They are slowly starting to ripen on the tree!
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| This Russian Red pomegranate is currently the size of a baseball. |
I can't overstate how easy it is to grow and maintain a pomegranate tree. My tree is a multi-stemmed shrub and is appx. 8 feet tall. It isn't bothered by pests, drought, or frost. It self-pollinates and has beautiful blooms. It grows well in an organic garden/orchard. And best of all it produces loads of fruit. The only problem I've had with this tree was easily fixed. Hurricane Irene dumped loads of rain in Newport News and saturated the ground. The tree started to lean badly to one side under the weight of the growing fruit. After the storm passed and the ground dried, I tied the tree upright two metal stakes. The tree is now happy, vertical, and, believe it or not, blooming again. I'm not sure if that's normal for this time of year.
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| Recently pollinated (left) and unopened (right) pomegranate flowers and buds. |
I saw these growing and thriving in Colonial Williamsburg when I was younger. Since Williamsburg is typically cooler in the winter AND hotter in the summer than Newport News, I figured I'd try my luck at growing a pomegranate tree. I'm very happy that I did.
8 comments:
It sounds like the tree is really thriving for you, the fruit looks wonderful.
I was up at Edible Landscaping in Afton, VA recently and they said their Russian pomegranates have suffered a lot of damage from brown marmorated stink bugs. Have you seen any damage? We had them in the house really bad last year but I haven't seen them in the garden this summer. Another garden blogger I follow in SW VA has been battling them. I'm theorizing that the heat drove them up to the mountains this summer? (I'm in Richmond.) I wanted a pomegranate tree, the little ones are so pretty, but I was hesitant to buy one if it was going to have pest problems.
Brandie, my parents live a few miles away from Edible Landscaping. I visited their house a few times this spring and summer, and the stinkbugs were everywhere! Outside AND inside. So I can imagine they did some serious damage at Edible. I only saw a few this year in my garden, and most were interested in my tomatoes. Sounds like I dodged a bullet with the pomegranate. If you are really interested in a pomegranate, then you should try growing one. They take a few years to produce fruit, and I haven't had problems with this tree (purchased from Edible and grown in a pot for a years when I lived in Williamsburg, VA and now in the ground in Newport News). You are welcome to visit my garden if you are ever in the Newport News area to get a feel for its size and growth habit.
I love pomegranates. I just bought a couple of young trees at a garden center here in town that I can plant on our farm when we get it up and running. I hope we have as much luck as you. The variety I bought is supposedly the best for our zone down here. Fingers crossed! Love your blog by the way, very inspiring.
First man, good luck with your new farm and acreage! I'm very jealous of the possibilities on the horizon for you. Looking forward to reading about your adventures in Houston.
Thanks for putting your blog link for me on the Garden Web Fig Forum! I live in Mathews and get to Newport News a couple of times per month. Enjoying your blog a lot. Interesting that pomegranates can grow here--is there somewhere around the Middle Peninsula to purchase them? Great blog, enjoying it!
Snowtography, thanks for visiting my blog. I'm not overly familiar with the nurseries and garden centers on the Middle Peninsula. I do know that both Anderson's and McDonalds in Newport News both carry pomegranates. I would recommend calling your local garden centers. Now is a great time to plant fruiting trees and shrubs. I just planted a few blueberry bushes 2 weeks ago.
I visited Rome in the summer of 2011 and saw many pomegranates growing there. While there, I ordered a Russian pomegranate from Edible Landscaping. I live in Oregon. When I received the plant it lost most of its leaves. I set it up my garage and kept it free from freezing temperatures. I planted it in the yard this spring and it produced many flowers, however, the early fruit all fell off. I'm not worried about that, just that it lives through the winter.
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