocation to support it. Arboreturms also tend to already have their existing foci. My suggestion is to look for a community gardening group. For example here in Baltimore there is the Real Food Farm. I gave them some fruit trees awhile back.
I’m 20 min away from center city Philly and I’d love to have a pomegranate in my yard. But for a project like that, I don’t have the knowledge or the space.
I hope you find someone worthy of your collection.
My friend has gotten fruit off his poms in PA, but its a bit too much work to get fruit for me since I don’t want to give a protected area near the house to plant it.
Figs are much more worth the effort for a ‘warm weather fruit’ I’d say (my figs still fruit away from the house in a non-protected location). Need any cuttings of anything? I’m in the Horsham/Jenkintown area.
I work in Horsham! Small world. I would love a cutting but right now life is so up side down I’m sure I won’t be able to get it to root. So I’ll take a rain check on it.
Not sure if you are a beginner to grafting (maybe not even interested) but just want to mention that there’s grafting workshop in Philly mid March. In case you are interested. Very nice to “meet” somebody from the same area.
Think I may have replied to your original post about that a month or 2 ago… I usually just goto the BYFG grafting workshop in late March (100+ apple scions, and recently a bit more varieties of other stuff. I go there to trade a few things.). Note: I also work in Horsham (Walnut Grove Drive).
The poms have fruited a few times, but the squirrels ran off with the golf-balled sized fruit be4 they could develop for me, and recently they just recover from recent super-cold winters and flower a bit (think its been a warm winter mostly so far this year though so maybe I’ll get fruit this year). My friend has gotten like 25-30 good sized fruit off his protected ‘Salevatski’ variety tree.
My in-ground unprotected pomegranates do survive the cold better than my in-ground unprotected cold-hardy figs (those figs will still die to the ground if unprotected during a very cold winter around Philly (where temps can get very low during those Arctic Blasts), but my hardiest poms will just have 20% dieback max but recover a bit slowly in the spring).
The figs die to the ground, but grow 8-10ft during the whole summer.
The poms may have 20% dieback (or worse if the variety isn’t as cold-hardy), but they grow very slowly recovering during the spring/summer.
I grow the poms in a bush-form(many trunks) instead of a tree-form in case one trunk dies because of cold.
I am not a university, but I do have a degree:) I am trialing about 35 cultivars here in North GA. some of the same ones you have listed. This is their 2nd winter in- ground. You do have some I would like to add to my trials
wow 35 varieties! Impressive … not sure I’d drive all the way down there though to give you a few varieties you don’t have :), but I can maybe send you cuttings possibly if its from my larger plants?
I would not expect you to:) but actually I don’t think there is as big an overlap on cultivars as you would expect on initial look I need to review my list
If you would consider it, I would like to ask you to donate your pomegranates to Living Energy Farm. See livingenergyfarm.org
We are a community in Central VA that lives without fossil fuels. One face of our project is growing naturally disease resistant plants. I have put a lot of work into trying to figure out which plants will grow without spray. i have planted quite a few pomegranates, including some of the ones you mention. We have numerous interns working with us, one of whom is designated specifically to work with our horticultural activities. I teach people about propagation and disease resistant plants. You can see the booklet I put together at http://conev.org/fruitbook9.pdf
The most recent LEF newsletter is at http://www.livingenergyfarm.org/newsletters/2016novdec.pdf
Thanks for considering us.
Alexis Zeigler
540-205-0433
I would if i was not growing so many pomegranates my self. I live on North Carolina. Would you be interested in a cold hardy variety that you do not have, we do not know how cold hardy it is yet, it can survive down to at least the equivalence of North Carolina minus a few degrees than our coldest, I am not talking about the mountain parts. It has not seen any colder yet it would be nice if it could be tested colder. I can see 6b is the coldest you can get, here is 7a at the coldest so it might survive where you are.
Alexis Zeigler - I have one variety in ground that can survive your climate, I am rooting one variety that might survive it, I will be getting 2 fruiting pomegranates this summer that are actually located in Virgina, seemingly an identical climate to yours, the Virgina ones die to the ground on the colder years yet grow back fine when that happens. Would you take either cuttings or plants?
I have a friend with pomegranate varieties that are highly resistant against the diseases they face in the south. If you want his info you can private message me.
) that might be interested in trialing hardy pomegranates down South?
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