I think that is what everyone agrees now… it is what Edible Landscaping was selling as Russian Hardy. I call it Salavatski now, that post was from 2016.
I think my Salavatski has three fruits on it, sizing up well and no rot so far. I will be hitting the fruits with my usual rot sprays assuming I remember…
No others. I tried angel red, sumbar, and desertnyi but all succumbed to our winter temperatures. Suhr anor is the softest seeded of the hardy varieties, and one of the top 5 producers per the uga research. I tried to pick just one for productivity…
Yes ‘Edible Landscaping’ is calling the same tree ‘Salavatski’ now, they seem very sure.
@PomGranny, I’m in also in VA and the humidity is my pom’s nemesis. I have 2 Salavatski’s that set a lot of fruit that I never get to enjoy because of the fungus. What do you use on your poms?
@VBGigi . . . THAT is the million dollar question!
We all seem to battle fungus, trying to grow pomegranates in the humid South East. Several of us have an ongoing conversation about what is working (sort of) and what is not.
If you read back through this thread - there’s lots of discussion about it.
See @Matt_in_Maryland post in May of 2018. Matt identified the pathogens.
Basically - no one has found the magic bullet, yet. I think the answer is . . . move to California! LOL Or maybe build a huge geodesic dome with a humidifier system!?!
It’s funny though. I had my first 2 pomegranates - a Wonderful and a Granada - produce fruit that was fungus free for a few years . . . And then the fungus arrived. It came in on something. I suspect, perhaps on one of the pomegranate trees that I ordered. ?
I will say this. My plan for this winter is to SPRAY THE #$%^$ OUT OF THEM, while they are dormant. The best advice so far, as to what to spray them with - came from University of Florida. They have had success with these fungicides - Cabrio, Luna Experience, and Penncozeb. They recommend spraying every 2-3 weeks. This was several years ago - and they may have an updated suggestion for controlling the fungus activity. I’ve also read that Captan will control the disease on fruit. (I’ve sprayed my fruit with this and some of it has remained fungus free.)
This year is the worst. I have been spraying the fruit and unopened buds with Captan, as the IFAS literature recommended. For next year - I am considering ordering a bottle of the expensive fungicide that worked in their field trials in FL. (Cabrio or LunaExperience) It would be worth it, if it will control this fungal problem . . . even somewhat.
Also - Literature also recommends Captan for the fruit / Mancozeb for the foliage.
Marc, who used to own Rolling River out in CA, suggested I use copper and lime sulfur. He wrote:
“Organic fungicides to try are copper and lime-sulfur. Micronized copper can be bought as a powder and made into a solution and sprayed onto the infected plant. Lime sulfur is sold as a liquid and made into a spray. They are both very effective fungicides, probably equal to the much more dangerous petro chemical kinds. Copper is a metal, which in small quantities is an important trace mineral. If sprayed repeatedly for year after year it can accumulate in the soil and become toxic, but it takes a lot of use for this to happen. It is very mild and won’t burn leaves when sprayed in summer. Lime sulfur completely breaks down into useful fertilizer (lime and sulfur), but is fairly caustic when first sprayed, so be careful with summer spraying. In the winter when plants are leafless it can be used in the higher suggested range, but in the summer use a more dilute mix. You can still use it pretty strong, but take it slow and see how your plants react first. The air temperature and how strong the sunlight is affects it too. I’ve used it quite a bit in the summer and it really works great. Both are excellent for brown rot with stone fruit too, which your pictures somewhat remind me of. I would highly recommend trying either or both of these before resorting to the harsher chemicals. I would suggest spraying at least every 2 weeks at least first. Maybe even once a week to try to get it under control and then doing a less frequent maintenance program.”
Basically - to help keep the fungus in check . . .
I have not had any insect problem, other than the Japanese beetles when they are active. They don’t seem to like the poms very much . . . very little ‘chewing’ damage.
Good Luck. Keep us posted! - Karen
Looks like I should have a few this year. My tree didn’t set a ton of fruit but it hasn’t lost many either.
I’m sad, my in ground pom actually set fruit in one or two blossoms, but all of them dropped.
I’m going to hit just about everything pretty hard with lime sulfur this winter.
How old is your tree?
It is normal for young trees to drop the flowers. Most flowers are male any way.
My pomegranate trees did the same thing until this year. They were planted in ground in 2018. So 3 years now. Hopefully I can get one or two fully grown fruits this year.
Here is one on my Afganski.
2nd year in ground. I guess I shouldn’t really expect anything for another year or two.
Same here.
And here is my Afganski! LOL
Not really funny. What a bust this summer was. So much promise . . . lost to a damn fungus. I will be surprised if we get more than a dozen decent fruits. They are splitting and dropping like flies. Too much water after not enough water - and with a fungus to fight. Sigh.
These are so beautiful! I love the red calyxes with the green fruit. I have a Suhr Anor, but it is only one year old - in the ground.
I was about to post some photos too. Two of the 5 fruits were damaged and knocked down by birds I guess. I cut them open and checked. Still too early. Very tart.
The largest one on the tree has a very decent size now about the size of my fist. Wish me good luck.
The two damaged:
Good Luck! Yours look sooooo much better than any of mine. I hope you get a few good ones, at least.
I should actually end up with about 10 this year. There were more than I realized because many were lower in the bush than usual. A neighbor has a yellowish pom that has a couple dozen fruit this year. Salavatiski? Whatever it is it must be one of the toughest varieties given our zone. (she doesn’t know its name)
There are hundreds of different varieties of pomegranates out there.
@alanmercieca I have not been to Smith Island in probably close to ten years. I am trying a russian pom at my house and it grows nicely but all the fruit falls off. There is a Korean man in Berlin, MD who has a variety from South Korea that sets fruit nicely each year. It never dies to the ground. I have tried to take cuttings from it several times and they will not root despite my best efforts.
Back in Dallas, I had two “Wonderful” trees in my backyard. They were young, but set a couple very large fruits. Do not recall any winter damage.
Now I try to get back to pom again. My plan is to get them in pots first, then plant them out in ground. So I can get backups. I’m trying to get hold a local hardy variety called “Swarthmore Hardy”. The person from NJ agriculture department said that is the hardiest variety he knows of.
This past spring was challenging. Winter was mild. But the late frost killed a lot of trees, even large and old trees. After trees come out of dormancy, its hardiness is reduced by quite a bit.
Has anyone tried mulching with large rocks for fungal problems? The soil is often the fungal reservoir and spores get propelled to the vegetation via rain droplets, so having an inert substrate (that heats above fungal growth temps) may help.
