Pomegranate family. Homeland - Mediterranean, Asia and Transcaucasia.
Only two species occur in nature:
- Common pomegranate "Punica granatum" is a deciduous tree with erect, strongly branching shoots covered in grayish-brown bark. The leaves are sessile or on short petioles, lanceolate, dulled from the end, up to 7 cm long. Flowers are single, formed at the ends of shoots. The flower has a six-petal corolla, about 5 cm in diameter, bright pink (sometimes yellowish or white). Pomegranate flowers of two species - sterile, not producing fruits with short columns, fruiting - with long columns, form pomegranate - a multi-seeded berry.
- Socotran pomegranate Punica protopunica is rare in culture, this species grows in nature exclusively on the island of Socotra. It differs in that it has pink flowers, and the fruits, although large enough, are not too sweet.
On the basis of ordinary pomegranate, a miniature variation was bred - dwarf pomegranate Punica granatum var. nana. It differs from the original species only in size and can reach 80-100 cm in height (at the age of 8-10 years). The plant is well suited for home cultivation, has a long flowering and ties miniature sour fruits. This variation has several cultivars. Pomegranate is considered a deciduous plant, but this is not entirely true. At home, it very often remains an evergreen tree, and loses some or all of its leaves in the event of a cold snap in autumn.
By the way, pomegranate is perfectly formed by pruning, so it is often grown as potensai, in order to form various styles of bonsai. There is a feature here: pomegranate branches are fragile, they are easy to break when winding wire, so it can only be used on young branches. The formation of a miniature tree in a certain style must be started as early as possible, old stems are formed using tension devices. Below is a photo of Lenochka:
Pomegranate care
Temperature: In general, the pomegranate tree prefers moderate temperatures all year round. Optimal for growth 20-22 ° C, but it perfectly tolerates above 25 ° C, if you are not in direct sun, but in the fresh air. There is nothing worse for a grenade than a stuffy room, so if you have a balcony, a grenade is the place there from late May to autumn. If the balcony is insulated, then you can keep pomegranates there almost all year round. In winter, it is advisable for a grenade to arrange a period of rest in coolness of about 10-12 ° C. The minimum that should be focused on is + 5 ° С, while watering is very rare.
Lighting: Bright diffused light with some sunlight, not bad if the direct sun goes to the pomegranate leaves for 4-6 hours a day in the morning or evening. I.e. shading is necessary only on the south or south-west window, until about 16 hours. In nature, pomegranate grows in full sun, but since at home there is not enough good air movement (unless your windows are open all day), the plant on the south window may lose its decorative attractiveness, and if it grows like a bonsai in a small pot, then the soil dries up too quickly on a hot windowsill, and this already threatens the death of the plant.
Watering: Plentiful enough in the warmer months - after the top of the soil in the pot has dried out, wait another 1-2 days before watering. If it is cool, the intervals when the soil remains dry should be increased. At temperatures below 15 ° С, it is necessary to wait for complete drying of the soil. If the pomegranate dries up, it begins to lower the twigs. As long as only the tips of the shoots are slightly lowered - the permissible norm. But do not bring it to the point where the branches droop completely. Pomegranate leaves dry out very quickly, especially if it is hot. Sometimes on sunny days in June-July it is required to water the tree every day - the earth dries so quickly, and it happens that in August prolonged rains, cold nights, the earth dries slowly and watering occurs once a week or even less often. If in doubt whether it's time to water - touch the soil deep in the pot, it should not be constantly raw.
Fertilizer: Top dressing is necessary during the period of intensive growth, from April to August. Use complex fertilizers for ornamental flowering plants, every two weeks. It is important that this fertilizer you choose contains not only nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, but also a set of trace elements such as boron, iron, copper, magnesium, etc.
