Pomegranate (Punica) - a genus of valuable ornamental trees or shrubs family derbenic at home reaching a height of up to 1.5 meters. It is characterized by prickly branches, glossy green lanceolate leaves, red-orange elongated flowers with 5 petals, and spherical fruits with a large number of grains.
The homeland of wild pomegranate is the islands of the Indian Ocean, southwest Asia. The room version of the tree has an average growth rate and, with proper care, has been pleasing with flowering and fruits for more than a dozen years. In the gardens of Paris, long-lived specimens grow, bearing fruit for more than 100 years.
| Average growth rate. | |
| Blooms the whole summer since spring. | |
| Easy to grow plant | |
| Perennial |
Useful properties of homemade pomegranate
In addition to the decorative look and valuable fruits, home-made pomegranate tree has a number of properties that enrich the composition and air quality of the room in which it is located. Namely, it serves as a natural moisturizer, eliminates pathogenic microorganisms, carbon dioxide, while at the same time saturating the environment with oxygen. Pomegranate growing in the working room increases stress resistance, working capacity, calms the nervous system.
Pomegranate: home care. Briefly
Pomegranate at home will not cause much trouble if you know the characteristics of the plant and adhere to the following growing conditions:
| Temperature mode | Not lower than 23-25 ºС in the summer, in winter - from +10 ºС. |
| Air humidity | Varies depending on the flowering or wintering period. |
| Lighting | Loves intense bright sunlight. |
| Watering | Moderate, every 3-4 days in the summer, in the winter - twice a month. |
| Priming | Nutritious, water-permeable, mixed with clay. |
| Fertilizer and fertilizer | Regular fertilizing with minerals only in the summer. |
| Homemade Pomegranate Transplant | Young bushes are held annually, perennial trees - every 4 years, as they grow out of the pot. |
| Breeding | Cutting or sowing seeds. |
| Features of growing pomegranate home | In hot seasons it feels great in areas, open verandas and loggias. Needs pruning and manual pollination for some varieties. Flowers appear only on annual shoots. |
Pomegranate care at home. In detail
Pomegranate blossom
Pomegranate pleases the eye for quite a long time - from April-May to the very end of summer. It blooms very beautifully and abundantly in large orange-red flowers, which vary in shape and ability to fruit. The first, predominant type of flowers, has an elongated bell-shaped shape and does not form fruits.
Such flowers open only a few days and quickly fall off. The second - the smallest - is a fertile type of pomegranate flowers, pitcher-like in appearance and preserving flowering for about 10 days. After blooming, small round fruits of brown-red color with numerous edible grains form from the ovary.
After planting, home-made pomegranate begins to bloom no earlier than 3 years later. At the same time, on the tree you can see buds, and ovaries, and fruits.
Temperature mode
Pomegranate is a heat-loving crop, so in summer even a high temperature of 25-27 ºС will not harm the plant. The most comfortable conditions in summer are open air and a moderately hot climate. In winter, a houseplant needs peace with a content temperature of 10-12 ºС.
But there are also pomegranate varieties that are frost-resistant and can withstand a short-term temperature drop of -15 ºС. As a rule, these are garden varieties that require shelter and special insulation for a safe wintering.
Spraying
At moderate ambient temperatures, pomegranates do not require daily spraying. It will not interfere only in arid conditions, temperatures above 28 ºС, and also if the plant is in the open sun. In cold seasons, normal air humidification is enough, placing the flower away from heating appliances.
Lighting
The pomegranate plant at home will successfully grow and bear fruit only if it is located in a well-lit place. In spring and summer, it is recommended to expose the plant to open sunny areas, with little shading in the afternoon. With the onset of cold weather, the bush is brought into the room, where it also needs to provide adequate lighting.
If you miss this moment, the branches of the tree stretch ugly, the foliage crumbles, the fruits that are set may fall off before they ripen.
Pomegranate Watering
Despite the fact that pomegranate tolerates short-term drought, it needs abundant watering during the growing season. In its second phase, even the smallest drying of the soil cannot be allowed in the fruit-bearing plant specimens, since this leads to cracking of unripe fruits.
In winter, watering is significantly limited, while still avoiding complete drying of the soil. You can maintain light moisture by loosening or spraying.
Pomegranate Pot
The pomegranate pot is selected based on its height and age. For very young pomegranates, a small volume of 100 ml is enough. It is close containers that will not allow the development of a large number of sterile type of flowers. Perennial shrubs choose at least half-liter or even more voluminous containers, but in proportion to the root system of the plant.
Priming
Pomegranate at home is usually not picky about the soil. The main property of the soil for planting a plant should be its nutritional ability. The earth is enriched with minerals and organic components, and also provides high moisture permeability. Both universal soil and the classic mixture of sod, leaf, sand and peat substrate in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1 are suitable.
For garden specimens of pomegranate, alkaline soil with a loam structure can also be used, also saturated with necessary trace elements and having a drainage layer of expanded clay, crushed stone or gravel.
Fertilizer and fertilizer
Most often, the bush is fed before planting. For this, potash and phosphorus fertilizers, nitrogen additives are used. You should be careful with the latter so as not to overdo it and not provoke a delay in flowering.
