Pomegranate Bushes

Planting

Pomegranates need a fertile neutral soil to crop well (a pH of 6.0-7.5 is ideal) in a sheltered spot in full sun.

Plant your bush as soon as possible after receipt, allowing sufficient space for it to grow. Pomegranates develop into large multi-stemmed bushes up to 4m (13ft) tall. They should be spaced approximately 3m (10ft) apart. Should weather conditions be adverse (i.e. if the ground is frozen or too wet to plant), keep the bush in its pot in a sheltered frost-free place such as a shed or garage until conditions improve.

Improve the soil structure by thorough digging before planting, ideally to a depth of about 45cm (18in) - two spades deep. Mix in plenty of well-rotted manure or compost.

Soak the roots in water for 1-2 hours. Dig a hole comfortably large enough to take the rootball, remove the pot and plant, ensuring the top of the rootball is level with the surrounding soil or up to 1cm (½in) deeper. Apply rootgrow™ mycorrhizal fungi directly to the roots before planting - this will help the plant to establish quickly. Firm the soil around the rootball and water-in thoroughly.

Alternatively pomegranates can be grown in containers, use an open free-draining general purpose compost. Start off in a container that is 30cm (12in) in diameter. A pot grown pomegranate will need re-potting every other year.

Watering

Keep the soil around the bush moist throughout the first growing season. In later years only water during prolonged dry spells, drenching thoroughly no more than once a week.  Pomegranates are quite drought tolerant once established. Container grown plants need regular watering and should never be allowed to dry out.

Weeding & Mulching

Keep the area around the tree free of weeds, particularly during the first year. An annual mulch of well rotted compost will greatly improve moisture retention and soil structure, and help suppress unwanted weeds.

Pruning

No regular pruning is necessary, just trim or cut back hard to control the size or shape as required, ideally in early spring.  Pomegranates fruit on the new shoots, producing their exotic bright red flowers in late summer, the distinctive large round fruits follow in autumn, but do need a long hot summer to ripen properly.

Feeding

Most garden soils contain sufficient nutrients for pomegranates to grow healthily, though a high potash top-dressing (such as Fruit Feed) during the spring can be beneficial. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers (such as chicken manure) which stimulate shoot growth rather than flower bud and fruit formation.

Pests & Diseases

Pomegranate bushes are generally trouble free.

Harvesting

Harvest when the fruits develop their reddish flush from November onwards. The sweet and juicy deep red edible seed-capsules are inside the thick protective skin.

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