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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > OT: anybody trained a pomegranate as a tree?
 
 


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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
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!
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Wekadog

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
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.
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Blake

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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Thanks, Blake!
Do you have a photo of your tree by any chance?
How tall do the trees get compared to a bush?
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Wekadog

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
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.
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Blake

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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
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.
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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Wow! Those look beautiful ! I hope mine looks like that in 5-7 years.

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AltadenaMara

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
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. 
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Love that picture.
Here's my second year Parfienka. I'm a long way to go before making it look like that.

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jpeg image.jpeg (961.21 KB, 41 views)


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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Sas,
Mine is almost the same size. People say it is a good variety , I hope to verify the claim one day.
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
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.

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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
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.
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Figfinatic

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
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.
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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
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
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chadspur

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Would love to grow a Parfianka Pom. Did you find yours online? I haven't been able to locate one.
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AltadenaMara

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 

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/


 
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rayrose

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
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.
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JLee

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
Here is a good video on pruning and training pomegranates.
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Nixgardens

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
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.

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jpeg #07-2015-Sml.jpg (977.40 KB, 29 views)


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Nick

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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nixgardens
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.


Hi Nick,

Do happen to know the type of pomegranate tree you have in the picture?  I propagated one off my aunt's tree using air layer.  Her looks just like yours but she doesn't know what variety it is so hoping you do.  

Thanks.
-Kevin
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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
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?
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MStanleyross

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
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..
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chadspur

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MStanleyross
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..


I just added one to my collection(right side). Certain varieties are more suited for container growing. Mine is Red Silk.

[wuvPn1W]
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MStanleyross

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Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Nice collection.  Thanks for sharing, I'll try it.
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Nixgardens

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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevint8


Hi Nick,

Do happen to know the type of pomegranate tree you have in the picture?  I propagated one off my aunt's tree using air layer.  Her looks just like yours but she doesn't know what variety it is so hoping you do.  

Thanks.
-Kevin



Hi Kevin,

Unfortunately I don't know the name of this variety. I got the cuttings from a relative years ago without inquiring about the variety. All I know is that it is the sweetest pomegranate I've ever tasted.
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Nick
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Posted Reply with quote  #25 
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenfig
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?


Parrots and squirrels are constant problems to most of my fruits the least of which are my poms. You will lose a few here and there during the season but having a huge tree with a lot of poms on it has its advantages!
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AltadenaMara

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Posted Reply with quote  #26 
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenfig
Do your squirrels and parrots are attracted to the ripe poms?

One of my pomegranate trees produced five or six large fruit last year and none of the critters here showed any interest in them even when the fruit split open with age. I kept waiting for the fruit to turn red and sweet. It didn't. Perhaps it was the Garnet Sash variety. I could see why no one liked it.

Thanks for the links to the YouTube videos. It makes me want to give Parfianka a try now that it's available.  
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greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #27 
Mara,

Thanks for sharing.
We can compare the fruit later on to see they are the same.
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adoresfigs45

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Posted Reply with quote  #28 
my 4 pomegranites have never given me a cotton pickin thing    not even a blossom    Is it because I am outside of Tampa   wrong climate    don't know what to do    
AltadenaMara

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Posted Reply with quote  #29 
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenfig
Mara, Thanks for sharing. We can compare the fruit later on to see they are the same.

Thank you for offering to compare fruit. With all the mis-labeling going on, it's hard to tell what fruit tree one has, even with the labels. All three of my poms are blooming, including the new Parfianka from Sego Nursery, so hopefully there will be more fruit this year. 
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AltadenaMara

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Posted Reply with quote  #30 
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenfig
Mara, Thanks for sharing. We can compare the fruit later on to see they are the same.

Thank you for offering to compare fruit. With all the mis-labeling going on, it's hard to tell what fruit tree one has, even with the labels. All three of my poms are blooming, including the new Parfianka from Sego Nursery, so hopefully there will be more fruit this year. 
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Shanejennings

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Posted Reply with quote  #31 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nixgardens
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.


Would it be possible for me to get some cuttings from your tree this dormant season? I will gladly pay for shipping plus a little extra for your time. I have eaten an Azadi pomegranate which is very sweet at a pomegranate taste test. Very sweet & good. i love very sweet varieties.. Your pomegranate kinda looks like Mollar De Elche from Spain, but good chance it might be an heirloom pomegranate variety. Are the seeds hard or soft?
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