Too late to ship pomegranate & tree form or bush?

16 years ago

I'm planning to order a pomegranate for zone 8b. I know I should have planned this months ago, but our apple tree just had to be cut down, and I really want to get something to replace it asap. Would prefer the new Angel Red and would like to be able to pick fruit before I die--i.e., I'm too impatient to wait for a tree to grow from a twig or to look nice in the landscape. Also, I'd prefer a tree form over bush. I've not been able to find anyone shipping larger tree form angel reds.

I called Willis a couple of days ago inquiring about the Angel Reds and whether they had any pruned in tree form. I was told poms are bushes, not trees, and do not do well pruned to tree form. I even asked if they had any that have been trained as trees and was told "no." They said they would be shipping for only another week.

Subsequently, I found their Sweet variety, offering an 8-10' "tree form" (179.95).

Now I'm confused and wondering how reliable Willis' information really is (despite all the praise posted in this forum). What am I not understanding here? They list tree form poms, and then tell me they don't!!

1. Does anyone have any experience with Willis' pomegranate TREES?

2. What can you experts here tell me about bush vs. tree poms?

3. Do you think it is too risky to order a pom for my zone now?

4. I notice Edible Landscaping offers 5 gal. Sweets for $65. Would that likely be 3-4' or 5-6' size, or what? And how difficult would it be to "train" one that size to tree form?

I would appreciate some advice soon, as the deadline for ordering from Willis is upon me.

A great forum, btw. I've been coming back here off and on for 2+ years for a wealth of information available; just never had an urgent need to register and post.

Thanks,

Jack

P.S. Remind me some time to share my recent, one-time experience with TyTy (thankfully did not order from them, though I had not at the time read this forum's warnings on them).

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Comments (8)

rcnaylor
16 years ago
Ty Ty = con con.

I managed to get a look at what was in the package before signing for delivery and sent it back on the spot.
Scott F Smith
16 years ago
Its not too late to ship for me here, but I don't know how hot it gets down there this time of year. The main downsides are you don't want the plant to overheat on the way or get baked upon arrival. Pomegrantes are some of the most heat-tolerant plants so it may not even be a problem at all.

Pomegranates naturally grow as bushes but can be turned into a tree by selecting only one of the stems as the main one - cut off the rest at ground level. Any size bush can be re-trained this way but don't chop out too much in any given year.

I don't know what they mean on their site by tree form.

By the way if you are serious about pomegranates I highly recommend RIchard Ashton's book The Incredible Pomegranate. I refer to it all the time. It is an e-book and I think it cost something like $7. It is a bit of a hodgepodge but wow, what a treasure trove of information!

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: book
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maryhawkins99
16 years ago
may 2007 i ordered a large russian, 1 gallon sweet, & 1 quart russian from edible landscape. all have flowers this year & have grown a lot

2 weeks ago i ordered 3 more pomegranates from bay flora in ca; angel red, grenada, ambrosia. angel red is pretty small, 6-7"; others were 24"; all arrived in good shape

if you were in dallas you could pick up a 4 ft sweet or white from doans, $30

i dont think yoiu're too late, but i wouldnt wait much longer
jackbnimble
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks to all for the prompt replies. Yes, pomegranates are supposed to be heat tolerant, but I've read some may have issues with high humidity. bhawkins, have you found any one variety does better in your climate? I've seen the Christina that is supposed to do well in high humidity, but just fruits and exotics is no longer shipping, and I haven't found any others of larger size. I'm thinking I will go with angel red, just haven't decided yet what size to start with. Would really like to have 2 or 3 varieties but don't have the space. Any other thoughts, anyone?
maryhawkins99
16 years ago
the russian & sweet both grew very well here in the first year, better than the wonderfull i bought locally a year ago. its too early yet to say yet which will do best, not freeze in late cold snaps, yet ripen in our summer before frost. fwiw, the best nursery i've found in dfw for pomegranates, doan's, thinks "sweet" is the best for here

i ordered a $100 large angel red from willis a month ago, but something happened in shipping, roots were bone dry when i got it. willis suggested soaking the roots for a day before planting which i did, but the tree was dead. i've returned it for a new one.

richard ashtons book is very usefull; you can buy as an ebook online. he has a great website too. www.oakcreekorchard.com

problem in dallas in trying to grow the tree form, is that every 4-5 years there's a killer cold snap, pomegranates die to the ground, & its easiest to regrow as a bush
maryhawkins99
16 years ago
you might try durion nursery in opaloosa? la, http://www.durionursery.biz/
jackbnimble
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, again, bhawkins. Durio sure has a lot of pomegranates to choose from, most I never heard of, but then I'm very new to this tree, or bush. They seem to have nothing but 1 gal sizes, though.

Does anyone know where I can get authoritative info on the mature sizes of various poms? I especially would like an estimate of the height range of Angel Red compared to Sweet.
price_2009
15 years ago
jackbnimble, did you ever find info on the various sizes of mature poms? i have limited space and would be very interested in this also. thanks

Too late to ship pomegranate & tree form or bush?

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Too late to ship pomegranate & tree form or bush?

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