i will post progress as i go but i am not afraid of zone testing within reason
i currently have 6 olive trees all of which just survived 8 degree temperatures
i did however cover my golden nugget tangerine with 3 layers of coating and a insulating layer of dry leaves throughout
The variety also seems to go by various marketing names like Russian 26 and Russian Hardy. Here is a site that calls it Russian 26 Cold Hardy and looks like it has taken LE Cookās flyer of Texas Hardy and blown up the picture
This is an educated guess on my part, when Bay Laurel offered Texas Hardy as a new variety I started doing some reading about Texas Hardy and came to my own conclusion that it is likely another name for Afganski but everyone can to their own conclusions.
Here is some research about pomegranate varieties growing in south GA that seems to show Afganski as not very productive.
I will only believe that they are the same when someone has grown them side by side, and both had fruited for 4 years or more. Yet I see why you think they may be the same variety, many major similarities and as far as I can see nothing to prove beyond a doubt that they may be different varieties.
How is your Red Silk doing in its container so far? Did it grow a lot over summer? Inside now i would hope?
Yes in the basement now. I water it every several wks over the winter.
Last summer, I up-potted to 5 gallon and it grew great. Probably 4 feet tall now (including the pot). I used peat, perlite, pine bark mulch, sand. Some coffee grounds, bone meal, and other rando ferts.
Nice. I think iām going to order one. Itāll be an experiment. Iāll overwinter in basement.
I got mine from EL.
I just googled pomegranate growth in the mid-atlantic - and it brought me back to the forum! LOL
I was hoping to find some people who are closer to the Tidewater area, where I am, who are busy with poms. 
I wanted to say that I ordered the Ashton book and am looking forward to learning more about varieties. I saw the .pdf - but didnāt want the online version. And didnāt want to print out 100+ pages! Looks like a fabulous resource. Thanks. P.S. - we need a pomegranate emoji very very badly! guess this tomato will have to do for now. 
Smith Island. Very interesting. Iām obsessed with pomegranate-growing right now . . . so this would be a great little get-away. Iām in Tidewater VA. I hate to think of all the āheirloomsā that get hacked down, because the people who buy the old properties just donāt know what they are.
There was one old tree - (the first pomegranate I ever saw in my area, actually) in someoneās yard, right near the street. Iād drive by every now and then to see it loaded with poms that no one paid attention to. I admit that Iād stop and grab one off the ground - and couldnāt believe that no one cared about the tree enough to pick the fruit! They were great. Fruit somewhat like Wonderful or Grenada - tart/sweet. Nice fruit.
I drove by there a couple of years ago. The tree was gone. It actually brought tears to my eyes. If Iād known how to propagate - or even that you could successfully propagate - I would have asked to take some cuttings. What a waste. 
I keep my pomegranates in pots cuz late spring freezes can kill them in my locale.
These guys overwintered in my unfinished basement. I brought them out several weeks ago so they would not dessicate or get too leggy. They suffered some tip die-back with our overnight lows, but came through fine overall.
Many of these were donations from @zendog.
Salavatski looking grand:
Descendent of Hydranar crossed with Gouloshi @zendog got from USDA-GRINā¦ sitting on the bottom step:
Here is the naturally smallish pomegranate Vykusnyi. It suffered the worst die-back from the spring frosts. Neverless, it is sprouting at the base:
Here is another dwarf called Red Silk. It also had some tip die-back, but is now growing great guns. I purchased this from EL last year:
I have almost all my pomegranates in the ground, now. A couple, I held back . . . very soft seeded varieties. And I doubt they will survive the year. I consider them ājust an experimentā . . . and really donāt want to have to ācoddleā anybody . . . So, they either make it - or not.
I have 2 Salavatskis, 2 Nikitski Rannis, and several other really hardy Russians - Afganski and Favorite. . . and I expect they will do well. Weāll see.
I think I may have lost my old friend, the Wonderful, which has fruited for the past 5 or 6 years. Looks like itās not coming back . . . except from new growth at the base. But, the Grenada, right next to it, seems fine. This was SUCH a tough winter.
My largest (seedling, 4-5 years old) is resprouting, from the ground. So it did at least survive this difficult winter, but certainly wonāt be fruiting yet.
Hi Zen! @zendog
I have a Grenada that does GREAT here in Virginia. I did lose my Wonderful, this winter, though. Just too cold. And the poms from the Wonderful have not been as good as the Grenada.
This year I get ambitious and ordered WAY more than I should have. I have 2 Salavatskis, 2 Afganskis, 2 Nikitski Rannis, a Parfianka, an Ambrosia, an Agat, a Bala Miursal, a Lyubimi (Favorite), a Purple Heart, a Phoenicia, an Austin, a Hotuni Zigar, a Kaj Acik Anor . . . and a Golden Globe! The hardy ones will probably do well . . . but the soft-seeded varieties will have to be replaced next spring, most likely.
