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Georgia Gardener

Pomegranate planting/growing instructions needed

16 years ago

My son loves pomegranates. When I was at a local nursery I saw they had some bushes for sale and noted that they weren't the miniature ones so I snatched up two before researching. After getting them, I noticed that many here advise against that variety ("Wonderful")...but I already have them so "oh well".

Of course it had the usual (not very helpful) growing instructions on the tag but I need something a little more specific.

I live in the Dublin/Laurens county area with heavy clay soil.

So I have a few questions....how far out from the tree, and how far down do the roots go per tree? I am planning on digging out 1.5 the width and 1.5 the depth of the root range for the area and only spot amend to soil. (we have a new construction....I haven't landscaped or amended any of the soil yet. So I am doing each plant or tree individually until we do the whole tract, probably this fall)

Secondly, what is the ideal soil type? I plan on adding clay back in...but since I will be preparing specifically for these plants I can buy whatever I need or move soil from the wooded area of the land.

Lastly, do I need a companion plant of a different variety for pollination?

As you can tell, I know little to nothing about growing pomegranates. (although I do have experience growing other types of trees) I am presuming that they are similar to other fruiting trees where 7 years is the magic number for starting to produce fruit (or fruit in any decent quality/quantity).

Any other info anyone can add will be appreciated.

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Comments (2)

girlgroupgirl
16 years ago
Pomegrantes are pretty easy according to my friend Lost Man. I think they need well draining soil so you need to dig deep and break up the hard pan below and add copious amounts of ammendments to your soil. Woodlands soil, compost and permatil should get you going pretty well (or you can just buy it all mixed up in CLM - Complete Landscape Mix). If you have access to some small chunks of concrete like a few inches around, I'd throw one or two of those in the hole because they will leach lime into the soil and help equalize the acidity of the clay nicely. Then you never have to add lime. You will need to dig your holes very deep and wide and make sure there is clay in that soil. You want to ammend what is in the planting hole, not replace it.
Your poms need full sun. As much sun as you can give them!

GGG
shot
16 years ago
Hi Fluersuzie or should I say neighbor! I live between Dublin & Eastman outside of Cadwell. We have some things in common... my wife was born and raised in Jax, Fl and I retired from the JSO in 1996 and moved back to Georgia with my new wife in tow... lol
I love pomegrants too and did basically what you did, but have no idea what kind it is. What we found out is that in winter while the plant is still young, you need to cover it to keep it from freezing. Once it gets a little size, it can make it on it's own.

Nice to meet you.
Shot
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