Pomegranate: how to plant and grow in the country

You can grow pomegranates in your own summer cottage, and you won’t have to make special efforts for this. Pomegranate requires normal care, although there are some fundamental rules regarding its cultivation.

Where is pomegranate grown

Pomegranate is a very ancient plant, the cultivation of which began in time immemorial. Initially, the pomegranate grew in the territory of Central Asia, Turkey, Transcaucasia and Iran. However, then it spread throughout the Mediterranean countries, came to North Africa and Southern Europe, and as a result, it currently grows in almost all countries with a tropical and subtropical climate.

In Our Country, pomegranates can be found mainly in the southern regions – in the Crimea and the Sea of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbAzov, in the Krasnodar Territory and warm places in the North Caucasus. Sometimes you can meet a plant in the middle lane, but such plantings are extremely few. The fact is that pomegranate is very thermophilic, and planting and caring for pomegranate in the open field in regions with frosty winters is simply impossible.

Winter hardiness of pomegranate

For a heat-loving plant that feels most comfortable in the subtropics, pomegranate is quite resistant to cold, it can tolerate short frosts down to -15 ° C. But, unfortunately, this does not make it truly winter-hardy, and the frost resistance of the pomegranate remains very low. Not a single variety is able to safely endure a long cold winter.

Already at -18 ° C, the plant begins to freeze, the entire aerial part of the pomegranate dies down to the root collar. If the temperature drops even lower, the pomegranate root system also dies. The ideal temperature for a pomegranate in winter is not lower than -15 ° C, in such conditions it feels comfortable.

Conditions for growing pomegranate

In general, pomegranate can be considered a rather unpretentious plant, it is not too picky about the quality of the soil, it calmly reacts to a short drought or slight waterlogging. It is easy to create conditions for growth for him – just pick up a site with light neutral soil.

But at the same time, pomegranate makes 2 categorical requirements for growing conditions. He needs light and warmth, with a lack of sun and in a cold climate, the tree will not be able to develop. For outdoor cultivation, it is necessary to plant the pomegranate in a well-lit area of ​​the garden and, which is much more difficult, not to allow the temperature to fall below -15 ° C throughout the year.

When to plant a pomegranate

Heat-loving pomegranate is planted in open ground in spring, usually in late April or early May. By the time of disembarkation, the air should warm up to + 10-14 ° C stably, and daylight hours should increase significantly compared to the winter period.

Where to plant pomegranates on the site

The plant is unpretentious in relation to the soil, but sensitive to the amount of sunlight. Therefore, the cultivation and care of pomegranates should be carried out on the well-lit, warm side of the garden. It is best to place the grenade on a hill, be sure to ensure that the light of the grenade is not covered by taller trees or walls of buildings.

Pomegranate prefers sandy or loamy soil, it should be well-drained, loose and oxygenated, neutral or slightly acidic.

How to plant a pomegranate in open ground

The success of growing pomegranate in open ground largely depends on the literacy of its planting. There are several ways to root a pomegranate tree in the garden.

How to plant a pomegranate seedling

Growing a seedling is the easiest and most convenient way, since such a pomegranate takes root most easily in the ground and quickly begins to bloom and bear fruit.

Preparations for planting a pomegranate in open ground should be started in advance, at least a month in advance. The soil in the selected area is carefully dug up and cleaned of weeds, then humus is added to it in the amount of 5 kg per meter, and then the area is covered with impermeable material so that useful microflora is formed in the ground.

The landing algorithm is as follows:

• in late April or early May, a hole is dug about 80 cm deep and 60 cm in diameter in a prepared area;
• high even pegs are installed in the center of the hole for the subsequent garter garter;
• 10 cm of expanded clay, gravel or broken bricks are laid at the bottom of the pit, earth, fertile soil mixed with humus and sand are poured on top of the hill, while the top of the hill should reach the edge of the hole;
• the seedling is carefully lowered to the top of the earthen hill, the roots are straightened along its sides, and then the pit is covered with earth to the end;
• the seedling is tied to pegs, and then the earth is lightly tamped around the trunk, a low earthen rampart is formed around the circumference, and the plant is watered.

It is impossible to plant a pomegranate in the fall – a young plant that has not had time to take root properly is unlikely to be able to endure even a moderately cold winter.

How to plant pomegranate cuttings

Growing a pomegranate from a cutting is another way to root a pomegranate tree in your area. Cuttings are used less frequently than seedlings, but the method is well suited if you need to increase the pomegranate population from an existing bush.

Before cutting a pomegranate, it is necessary to cut the required number of shoots from the mother bush. It is best to take cuttings from young, but already woody branches, at least 6 buds should remain on each of the cuttings.

