I got a Parfianka pomegranate tree (a bush, actually) last weekend. It is still in a 3 gal pot but I have a spot for it in the ground.
I see them growing around as bushes. Over time, they become dense and thick with suckers.
How easy is to train a pomergranate as a tree? How easy is to maintain it as such ? Does Parfianka sucker much? How heavy can I trim it for a decent harvest?
Thanks!

I have a "Wonderful" pomegranate, three years old and with a single main trunk 7 ft high. The first year in the ground, the main trunk didn't seem to grow, so I allowed the new branches to do their thing. In retrospect, I think allowing all that bushiness just sapped the growth potential from the main trunk. I cut them all off, and the main trunk doubled in height in one year.

Just spend 10 minutes each spring cutting off the branches you don't want. That's all there is to it.

Thanks, Blake!
Do you have a photo of your tree by any chance?
How tall do the trees get compared to a bush?

I don't have any photos, but I can say mine will need another year or two before it begins to look like a tree rather than a whip.

When I see feral pomegranates growing in the Las Padres forest, they're usually 6 - 8 ft tall.  That's without any water, pruning or any other care. In well tended gardens they easily reach 15 ft in southern California.

Alan,

We get winds every year but at the location I want to plant the tree, they will not too strong. They spot is semi protected by the larger trees and structures.
Although the Santa Ana can get really nasty.

Thanks, Blake. I will keep that in mind . It seems the pruning should be done mid summer, if the fruits appear on the last year brunches.

Wow! Those look beautiful ! I hope mine looks like that in 5-7 years.

My next door neighbor had a large pomegranate tree that looked similar in shape and size to a mature apricot tree. Her son replaced it with a swimming pool and lots of cement after she died. 

Love that picture.
Here's my second year Parfienka. I'm a long way to go before making it look like that.

Sas,
Mine is almost the same size. People say it is a good variety , I hope to verify the claim one day.

I've got mine not far from where you are. I decided to get it after seeing the Dave Wilson video.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLqaBbLjfUqFsyTRriSa55-vFSwcKoodHy&v=hb5_2wCGA2E

If I decide to move, I might have to dig it up.LOL
I must add that for the first time last year, I really enjoyed some pomegranate of the wonderful variety from CA and I'm hooked on this fruit now.

Yeah, I've seen that video . The Parfianka pom really stood out.
I got mine at a Huntington Library yearly plant sale, it is not from Dave Wilson but I am sure is a real one.
They had enough pots of different plants to easily cover 2 football fields.

Very easy to train pomegranate. They take pruning very well. I didn't get around to trimming mine this year so they are 20 ft tall, but I had trimmed them to about 5 ft tall last Spring. I have Wonderful, Pink sweet and Eversweet. I've hardly been able to eat any of the fruit because I have these darn bugs that literally pierce into the fruit and suck the juices out. Even after putting mesh protection, they go right through the mesh.

Geez.. Do you know what are they called? I will check if they are around, maybe not worth planting it...
Although I have seen many trees in the neighborhood with nice full poms in the Fall

Would love to grow a Parfianka Pom. Did you find yours online? I haven't been able to locate one.

I bought a Garnet Sash pomegranate a few years ago because information floating around the Internet said it was Parfianka renamed. Turned out it wasn’t. The fruit doesn’t even turn completely red when ripe and the flavor tastes about the same as store bought. It's beautiful in bloom now with brilliant orange flowers. Ed Laivo of Dave Wilson Nursery says it can be good, so perhaps it just needs time. I lost the tag on my other pomegranate tree, forget what it is. Both are bushes in fifteen gallon pots.  
Garnet Sash/Parfianka Mix Up: http://www.bobdunn.com/dunnbob/wordpress/2011/02/goodby-to-the-pomegranates/


 

Instead of mesh, try growing the fruit inside a zip lock sandwich bag. I grow
apples that way and the bugs can't get to them.

Here is a good video on pruning and training pomegranates.

Hello greenfig,

In answer to your question about training a pomegranate plant as a tree, I attached a current picture of my 25 year young tree, that is well over 15' tall with a spread of 15' or so.
The ladder underneath is a 6' ladder!
The maintenance of the tree is much easier than the bush and pleasing to the eye! All you need to do is prune it once a year around December, here in Burbank, CA.

Thanks, Nick!
I am glad I asked this question and got so many good answers.
I will try to train it as a tree.

Do your squirrels and parrots are attracted to the ripe poms?

Will they fruit if grown in a pot?  I just got a Wonderful and debating about planting in ground or in a pot in zone 7a..Tennessee, any suggestions appreciated. Thanks..

Nice collection.  Thanks for sharing, I'll try it.