Sorry to change the subject.Just wondering if anyone can share a little info on the Pomegranate.I was wondering what is the earliest ripening pomegranate out there?I'm in Michigan and would like to challenge growing a pomegranate here.Thanks and God Bless.

See Harvey C at http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/member/harveyc/ He is growing and experimenting with quite a few varieties.

Thank You Jon.

Bass is your source for info on that, to my knowledge. I'm sure there are others that can pipe in with more info. My knowledge would barely fit on their fingernail.

He grows and cultivates many different types. He had a hardy one (cutting) on eBay a ways back. I have enough on my plate with fig cuttings to get into that( maybe next yr). I have two in containers that I'm going to grow for the first time this summer.

There are several types out there. Wonderful is the most common found in supermarkets( Florida find to my knowledge). I have a Russian that is hardy for outside zone 7 or higher but not for my climate (zone 6a).

Look around the internet. You would be amazed at how many different ones there are. I looked around for a while and found a black one from Thailand. There is a white one from the far middle east. From everything I see alot promote germination from seed but like a fig, a cutting is true to form.

Being that now some believe it was a pomegranate and not an apple in the Garden of Eden, the whole concept of  pomegranates has changed here in the states. I have heard of groves of them in the valleys of the vast middle eastern countries ,like we have apple orchards, if not larger.  In the Middle East, Europe and Asia, they are used as a primary fruit.

My family grew them in Southern Italy, Outside Naples and we would eat them after they fell to the ground. As a kid I can remember the taste as if it was yesterday. The tartness was not as apparent as in your store bought as straight fresh from the tree ( as with a fig) is nothing in comparison.
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Dominick
Zone 6A-MA

i got some Salivatsky pomegranates from Bass last summer. (and Parfianka, but i think the former is supposed to be more cold resistant).
Wonder if he has any other suspected cold-hardy varieties this year.

I haven't seen anyone selling Kazake which i'd be interested in trying

Thank you Dominick for your help.I'm looking for the earliest ripening pomegranate.I was wondering are there any that ripen in September?

Here is the site for Bass:

http://www.treesofjoy.com/fruit.htm

Page down to see his varieties of Pomegranate.

Being in PA just North of Philly, his goal is Cold Hardy fruit.

I would also be interested in hardy pomegranate and if anyone knows of a Canadian source or can ship to Canada that would be great.
Can they be grown well in pots ?

Thanks .... John

Don't know of a Canadian source but they can be grown in pots.

I have Wonderful and A Russian variant in pots.

Just treat like figs- pot up when necessary- I'm not sure on feeding requirements- This is my first season. Check out ebay there are several sources as well.
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Dominick
Zone 6a-MA

Robert, I understand that you want a very cold hardy pomegranate and ripen early. Most pomegranate will ripen in October even in California. 

This past summer I got 2 fig trees from this fellow by the name of John who I believe is on Gardenweb. Anyhow he is growing 2 Pomegranates here in Toronto inground with no protection. I was there in July and they were both looking very healthy and in Bloom. He told me he bought them locally just labeled Pomegranate. I too had searched for hardy pomegranates hardy to -20 celcius but found nothing how the heck has his survived our harsh winters? and they have been inground 4 years he told me it was the first year they bloomed.

Nelson, that's a good find. Toronto is a bit similar to my climate or maybe colder with the wind factor. I'm sure he has a micro climate where he has them growing. 

Hey Bass, he was interested in some figs from me and said he would email me in early summer hopefully he kept my email as I have lost his I will ask for cuttings of his pomegranate.

Toronto can get quite cold due to the windchill we get quite a few days in winter of -30 celcius with the windchill good thing is that its not too many days like that. I have 3 pomegrantes not sure what variety it is but they have bloomed 2 times in the last six months but flowers drop right after they bloom, too young maybe?

as for the flower drop, they do produce male flowers and female flowers, so perhaps mostly male flowers. There are pomegranates that were bred for flowers and produce little to no fruit.

Oh I didn't know that will keep a close eye and see if this is the case with my plants. I sure want to sample a fresh pomegranate from my own plants would be nice. Wish they had hardy Loquat's and Guava's love those too.

Good thread Rob!

Just for reference, pomegranates were on the cover of the Jan & Feb 2011 Issue (Vol. 43, No. I) of the CRFG's Fruit Gardener. It included the article "A Passion for Pomegranates" authored by Edgar Valdivia. In it, the author highlights the following varities if you like a sweeter tasting Pom with soft more edible seeds: Azadi, Eversweet, Ganish, Myodovi Vasha, SinPepe, and Vina. I am only familiar with Eversweet. The author also mentions a PomWorldwide Yahoo! Group and some nice photos posted on his website (edvaldivis.com).

Happy Pom-ing,
JD

FYI. I have an in-ground Sweet pomegranate. It flowered last year but dropped the fruit when they were small. Trusting that at least one fruit to ripen this year.

Hey Bass do you know which ones are the varieties ripen August?Thank you everybody for your comments.

I planted an Angel Red Pomegranate this spring. This is uncertain because not many people grow pomegranates here.  The plant should do well but the fruit split may be a problem.   How are the cold hardy types?  Is the fruit taste good?  Are they productive in the ground?  Someone in another forum was growing pomegranates in south Georgia and the plant grew well but it did not produce much fruit.

  Living only a few miles from Encanto Farms Nursery I don't have to worry about the cold hardiness.  I have a Wonderful and a Utah Sweet that had their best crop last year, branches were bent over resting on the ground.  Both are good but mixing the two makes for some great tasting juice and even better wine.  The tartness can be overwhelming in the wine after the yeast does its work so adding a little sugar to smooth it out again without making it sweet helps.

  Jon

I  have 2nd year plants of Salavatski, Kazake, Angel Red still in pots. I am  letting  them size up one more year prior to planting out. I don't think Angel Red is that cold hardy, but Salavatski and Kazake are a couple of the Russian Cultivars that according to Bass, Harvey, and others are pretty cold tolerant.. I am trying to root cuttings from  Al-sirin-nar,  Lyubimyi (aka favorite),  Parfianka (aka Garnett Sash I beleive),  Kara-Kalinskii, and Ink. Lyubimyi is reportedly prety cold tolerant as well. Most of the more cold hardy cultivars seem to be of the harder seed types. I would be intrested if anyone knows of a cold hardy soft seed cultivar

l am thinking about buying RED SILK and try on a pot like figs here in zone 5b







...

Is there a chilling requirement for Pomegranates?

Nelson,
I have been looking at cold hardy varieties for a while, keep us updated if this varieties does well! It would be nice to not have to protect the plant every winter, but that's not a deal breaker for me.
Becky 

Becky, I'm not sure any Pomegranate variety qualifies as cold hardy in Burlington with temps often dropping into the minus teens or lower. I think all varieties there will require winter protection.
Since poms usually require warm summers and don't ripen until September or October you might also consider looking for early ripening varieties. This past year Angel Red ripened for me towards the end of September. I was kind of surprised since it was a first year 5 gallon plant that I picked up in Phoenix last February and place it in the sun room (NH) when I returned in March. It went outdoors in mid May. There's a few good post on the forum if you search for hardy pomegranates that might help.