• The shoots are usually harvested in the fall, since the pomegranate cuttings must be kept in cool conditions until the spring planting.
• Harvested shoots are wiped with a cloth dipped in a weak solution of copper sulfate, allowed to dry naturally and wrap the ends with a damp cloth. Then the cuttings are placed in a plastic bag and removed until spring on the top shelf of the refrigerator. About once a month, it is recommended to check the shoots and, if necessary, moisten the fabric.
• In early April, the cuttings are taken out of the refrigerator and placed for a month with the lower end in a container half filled with warm water. It is necessary to put the container in a warm, but shaded place, add water as it evaporates.
• In early May, prepared cuttings are planted directly in open ground – the stage of rooting shoots in pots is usually skipped. For planting pomegranate cuttings, it is necessary to choose the time when the return frosts have already ended, and the soil has warmed up to at least + 12 ° C in depth.
• To grow cuttings, a place is selected that meets the basic requirements of a pomegranate for soil and lighting, small holes are dug in the ground – when buried above the ground, only 1 bud of the cutting should remain.
• If several cuttings are planned to be planted at once, then gaps of about 20 cm are left between them, so that subsequently the plants do not interfere with each other’s development.
• The cuttings are lowered into the holes, slightly tilted to the sunny side, and the recess is covered with earth, and then the young plant is spudded up to the remaining bud.

The planted stalk must be carefully watered and subsequently moisten the soil once a week. From time to time, the soil is loosened for better oxygen supply, and top dressing is also applied once a week – first superphosphate, then complex, consisting of potassium, superphosphate and urea.

Rooting cuttings takes about 2 months. After this time, young pomegranates are carefully dug up and assessed for their condition. A well-rooted cutting should reach about half a meter in height, have at least 4 lateral branches and well-developed roots. If the cutting meets these requirements, it can be transferred to a permanent place with similar growing conditions.

How to plant a pomegranate tree from seed

Growing a pomegranate from a seed is rarely practiced for open ground, usually the seedlings are so weak that they simply do not take root in the soil. Therefore, growing with a stone is best done for breeding pomegranates at room conditions, or to transplant the plant into the soil after it has become qualitatively stronger.

For sowing, take a few seeds and place them in small containers with the usual pomegranate soil. The bones are lightly sprinkled with earth, watered, covered with foil and cleaned in a bright place without direct sunlight. Shoots usually appear in 2-3 weeks, after which the film can be removed. Pomegranate seedlings are regularly watered, fed with complex fertilizers every 1,5-2 weeks and periodically transplanted into larger containers.

How to grow a pomegranate in the country

Proper planting is only the first step in growing a pomegranate. To get a strong and fruitful tree, it is necessary to carry out high-quality care for it and grow pomegranates step by step according to proven algorithms.

Watering and top dressing

Pomegranate does not have particularly strict requirements for the amount of moisture and fertilizer. But for the rapid growth of a young tree and subsequent stable yields, it is worth following the basic rules.

Pomegranate is watered about once a week, in the hot dry months – twice or thrice a week. Swamping the soil around the pomegranate should not be, however, the soil should always remain slightly moist. After watering, it is recommended to loosen the soil – this will not allow moisture to stagnate and saturate the soil with oxygen.

As for top dressing, in the first year the pomegranate will have enough fertilizer applied during planting. In the second year of life, it will be necessary to feed the tree again with nitrogenous fertilizers in early spring and complex solutions closer to autumn, before fruiting.

Trimming

Care for pomegranate seedlings and adult plants in the open field necessarily includes pruning. Pomegranate should be formed in the form of a sprawling shrub or tree on a low stem with a large number of lateral branches. A pomegranate seedling is usually cut at a height of about 75 cm along the central shoot, the lowest and weakest branches are removed and about 4-5 developed shoots are left.

In subsequent years, the pomegranate is pruned at the tops of the branches by about a third of the annual growth. Every year it is necessary to carry out sanitary pruning, which consists in removing root shoots, as well as broken, dry and weak shoots.

Protection against diseases and pests

Pomegranate is quite resistant to diseases and pests, but some insects and fungal diseases threaten this plant as well.

