Yes. That is where the fungus starts. In the blossom.
The earlier we start spraying - the better chance we’ll have to ‘nip it in the bud’! I have started spraying the buds, as they form - and will continue. But - as I said before - this is an ongoing task. Pomegranates continue to bud throughout the entire summer! I have 28 trees. It’s endless!
I started pulling buds off after a certain point in the summer, when I decide that they won’t have enough time to mature into fruit before the cold weather comes. (or when I get sick of spraying!) The buds/flowers are beautiful . . . but they are little pomegranate petri dishes, as far as I’m concerned!
You can try copper. I do one or two dormant sprays with that. - But that becomes a problem, building up in the soil I’m told - after awhile.
And - in my experience - if you live in a damp climate . . . Copper just doesn’t do it.
I was excited to see my poms grow but they were really late to bud out. I thought for sure they died over the winter but a scratch test and bend test indicated life. No harm in leaving the corpses a bit longer if they didn’t make it. Just checked them again and wouldn’t you know it, they are finally budding. On a less positive note they now have horrible bark slippage which makes me think it’s time to pull them in favor of something less exotic. At least my potted Wonderful pom seems happy.
They are actually one of the earliest to leaf out in Mediterranean climate like here in California. Starting the 2nd week of January. Mine already has dozens of golf ball sized fruits.
They are certainly sick here in south eastern NJ. Probably the high humidity. I’ll pull the cultivar names from my records in case it will help anyone else.
The three cultivars are Russian, Kazake, and Surh Anor.
Mine are still struggling to bud out, too. Some of them. And others are really ‘goin to it’!
We got a late cold blast - and it got some of the new growth. Set them back some. And a couple seem to have given up the ghost.
I would suggest you might try a Salavatski, an Afganski, and I suggested to someone else this morning . . . to try Grenada. I am south of you - in VA . . . but we get quite a bit of cold that does not seem to get to Grenada. That is by far - my overall best pomegranate. My Kazake has quite a few buds on it this year - and it’s young - so the jury is still out, for me, on that one. ‘Russian’ is a Salavatski, I believe. So - guess you already have that one. - Pom
Zone 6 here… 20 miles north of zone 7 now. I got a dozen or more ‘cold-hardy’ pom cuttings from NCGR at least 20 yrs ago, rooted them, and lined them out in a row in the orchard. No protection whatsoever. Most died within just a few years. Two have hung in there; kill back to the ground most winters and resprout from the roots, occasionally retaining some top growth for a year or two before getting knocked back. Lost IDs, but I’d figured the survivors were Kazake or Salavatski. Dug and potted them up this spring… one still had its NCGR label tape, buried at its base… Kaj Acik Anor; don’t know what the second one is, but it might also be KAA, as they were planted adjacent to one another.
I’m probably sending these south to my BIL in Alabama; think I’ve abandoned dreams of success of fruiting them in-ground here without extraordinary measures.
I’d love to try your KAA Pom, if you haven’t sent it yet to BIL. I’m in the Philly Western Suburbs, are you near here too?
I’m in Alabama and also would like to give it a shot. I have 6 other cuttings growing so far.
I’m in KY. At present, no cuttings to share, as it’s only 2-3" tender shoots emerging from the root crown.
How are your Parfianka and Sirenevyi doing? I’m interested in these varieties because I greatly prefer soft seeds, and those two are supposedly more cold hardy than some other soft seed varieties. I’m in 7A.
Hi,
My Pomegranates were way too small when I planted them so now they are just starting to put some size on them. As far for fruits, I haven’t been able to sample them yet due to they keep dropping them right when they’re flowering, some of them when they already develop but way too small. Besides that the plants are doing really good.
Sorry I couldn’t help you more.
Parfianka and Sirenevyi do seem to be more cold hardy than many soft seed varieties. Therefore they will sometimes survive in the warmer parts of zone 8.
They usually die their first winter in zone 7.
What if I grow them in a container for the first 2 years and then once they are acclimated plant them outside on a south facing wall? And mulch for winter. I live on the top of a hill, I think the cold air should move quickly down the hill. But it is humid. It sounds like frequent spraying will be needed to prevent fungi.
They do not acclimate. They just grow larger which helps them to survive when some branches are frozen.
Hello all
Has anyone had try before pomegranate variety Ambrosia , Sverkranniy or Medovyi Vasha ?
I have no experience with cold hardy soft seeded pomegranates, yet my notes say that the following are cold hardy soft seeded varieties, which I can see you did not mention them, they are in order by approximate cold hardiness, most cold hardy first.
- ‘A. C. Sweet’
- ‘Gissarskii Rozovyi’
- ‘Sumbar’
- ‘Medovyi Vahsha’
I technically ordered cuttings of the following two varieties, they were rooted early this year in NYC, for a special project that I helped to start, it could be 10 years until I find out anything about how they are doing, I will try and remember to update you whenever I find out how they are doing.
‘Sverkhranniy’ and ‘Medovyi Vahsha’
I ordered a Sverkranniy plant from OGW in November. It was under my grow light for a month and now it’s in a South facing window. Very pretty plant. I’ll know next Spring how it likes the outdoors in SE PA.
Karen been following your pom saga over the years. I have a bunch going into the ground in 8A here in Texas. It does get cold enough, albeit briefly, to kill them so will be protected on those few days. However I need a nice looking tree for my front yard and would like an edible one that can take the Texas heat and I think a pomegranate fits the bill. This one I will prune to a tree form. So my question for you is which of your varieties survived the cold the best, and survived late freezes the best? Looking for real life experience here on the cold hardiness. I can protect it in its first few years but when it gets bigger I won’t at this spot. We don’t get to zero here typically but can get a day or two at 8-10F in winter. Any advice?
Hi Darby.
We get a few days like that. And the only one that I would steer clear of is Wonderful.
And, of course all of the warm-weather varieties.
I always do best with Grenada. I’ve had lots of varieties - and Grenada always sets lots of fruit - and I have never lost one yet. There are others that ‘supposedly’ withstand cold - but I’ve never gotten very much fruit from them. Like Afganski and Salavatski.
Others may have had better luck. Hotuni Zigar - another good one, but same low fruit set.
And of course . . . . ALL OF THEM get that fungal problem. I’m pretty much giving up on trying to solve it. It’s just too humid here for them, I believe.
- Karen