I started out thinking that Iād keep some in pots and wheel them in and out during the coldest months. But, Iām tending them all by myself, now . . . and I donāt want the hassle.
Itās āsink or swimā here at āPomGrannyāsā. A couple of the plants have blossoms . . . and Iām going to let them fruit - and see what happens. Most are 3ā or under in height.
Would I commit space for poms? Hell, yeah! That is what I mainly wanted to grow! I just added the other stone fruit and apples, because everybody else was talking about them! During the months when the poms are bearing . . . I eat at least one a day! I hope that Iāll eventually have enough to sell to the local market. Weāll see!
I went to a grafting workshop and thought I had 3 that had rooted and sprouted . . . but they all died. Thatās ok. I have a good sized Pink Lady. An Ashmeads Kernel. A Grimes Golden. A Mutsu . . . and the one Iām really excited about - Goldrush.
Yes! Pomegranates CAN be grown in the Mid-Atlantic. As far north as Williamsburg, around here. But, you have to stick to the Russkies and other hard-seeded varieties, for the most part. Or be willing to bring them in, in the colder months.
James,
I prune quite heavily. Because Poms fruit on new growth. I keep the center open, for light and to keep down the āmildewā. I try to keep them from drooping to the ground, and keep their height at āarms reachā - about 7ā. I cut away all crossing branches - to avoid wounds between rubbing branches. AND - I prefer a bush shape, to a tree shape. If your winters are cold - I think this offers the plant more protection. I also lightly prune during summer months - wherever I see an inward growing branch or a water sprout that sticks straight up and saps the plantās strength.
The main reason I have found that thereās not much discussion about pomegranate flavors is that not many people eat pomegranates. Iām in zone 9 where they grow very well and was really into them in the mid 1990s. Then Harvey Correia and other California fruit fans really got into them. Now most of us have downsized. I went from having 50 or more varieties to now having less than 15. The reason I downsized is that I just donāt eat many pomegranates and neither did most other people who were growing them. I eat hundreds of jujubes each year but I might eat 2 or 3 poms and juice another 30 or 40. That leaves me with hundreds of leftover poms. The other problem is that every single pom variety ripens a little differently from each other and also ripens differently in different climates which makes it hard to have a productive discussion about flavor. And itās very hard to keep track of the peak ripening time for more than a few varieties. For most poms if you eat them off peak you lose flavor. The best example is Wonderful which if eaten at peak flavor is indeed wonderful, but no commercial growers and few amateur growers pick it at peak flavor.
Those look great PomGranny. Youāve sure got a ton of buds.
Iāve done okay keeping Salavatski and Kazake alive in the ground and theyāll flower and set fruit, but I think I may be ready to give up on them because of the rotting I get. Once it starts at the Calyx theyāre basically done and I have hardly gotten a single fruit to the edible stage from the dozens Iāve tossed away from the mildew/fungus/rotting. Are you not having that problem down there?
Maybe it is just the timing of the when mine fruit or possibly there is something else in garden hosting whatever it is in the off season.
I have Desertnyi, Parfianka, Sumbar, Bala Miursal and an interesting Russian semi-dwarf in pots as well and they have the same problem. They winter over beautifully in the unheated garage, but come fruiting timeā¦ ugh.
I would spray the fruit if there was something I could just target at the fruit and I knew would work, but Iām on a tiny suburban lot with neighbors with little kids all around me so I try not to do things that will worry them.
Walter,
I think this is what weāre up against: It is an anthracnose-like fungal infection mostly caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (aka Glomerella cingulata) and possibly to a lesser extent Colletotrichum acutatum (latter is the same fungus that causes strawberry black rot).
http://www.krishisewa.com/articles/disease-management/398-pomegranate-diseases.html
So probably my extensive strawberry beds near the poms arenāt helping. Iāll read through these, but did you happen to see something worth trying for spraying?
I am glad to hear your poms are doing so well. Certainly they look beautiful.
I have a Nikitski Ranni up in northern VA (7a) that I planted three years ago. I am still waiting for it to set its first fruit, perhaps this will be the year.
The articles describe a bunch of (to me, scary-sounding) anti-fungal chemical sprays, and say application at bloom time and periodically afterwards can be effective for preventing infection.
Infection occurs at bloom and in the nascent fruitlets.
The spores are ubiquitous, but can be reduced by best mngmt practices (pruning out crowded foliage; employing good air circulation; etc).
The spores are spread through rain splash.
Sounds like an intimidating opponent. Somewhat discouraging.
I wonder if there are non-synthetic anti-fungal agents out there that would help tamp down the problem. Anyone have any ideas?
(We have had a sopping wet spring here in Frederick. At least 12 inches of rain fell this past week.)
