How to grow & care for pomegranate?

The pomegranate is an ancient fruit and native to Persia, now known as Iran. Punica granatum is called pomegranate. Pomegranate trees produce delicious fruit in the season. The tree usually takes between three to six years to mature enough to bear their signature red. Leathery fruit filled with sweet, edible seeds. It can range from a dwarf shrub of 3 feet to a tree of 30 feet. Pomegranate fruits form at the base of flowers and ripen in autumn season.

How to Grow Pomegranate

Grow in a sunny, sheltered spot in fertile but well-drained or alkaline soil or in a large greenhouse or polytunnel for a reliable chance of fruit. Dig a square hole, no deeper but slightly wider than the depth of pot and fork the sides to ensure roots can penetrate them. Plant the pomegranate plants in the soil. Prune only for removing dead or damaged material and mulch annually with well-rotted manure or compost.

For pot planting, choose dwarf or grafted pomegranates. Fill your pot with a premium potting mix such as Scotts Osmocote® Citrus & Fruit Potting Mix before planting your bare-rooted or potted pomegranate tree. Firm down the soil around the newly planted tree in the pot and water it. Mulch the top of the soil in the pot to retain moisture and ensure the pot, which can be easily watered during the summer months.

Care

Pomegranates are hungry trees, so mulch annually with well-rotted manure or compost to maintain the soil nutrient levels. If you are growing in pots, scrape away as much of the top layer of compost from the pot as possible, and replace with fresh, peat-free, loam-based compost. If you do prune to maintain a particular shape, remember that pomegranates fruit on old wood, so avoid removing too much leaves or stem.

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