Pomegranate

Pomegranate: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Deciduous, densely branched shrub or small tree, here usually 2–3 m tall and wide; 1–2 m in a pot. Twigs sometimes slightly thorny.

Leaves

Narrow, oblong and glossy, 3–7 cm; bronze-red when young, bright green in summer, yellow in autumn.

Flower

Funnel- or bell-shaped, 3–5 cm, with crumpled orange-red petals and a firm red calyx; from June to August.

Fruit

Round, 6–12 cm, with a leathery yellow-red skin and a little crown formed by the calyx. Inside are hundreds of seeds, each in a juicy red coating.

Roots

Readily produces suckers at the base, which can be removed.

Flowering: June–August · Harvest and fruit: October–November · Plants: April–May · Pruning: March

Why grow it?

• Beautiful orange-red flowers in midsummer, one after another for weeks.
• Glossy leaves, bronze when young and butter yellow in autumn.
• After a warm summer: your own pomegranates, with their juicy ruby-red seeds.
• Drought tolerant once established and suited to a warm, sunny spot.
• Also does well in a large pot on a sunny patio.

Pomegranate: where does it grow best?

• Full sun and as warm as possible: in front of a south-facing wall, in a courtyard or in a greenhouse.
• Free-draining sandy, loamy or clay soil, acid to chalky; it is not fussy as long as water drains away.
• Normal to dry soil: once established it tolerates drought, but not wet feet in winter.
• Sheltered from cold winds, especially in winter.
• Allow 2–3 m of space, or grow it in a large pot of at least 30 litres.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

3 m tall, 2 m wide

Hardiness

Half hardy (to -12 °C): protect it in harsh winters

Goes well with

• Fig: Another Mediterranean fruit tree for the same warm south-facing wall.
• Olive: Silvery-grey leaves beside the orange-red flowers, with the same needs.
• Lavender: A purple-blue, drought-tolerant underplanting.
• Rock rose: An evergreen shrub for a sunny, dry spot.
• African lily: Blue globes of flowers that contrast beautifully with the orange-red blooms.

Pomegranate: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May.

1. Plant in April or May, so it has a whole summer to root in before winter.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball; open up heavy soil with coarse sand or fine gravel.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as in the pot and firm the soil well.
4. In a pot: choose a pot with a drainage hole and a mix of potting compost with a third sand or fine gravel.
5. Water in well straight away, then regularly in dry spells during the first year.
6. Spread a mulch of gravel or compost around the base.

Care

Water

Regularly in dry spells during the first year. After that, in the ground, only in long droughts; in a pot, regularly in summer. Even watering prevents split fruits.

Feeding

Some compost in April. In a pot, a feed for flowering plants every two weeks from May to August. Not too much nitrogen.

Suckers

Remove shoots from the base in summer, unless you want a multi-stemmed shrub.

Repotting

Every two to three years in spring, into a slightly larger pot.

Harvest

Pick the fruits in October, when the skin is well coloured and the fruit feels heavy for its size. They keep for weeks somewhere cool.

Tip: Plant it against the warmest wall in the garden and water evenly in summer. If you want fruit for certain, grow it in a greenhouse or in a pot on a sunny patio.

Pomegranate: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March.

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

How:

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

Caution: Do not prune too hard: you will get lots of new shoots and few flowers.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Hardwood cuttings

In winter, take 20–25 cm cuttings of one-year-old wood. Insert them two-thirds deep in a pot of sandy compost and keep them cool and frost-free. They sprout in spring.

Semi-ripe cuttings

In July, take 10 cm cuttings in moist cutting compost under plastic. Roots form within a few weeks.

Seed

Clean the seeds from a ripe fruit and sow them indoors in spring at 20 °C. Seedlings do not always resemble the parent.

Pomegranate: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −12 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Hardy to about −12 °C, but only older plants in a sheltered, dry spot. Young plants are more sensitive.
• In the ground: lay a thick mulch over the roots in winter and wrap young plants in fleece during hard frost.
• In a pot: overwinter it cool and frost-free at 0–8 °C, for example in an unheated garage. It is leafless then and can be kept dark; water very little.
• Put potted plants back outside in May, once night frosts are over.

Diseases and pests

• Split fruits: Fruits crack open after heavy rain following drought. Water evenly in summer.
• Fruits not ripening: The summer was too short or too cool. Choose the warmest spot against a south-facing wall, or grow it in a greenhouse.
• Flower drop: Flower buds drop in drought or sudden cold. Water regularly and choose a sheltered spot.
• Aphids: On young shoots in spring. Hose them off; ladybirds do the rest.
• Root rot: A declining plant and yellow leaves in wet soil or a pot without drainage. Ensure good drainage and water less in winter.

Through the year

• January: Potted plants cool and frost-free, almost no water.
• March: Prune. Remove protection in mild weather.
• April: Plant. Repot. Give compost.
• May: Plant. Move potted plants outside. Feed plants in pots.
• June: First flowers. Water evenly.
• July: In flower. Remove suckers. Take cuttings.
• August: Last flowers. Fruits swelling.
• October: Harvest ripe fruits. Yellow autumn colour.
• November: Move potted plants somewhere cool and frost-free. Mulch the roots.
• December: Wrap young plants in hard frost.

Edible and useful

Fruit (October–November)

Here, a pomegranate only ripens after a hot summer, against a south-facing wall, in a pot on a sunny patio or in the greenhouse; after a cool summer the fruits stay small and hard. Pick them in October, in November at the latest before the frosts, when the skin is well coloured and the fruit feels heavy: once picked, they do not ripen any further. What you eat are the arils: seeds wrapped in a juicy red coat, fresh and sweet-sour. Cut the fruit into quarters and break the pieces open in a bowl of water: the arils sink and the white pith floats. Scatter them over salads, couscous, yoghurt or hummus, or press them for juice. The small fruits of the dwarf form ‘Nana’ are sour: more ornamental than worth harvesting.

Storing

Whole fruits keep for weeks in a cool, airy place or in the fridge; the skin dries out a little, but the arils stay juicy. Loose arils keep for four to five days in a box in the fridge, or freeze them spread out on a plate and then bag them: that way they keep for a few months.

Caution: The juice leaves stubborn stains on clothes, wooden boards and your hands: take the arils out under water and wear an apron. Only eat the arils: the leathery skin, white pith and bark are bitter and not for eating. Here you only get ripe fruit after a warm summer or in a greenhouse. A plant in a pot overwinters somewhere cool and frost-free.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Bulgur salad with pomegranate and mint (Dish · 4 people · 30 min)
• Pomegranate molasses (Syrup · ± 125 ml · 1 hr 15 min)

Did you know?

• Each little jewel is a seed with a juicy red coating; a single fruit can hold hundreds of them.
• The pomegranate appears on the coat of arms of the Spanish city of Granada.
• The word grenade comes from the French for pomegranate: the weapon was named after the fruit packed with ‘grains’.