Air humidity: Pomegranate responds well to periodic spraying in the spring and summer. As long as the air humidity does not fall below 50% and the temperature does not exceed 26 ° C, spraying is not required. But if it is hot, or humidity drops below 45%, start spraying the plant 2-3 times a day. If necessary, cover the heating batteries with a damp terry towel. It is unacceptable to leave a pomegranate tree on the windowsill if the leaves are located above the hot air flow during the heating season.
Transplant: Pomegranate requires an annual transplant, and if the top layer of the earth is covered with salt coating, then an unscheduled replacement of the top layer of the earth. Pomegranate soil needs nutritious and well-drained, porous. An approximate earthen mixture: 1 part of greenhouse (or turf) land, 1 part of sheet land, 1 part of humus, 1 part of sand, 1 part of perlite (or vermiculite). Pomegranate does not like too spacious and deep pots, it delays flowering. But pomegranate is not very demanding on the acidity of the soil, it is known that in natural conditions it grows both on alkaline calcareous soils and on deep, acidic loam. Do not forget about the drainage holes on the bottom of the pot and a small layer of expanded clay or foam.
Reproduction
Although pomegranate is considered a self-pollinating plant, some flower growers complain of insufficient or no fruit formation. It is known that cross-pollination can increase fruit formation by 60%, and the size and abundance of pollen in different varieties is different, and also depends on the season. For pollination, use a soft watercolor brush.
Pomegranate is propagated by cuttings and seeds. The season does not matter, as you can compensate for the lack of sunlight with daylight lamps (fluorescent or LED). You can grow a pomegranate from a seed from an eaten fruit, and it will be an ordinary pomegranate, grow in a rather large tree. You can buy Nana pomegranate seeds from the seed shop. It grows more slowly, but also grows well, at normal room temperature and evenly moistened ground.
One of the options for sprouting pomegranate seeds is in moist moss. First, the seeds need to be soaked for a day or two, peeled from the pulp, rubbing with your fingers. Then put moss sphagnum on a saucer, seeds in it. It is not necessary to file, but it will not be superfluous (most importantly, only slightly thin the shell). Then the moss needs to be moistened. Seeds should be lightly covered with moss, not completely covered. Do not allow the seeds and moss to dry out, or the other extreme - so that the seeds float in the water. Moisturize only with boiled water.
Seeds germinate in a week or two, the sharp tip cracks and a sprout appears. Do not disturb them until the sprout reaches about 5mm. Then cook the pots with a light, porous earth, necessarily oven or microwave sterilized. A grenade seedling does not need to be taken out of the moss in which they sprouted. Simply cut each one out with manicure scissors along with a scrap of moss. And transfer to a pot. Keep hydrating.
Important: all the time the seeds should be in the light, and from the moment the seed pecks and the beginning of growth, the lighting should be very good .
First, two leaves, wide as a fan of cotyledons, unfold at the seedlings, then it begins to stretch up, real leaves grow - they are narrow and long. Watch: if the stalk bends to a light source, then there is not enough light. You can germinate pomegranate seeds all year round, lighting with lamps. LED and fluorescent lamps can be placed at a distance of 5 cm or more from the leaves.
Pomegranate growing tips
Alex advises: Pomegranate flowers are of two types: pitcher with long pistils (fruiting) and bell-shaped with short underdeveloped pistils (90-95%), which do not form fruits, which means we conclude that 5-10 fruits are formed per 100 flowers. There are a lot of stamens in flowers. The plant does not require additional pollination.
To increase the number of ovaries, a cool wintering with a dormant period is necessary, the temperature during flowering should be no more than 20 ° C of heat, the dishes are not entirely spacious - in a large volume the plant chews and grows tops with bell-shaped flowers. Nutrition during flowering should be normal, while the proportion of nitrogen should not exceed phosphorus and potassium. And they also say that there is one reason - during flowering, you do not need to water pomegranate abundantly, keep moisture in short supply. Please be careful with this item, let it bloom better and tie the fruits a little less than die of thirst.
Another tip: In early spring (in February), you need to spray the plant with "Bud" or "Ovary" this procedure will stimulate the development of full-fledged flowers.