In the summer season, it is convenient to nourish the tree during irrigation using liquid top dressing in the form of an aqueous solution of wood ash (1 part ash to 10 parts water). For the purpose of harvesting, organic additives such as chicken droppings or manure are used. As soon as the first cool autumn days arrive, fertilizers are nullified until the next development cycle.
Transfer
Immediately after the rest period, namely at the end of February and the beginning of March, a pomegranate is transplanted. Regardless of the age of the plant, this procedure is performed as carefully as possible, being careful not to damage the root of the tree. In this case, it is most convenient to use the transshipment method. If nevertheless some root is damaged - it is carefully removed, and the slice is sprinkled with crushed coal.
Too large perennial specimens of wood do not bother with a complete change of packaging, but only replace the top 4-5 cm layer of soil.
How to cut pomegranate?
Pomegranate care at home involves the regular formation of a crown, pruning elongated, crooked shoots. This procedure not only rejuvenates the plant, but also allows you to direct its forces to more abundant flowering and fruiting. Pruning is recommended in February, before the start of the growing season.
To create a decorative look of a tree, its shoots are nipped at the height necessary for the gardener so that two pairs of leaves remain on them. It is worth considering that pomegranate produces flowers at the ends of branches.
If you want the plant to look like a standard tree, it cuts off excess trunks and lower branches to a height of 15 cm from the soil surface. In this case, the upper crown is formed under the "ball".
Also, the plant can be left in the form of a lush shrub - for this purpose, all the tips of the branches are periodically nipped, without removing the lower shoots.
Rest period
Both indoor and garden pomegranate varieties need a rest period, which begins in late autumn. At this time, his garden species partially or completely discard foliage, which is not a pathology, and he completely preserves leaves at home. For successful wintering and renewal of the tree - the grenade is organized by cool room conditions, sparse watering, slight shading. With the end of winter, the amount of moisture is carefully increased for the plant, and also transferred to a slightly warmer place, increasing the ambient temperature not sharply, but gradually.
Growing pomegranate from seed
For successful breeding of pomegranate from seeds, it is worth sticking to the following recommendations:
- fresh, peeled, dried grains of the plant are disinfected and briefly soaked in the growth activator;
- prepared material is laid out on neutral soil or soil for citrus fruits, and then sprinkled with a layer of 1.5 cm;
- seedlings are regularly moistened and transplanted only after the appearance of several developed leaves.
After germination by 3-4 cm, the seedlings dive into a container of 100-150 ml, which necessarily has drainage holes.
When germinating grains from an ordinary store pomegranate, it is worthwhile to understand that the resulting plant may not retain its parental qualities and will not give tasty fruits.
Pomegranate propagation by cuttings
Pomegranate, extracted from the cuttings, gives fruits much earlier than a tree obtained from seeds. The most common way to breed pomegranate is as follows:
- thin, slightly lignified cuttings having 4 internodes are cut from annual shoots to a length of 10-15 cm;
- pre-treated in a stimulator, the branches are planted in a moistened earthen substrate with vermiculite and sand with a deepening of 2 internodes;
- hothouse conditions are organized: a greenhouse, subsoil heating to 23-25 ºС, regular ventilation.
The appearance of the processes occurs after about a month, as will be indicated by the presence of young kidneys. Since the pomegranate is quite reluctant to take root, for the guaranteed result, it is recommended to plant several cuttings simultaneously.
An alternative way to plant a tree is to root shoots in water. For this method, pomegranate cuttings are cut off 5 cm long, then placed in sterile water and placed in a secluded place, protected from direct sunlight and draft. The most favorable time for root sprouting in this way is late spring, the beginning of summer.
Diseases and Pests
When growing pomegranate, you may encounter some difficulties. Below are the main problems and their causes:
- dried pomegranate leaves home in conditions with dry air, low soil moisture, and also due to decay of the root system;
- rotting roots with a constant overflow of the plant, when the moisture stagnates, drainage is impaired;
- burns on the leaves may occur in a weakened tree exposed to scorching sunlight;
- spots on the leaves of homemade pomegranate appear as a result of frequent waterlogging of the soil, as well as due to the appearance of some viral or fungal diseases.
In addition, indoor pomegranates are often affected by pests such as whiteflies, moths, scale insects, aphids, spider mites.
Types of homemade pomegranate with photos and names
Today, only a few types of pomegranate are known:
Socotran pomegranate
A rare occurrence in nature is 2.5-5 meters high with small pinkish inflorescences and unsweetened fruits.
Common pomegranate
A universally cultivated species with orange-red flowers, fruits of a rich taste. There are many forms of decorative pomegranates of this species, having flowers of white, yellow, red-white shades.
Dwarf Pomegranate (Nana)
Hybrid pomegranate, isolated in a separate form. It blooms and bears fruit most of the year, the fruits are edible, no more than 5 cm in size. In turn, thanks to numerous breeders, it gave rise to more than 500 species of the species, such as:
- Uzbekistan. The variety is characterized by a sweet-sour taste of fruits, the maximum height of the tree is 2 meters;
- Ruby. It has flowers of a rich ruby hue, pomegranates 6-8 cm in size;
- Carthage. It is distinguished by juicy sour fruits, it is also typical for it to completely fall off the leaves during dormancy;
- Shah-nar. Grenades of this type are pear-shaped, are considered the most delicious;
- Baby. A tree is half a meter tall with miniature fruits with a diameter of 3 cm.
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