Would bagging keep a fungus out? I guess I could try that. I only have about 30 fruits, tops, in a good year.
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I had intended to try that this year, but it fell off the bottom of the list of garden chores. Since the rot always starts at the calyx or right beside it, I was hoping that using a ziplock with just the bottom cut off would keep rain off the fruit if that was how the rot started. I was going to try this instead of the cuts in the corners since I was hoping it would provide more airflow than the bags I put on apples and pears. And since there isn’t really a lot of bug issues with them, I thought the bags would be just like little rain coats. I just don’t know if I wait to allow them to get pollinated, maybe spores are already present, but I think it is an idea worth testing. Next year I’ll be more diligent! - I say every year.
At one point, @Matt_in_Maryland had read something about it being the same fungus as the grey mold on strawberries. I do have a lot of strawberries around, but I think many others here don’t have them near their poms and still have the issue. I was thinking of bringing some by the extension office and seeing if there was a way to get them tested. If we knew what the mold/fungus/mildew was, figuring out a treatment would probably be easier. Maybe some PhD candidate is looking for a great project on successfully growing pomegranates in the Mid Atlantic for their dissertation.
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THIS is a great idea. I think I might drop one of my poms off at the Extension Service, here in Chesapeake - and see what they come up with.
Also - I noticed that my fungus ‘arrived’ the same year that a nasty black fungus started invading our crepe myrtle tree, nearby. And I always wondered if it was the same fungus - in a bit of a different form - on my pomegranates. ?
We cut the crepe myrtle down this year - because we got tired of the ‘black mess’ all over our fence - and because it was killing the tree. Those trees are very messy, even in their non-fungal state! Maybe next year - without that tree - my poms will respond to the spraying, better.
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Congrats on making progress everyone in your part of the country! Looking good.
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We could make a million-bizillion bucks if we could come up with a Mid-Atlantic Pomegranate - that would withstand all the humidity! 
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That you could!
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Here is my Salavatski by the curb. It is probably 8 feet tall now and a sprawling menace to all who date to pass on the sidewalk.
Here are the two fruits that formed late in the season and are still very clean, but probably won’t have time to ripen. I actually see a spot of the mold/rot starting on the blossom end of the small one.
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I believe the most common rot on pomegranate is caused by;
Colletotrichum gloeosporioides: An Anthracnose
So can google ; " Pomagranate Anthracnose "
It has hundreds ( or more )host plants .
Is both saprophytic and parasitic .
Over winters on leafs and stems , and as a saprophyte on organic material.
So it’s about everywhere.!
Needs 68-86degrees F. And free water for spore germination.
on Poms it infects the leafs , stems , flowers ,and fruit.
Early season sprays , would be important . To prevent spread to the fruit.
Bagging may eliminate most of the free water on the fruit.
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Let’s do it! 
I bet that seedlings from the more rot resistant varieties could create a variety really resistant to rot.
We can dream right?!
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Thank you for this information. What do they mean by ‘free water’?
Moisture left on fruit? Condensation? I would be afraid to bag fruit . . . that it might trap the moisture instead of keeping it off. But, It is worth a try - at least while I have so few to bag! It’s not as though my tree sets dozens and dozens of fruit! And the young ones have not started producing at all. I also have never tried Surround. That sounds like a must - for the peaches and plums I am trying to grow. And Immunox.
I try to stay away from the ugly chemicals . . . but it’s just about impossible to get anywhere, with fruit, here in VA - without spray of some kind.
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I decided that I’m going to Take My Chances - and put a Wonderful out in the field, today. It is pretty big - and in a large fabric pot. I don’t want to have to winter it in the garage - or bring it in the house. So - I’m going to try planting in the fall. Maybe we will have a mild winter again this year . . . and it will use the time to develop its root system, in time to ‘take off’ in the spring.
I have so many pomegranate plants. And 2 still in pots - that will be ready to plant in the spring. So, I’m going to ‘experiment’ with this Wonderful, that I picked up at Lowe’s last spring.
I apologize for the background jumble in these photos. There seems to be no perfect way to photograph these pots, where they are, in the garden. (and don’t look at the weeds) !
Lowe’s Wonderful. (I hope it was tagged correctly!)
And this is a Grenada - doing very well.
I am proud of this one! I started it from a cutting in 2017.
And a Faye’s Paintbrush that Alan started.
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@PomGranny
( “what do they mean by free water ?” )
I believe this would refer to a water drop on say a leaf, from rain or dew, just enough to cover leaf and fugal spore, so not much .above 95% humidity is about the same.
Most fungal pathogens require a certain time/ temperature with free water for infection
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It looks like I had enough time to get one more Salavatski pom. This is one that formed late and since we had such a dry summer seemed to escape the dreaded rot. I had been keeping an eye on it and then we suddenly went from no rain to a few good ones and it split all the way around the middle. I brought it in and cracked it open. Delicious!
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I’ve never tasted a Salavatski. Or any of the many that I am growing! It’s going to be so exciting if (when) we actually get some fruit. Sigh. Maybe . . . next year!
Wonderful and Granada are the only home-grown ones that I’ve ever eaten.
I keep forgetting that the Salavatski has a green skin. Yours looks great!
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I think they are usually a little redder than this one, but the split made me need to pick it a tad early and I think it just has been cooler and clouder when this one ripened. But they are definitely a big green still when they’re ripe. At least my tree is.
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‘Salavatski’ is said to have red skin when ripe, yet they technically very in color from fruit to fruit, you could have red, green, and yellow skinned pomegranates from the same tree, that you picked on the same day, and all be fully ripe.
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I was wondering , can lime sulfur be used as a dormant spray on pomegranate? I see that copper has not netted good results.
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I’m so glad you asked! 
It prompted me to go out and take some photos of the pomegranates in bloom. So many are in bloom . . . or just forming little buds. I sure hope that I get some fruit this year! It looks hopeful!
A few of the ‘warm weather’ varieties are not doing so well. Purple Heart. Ambrosia. Eversweet. Austin. A couple of others. Branches appear to be getting hit by drops in temps - and shriveling. New growth, especially. Not unusual I would guess.
But Salavatski. Afganski. Lyubimy. Nikitski Ranni. Bala Miursal. Hotuni Zigar. Kaj Ack Anor . . . . all thriving so far!
The newest ones to the orchard . . . Sweet. Kazake. Suhr Anor. Sirenevyi. Sumbar . . . . all doing well. Rather puny at this stage of the game. They were just planted a few weeks ago.
The ‘Queen’ - my older Granada - is holding court in my landscaping. And she is very regal. Loaded with blossoms. I am going to try to pollinate that one by hand and see if I can’t boost production! Here are pics. The close-ups of the blossoms are magnificent! Not bad for an iPhone in the wind! - Karen
I’m not sure ‘who is who’ , unless their tags are showing. But these are shots from out in the orchard. I am very excited to see all of these blooms!!!
![Granada%20Blossoms%20after%20Rain|690x920]
(upload://4Mc3oF97TyWsxWiIMTgxQv63zpA.jpeg)
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Beautiful blooms! You’ve got quite the pom orchard going. How old are they when they start blooming for you? I planted a Crimson Sky pom last year just for fun. It grew to 5 feet tall and survived the winter. There are plenty of new shoots but I don’t notice any flower buds.
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