• Of the fungi for pomegranate, branch cancer is especially dangerous. The disease manifests itself primarily by cracking the bark, drying out of the shoots and the appearance of ulcers on the branches of the tree with porous growths along the edges. Most often, cancer is provoked by low temperatures in winter, weakening the pomegranate tree. For treatment, the plants carry out a thorough sanitary pruning and treat the sections with fungicidal agents, and subsequently the pomegranate is qualitatively insulated for the period of cold weather.
• Of the pests, the pomegranate aphid poses a threat to the pomegranate, which settles on young shoots and leaves of the plant. You can get rid of it with the help of insecticides, homemade soap and tobacco solutions.
• The pomegranate codling moth can also harm the pomegranate, it lays eggs directly in the calyx of the adult pomegranate fruit or in damaged areas of the peel, and the caterpillars that appear eat the pomegranate fruits from the inside, which leads to rotting of the pomegranates. Pest control is carried out by spraying with insecticides at the stage of fruit set.

For preventive purposes, it is recommended to carefully monitor the condition of the shoots and leaves of the pomegranate and remove all diseased parts in a timely manner. In addition, during the fruiting period, fruits that fall to the ground should be collected and destroyed so that the fruits, when they rot, do not turn into an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and insects.

Preparation for winter

Warming the plant for the winter is the most important step in growing a pomegranate tree. Since at temperatures below -10 ° C, a heat-loving tree begins to freeze, immediately after harvesting it begins to prepare for wintering.

• The lower branches of the pomegranate are tilted close to the ground and tied to pegs so that they do not straighten.
• Leaves and young shoots, important for fruiting, are treated with Bordeaux liquid, and a dense layer of fertile soil is poured around the trunk and the soil is mulched with a layer of up to 15 cm.
• Spruce branches are laid out around the trunk, trying to close the branches of the pomegranate as much as possible.

It is not necessary to remove the winter shelter with the onset of spring, but only after establishing a stable positive temperature. After removing the spruce branches, the pomegranate is carefully treated with fungicides to prevent the development of the fungus on the surface of the tree and in the soil near the trunk.

Features of growing pomegranate in open ground in different regions

Pomegranate cultivation is best done in a subtropical climate in the southernmost regions of the country. However, if proper agricultural practices are followed, pomegranates can also be grown in colder regions, although in this case the pomegranate will require increased attention from the gardener.

Growing pomegranate in the Crimea

Crimea is ideal for growing a pomegranate tree – throughout the year, exactly the kind of weather that a pomegranate prefers is preserved here. Planting and caring for a pomegranate in the Crimea consists in the fact that the pomegranate is watered and fed in a timely manner, as well as regular shaping and sanitary pruning is carried out.

Since the winters in the Crimea are quite warm, before the onset of cold weather, it is enough to carefully cover the pomegranate with spruce branches and mulch the ground around the trunk with a thick layer. This must be done at the end of October, after the end of fruiting.

Growing pomegranate in the Krasnodar Territory

The Krasnodar region is another comfortable zone for grenades in Our Country. As in the Crimea, winters here are mild, so gardeners can only carry out basic pomegranate care – watering, fertilizing and regular pruning.

Since even in warm winters the pomegranate can freeze heavily, it is necessary to cover and carefully mulch the tree before the onset of cold weather. But temperatures up to -10 ° C or -15 ° C, with elementary care, grenades can be transferred calmly.

Growing pomegranate in the suburbs

Pomegranate in central Our Country takes root with great difficulty, since even warm winters in the Moscow region are accompanied by at least a couple of weeks of severe frosts. When the temperature drops below -15 ° C or – 17 ° C, the pomegranate will inevitably freeze, at best above the ground, and at worst – to the very roots.

In isolated cases, gardeners manage to ensure a safe wintering for the grenade by building a real “house” over the plant from materials impervious to snow and wind and covering such a hut with spruce branches and dense snow. However, pomegranates rarely bloom under such conditions, and you can not expect fruiting from them at all. If you want to grow pomegranate specifically to get juicy fruits, you should use a closed heated greenhouse.

Growing pomegranate in Siberia

In the harsh climatic conditions of Siberia, pomegranates do not grow in the open air; there are no such mild winters here that a heat-loving tree can safely endure them. However, even in Siberia, pomegranate trees can be grown in a greenhouse, greenhouse or indoors.

Harvesting

Pomegranate fruiting begins in autumn, and the harvest from it is usually harvested in October. Understanding that the fruits are ripe is quite simple – pomegranates acquire a uniform red or yellowish-pink color, depending on the variety. At this point, they must be removed from the branches, as overripe fruits may crack or fall to the ground and rot.

Pomegranate fruits are stored for quite a long time, and they need to be kept at a temperature of about 2 degrees with good ventilation. You can not leave pomegranates in winter on an open balcony or veranda at low temperatures, this will cause the fruits to rot.

Conclusion

Growing a pomegranate is easy when it comes to planting a plant in a warm subtropical climate. For growing in the middle lane and in the north, pomegranates are poorly suited, however, in a greenhouse, pomegranates can be planted even in Siberia.

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