Pomegranate growing

 Pomegranate

By Kim Willis

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Pomegranate flower

For those who like unusual plants to grow inside or plants that can give you fruit, you may want to try growing a pomegranate. They are easy to grow as a tub plant or outside in warmer zones. And besides fruit they have pretty deep orange-red flowers.

You could go to the grocery and buy a pomegranate and extract seeds to plant. The juicy part of the seed covering is rubbed off before planting.  However, like apples pomegranates don’t come true from seed.  If you are looking for a houseplant or are just curious and not looking for superior fruit qualities, you can grow them from seed.  Sow seed anytime indoors.

Most gardeners will want to start with a small plant.  Pomegranates are easily started from cuttings in late winter and early spring and most nursery plants are started this way, so you know what you are getting.  Plants are inexpensive and grow quickly. If planting outside space plants about 18 feet apart. 

The favorite variety for fruit production is ‘Wonderful’ but there are many cultivars.  Other varieties/cultivars include; ‘Granada’, ‘Foothill’, ‘Parfianka’, ‘Kashmir Blend’, ‘Pink Satin’, ‘Sharp Velvet’, ‘Ambrosia’, and ‘Angel Red’. Read the cultivar description to see the fruit color, hardiness, size and other traits.

If you intend to grow the plant indoors, I suggest one of the smaller cultivars such as ‘Purple Sunset’.  Start small plants in small pots, move the size up each year until you are eventually in about a 5 gallon pot for a mature indoor plant.  You can prune the plant in the winter months to keep it well shaped and in bounds.

Pomegranates prefer hot, dry conditions and hot humid summers may not see them grow as well. While they like well drained soils, or a fast draining potting mix and to dry out between watering, they must have regular watering to produce good flowering and fruit. When plants get dry, give them a good soaking, then let them dry out again.

Pomegranates need full sun, indoors you may need to have supplemental grow lights if you don’t have a good southern window for them.  They may bloom in partial shade outdoors but rarely set fruit under less than full sun.

Pomegranates prefer a slightly acidic to neutral soil pH. Have your soil tested. If your soil is on the alkaline side, you may want to add some acidic fertilizer. You can use a citrus fertilizer or other fertilizer for acid loving fruiting plants like blueberries.  Indoors the occasional use of some acidic fertilizer can keep the plant growing well.  Pomegranates do not need heavy fertilization indoors or out.  Fertilization is best done in spring as the plants are flowering and setting fruit and avoided during fall and winter.

Most home-grown pomegranates do not have much trouble with pest or disease problems.  Larger orchards may have some insect pets, depending on the location and if you are near them you too may have problems.  Contact your local Extension office if you live in an area where pomegranates are grown commercially to get an idea of what pests to look for.  Deer will eat pomegranate trees so protect them, especially when young.

Indoors pomegranates may experience the same problems as other house plants.  Dry conditions may bring spider mites.  Scale sometimes occurs but rarely does much damage.  Aphids become a problem in some places.  Treat the pomegranates for these pests just as you would other houseplants.  If you do have fruit on the plant make sure any pesticides you use are for food bearing plants and follow label directions.

Pomegranates may begin blooming in the third year.  They may not set fruit that year or if they do, the fruit may fall off before maturing. The following year will give better fruit set.  Indoors you will rarely get good fruit outside of a greenhouse situation.  But the flowers are still pretty and the plant attractive.

Fruits get larger, firmer and change color as they ripen and are generally ripe in early fall. Pomegranates need long growing seasons with temperatures above 80 degrees for 120 days for best fruiting.  Like many fruits it can be a challenge to know when the pomegranate fruit is ripe, but they will not ripen after picking.  Leaving the fruit on the tree too long may result in it splitting.  They may also split after a heavy rain or too much water from irrigation.

Fruits should be clipped rather than pulled from the tree.  They will store in a cool place for a couple months.  To harvest the juicy seeds inside without getting juice everywhere, (and it stains), try this.  Score the outside of the fruit in several places.  Then fill a pail or large pan with clean water and holding the pomegranate underwater, pull off the outer skin and dislodge the seeds with your fingers.  They will fall to the bottom and the debris will float.  Skim off the debris and then pour the water through a sieve or colander to harvest the seeds.

Culinary and medicinal uses of pomegranate.

Since this is a well-known health food I won’t go into too much detail here.  Pomegranate can be eaten raw, by sucking the fleshy juicy part off the seeds and spitting them out.  If the fruit has softer seeds they can be swallowed without problems.  Pomegranate seeds are often added to salads.  You can juice the seeds; pomegranate juice is sold in most stores now and its good for you in moderate quantities, but not a miracle worker.

The rich red pomegranate juice is full of good antioxidants.  They are said to be beneficial in arthritis relief, heart disease prevention, cancer prevention, for digestive problems, and prevention of dementia. They are a tasty source of vitamin C.  Some of the medical claims have some research backed evidence they work others do not.  The juice does lower blood cholesterol, blood pressure and reduce inflammation and has some heart healthy benefits. 

Pomegranate was once used to treat diabetes but there isn’t any research that proves that it improves insulin sensitivity. Dried pomegranate flowers were once used for bronchitis, no research proves this works. The dried powdered seeds were once used to treat syphilis, again no proof.

In fact, most herbal remedies suggested for pomegranate, and there are many, have no research-based proof of effectiveness.  But there is little harm in consuming the fruit or juice other than getting a good case of diarrhea from overindulging, except for these cautions below. 

The juice does lower the blood pressure in many people and if you have low blood pressure or are taking medicine to lower it, you should avoid pomegranate.  For this reason, everyone should avoid pomegranate for a few days before any surgery.  Some people may also be allergic to pomegranate.  Also talk to your doctor if you take medications that are broken down by the liver such as Rosuvastatin (Crestor).  There is some indication pomegranate may interfere with these medications.