Pomegranate: when and how to prune

Pomegranate: when to prune it?

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In March, before it comes into leaf. It needs only light pruning.

What else to prune in those months? March

Pomegranate: how to prune it?

1. Cut dead and frosted branches back to healthy wood.
2. Remove crossing and inward-growing branches to let light into the shrub.
3. Keep the short side shoots: that is where the flowers and fruits form.
4. Remove suckers at the base to keep a neat shape.

How much to cut, and how often?

• One pruning period a year: March.
• Prune in moderation: never remove more than about a third of the shrub at once.

What does it mean for wildlife?

• Pruning in March can fall in the nesting season (15 March–15 August). Check carefully for nesting birds first: disturbing an active nest is against the law.
• Prunings can go on a dead hedge or brash pile in a corner of the garden: shelter for hedgehogs, wrens and insects.

Common mistakes

• Clipping without first checking for nesting birds.
• Leaving a stub or sawing flush with the trunk: cut just outside the branch collar.

Nearby: related pruning guides

• Alder buckthorn
• Blackberry
• Blueberry
• Bush rose
• Butterfly bush
• Californian lilac

Plant profile: Pomegranate · Pruning calendar and basic rules