Pomegranate Trees Are Native To The Mediterranean Countries And Southern Asia

The Pomegranate is a great nutritional and attractive sub-tropical to tropical ornamental tree. It is native to the Mediterranean region, southern Asia, and parts of tropical Africa. This specie grows best in zones nine through eleven in the United States. It will survive in zones seven and eight, but is considered deciduous in some locations. It is a member of the Punicaceae family and also called Punica granatum.

The tree can be grown from seed in the spring, cuttings in the summer or by suckers, and hard wood cuttings throughout the winter months. This specie will adapt to most soil conditions and thrives in full sun. The Pomegranate loves hot and dry conditions. Maturity runs around fifteen feet in height as well as width, especially in ideal climates. A good tip for pruning this tree specimen, is to prune the branches annually for the first three years. This will help produce new shoots yearly and the to balance out the height and width of the tree. After the third year, you can lessen the pruning of each tree by just removing the suckers and any dead branches.

I have mentioned in other sections of this website that I live in zone seven in the southeastern United States. A few years ago one of my clients gave me a Pomegranate tree. I planted it in an open area, where it receives ample sun light. Our summers are usually hot and dry. It took this specific specimen three years to bear fruit. Last year we had a late frost for our area, and the frost did damage some of the new growth. We didn't get any fruit due to the frost. This year the deciduous tree is back in full swing, and the leaves began appearing in April. In my zone, the buds came to life in the beginning of June. The buds resemble berries and within a week or so, the flowers opened up.

Bud Of Flower

Buds And Flowers

Close Up Of Flower

Full Tree

The flowers range in color from red, orange, pink, and white. After the flower is done blooming, fruit will begin to appear in the summer months throughout the fall. The different species of this family will produce a little variety of pulp from the fruit. The Pomegranate fruit is about the size of an apple. Each fruit contains many seeds. The fruit is eaten fresh, or the pulp is used for juice. The pulp is also used in grenadine syrup. This fruit is very nutritional and contains anti-oxidants.

Pomegranate will do well in a variety of different style gardens. A great idea is to consider this tree around a back drop of evergreens, or in a open landscape area surround by some other tropical plants. The Pomegranate is a wonderful specie not only to watch the buds, flowers and fruit develop, but it also creates a wonderful addition in a container garden. A large tub or planting a couple of planters will work with this specie. This is a wonderful tree for many sub-tropical and tropical gardens. I am looking forward to tasting the fruit in the next couple of months. This is a good tree to consider if it grows in your geographic location. When the fruit appears on the trees, I will share some photos with you.