While air temps are between 60-80, I usually fertilize at 4 tsp in a 2-1/2 gallon watering can, which is about 1-1/2 tsp per gallon, and I see no evidence of plants having trouble keeping leaf margins & tips hydrated (no sign of fertilizer burn), or any sort of sense that the plants are being pushed too hard, so I think 1 tsp/gallon on a weekly basis is well within reason ..... if you are watering copiously so the soil is being flushed at each watering. Al

I have two pix of my wonderful on my smartphone, but no webspace to post them to. Just picture a very short thick trunk with three main branches coming out and then branching out from there to a space of about 4' wide by 10' tall. I will prune a number of times to keep the shape/size and allow a better view of the trunk after the fruit sets. It's a fair amount of ongoing work. Are you sure you are up for it? :) Another challenge I face with my poms is that they want to weep - Some weeping is nice but not to the extent that they look overly floppy or messy. So I use some wire tied to a nearby fence to prop up some of the branches. Poms are the most labor intensive of any of my trees - and it's just because I want a certain look and behavior from them. Keeping them as a bush would be much easier.

1 - Get and use a moisture meter. $6 will save you hundreds on plan replacement. Water it DEEPLY when you water it - run a soaker hose coiled around the entire canopy area and a few feet out for several hours at a slow drip. However, that should not be until the soil is dry 6 inches or more down. You will learn how your spoil holds or doesn't hold water. Mulch the entire root area (or as much of it as you can) with 4-6 inches of something that doesn't decay quickly, but keep a few inches around the trunk clear of mulch. 2 - Don't worry about fertilizing it until you have the watering figured out. Pomegranates do well on neglect as long as they get water, and you are more likely to hurt it than help it with fertilizer. The schedules are usually for orchard production, and are too much too often. 3 - Prune off any new branches that are crossing the interior of the tree, and any that are headed in directions you don't approve of. Decide if you want a big bush or a small multi-stemmed tree. If you want the small tree, start by pruning off a few of the bottom branches. As the top grows, you will be pruning out the bottom ones until you have 3-5 feet of trunk or trunks cleared over the next several years. BTW, the red flower petals will dry on the fruit and can be gently pulled off to use in potpourri. They stay really red, unlike most red blossoms.

Your tree looks like it is not getting any nourishment from the soil, barely staying alive. I would wait a little longer now until it is dormant, and then remove what is left of the container, dig up the tree and replant it. I would expect the roots to be strangling them self and needing a little surgery to straighten them out. Some shaping of the foliage would also be appropriate at that time. Mulch good when finished to the drip line. When it leafs out in the spring it will look a whole lot better. Al