Pomegranate

Sun

Full sun; choose a warm, sheltered position for reliable flowering and fruit ripening.

Water

Drought-tolerant once established, but needs regular, even watering during flowering and fruit development for a worthwhile crop.

Soil

Well-drained loam, sand or clay; tolerates alkaline soil but struggles in waterlogged ground.

Height

12-20 ft (3.7-6 m)

Spread

10-15 ft (3-4.6 m)

Flowers

Late spring through summer; orange-red flowers with thick, crinkled petals. Some ornamental selections have pink, cream or double flowers.

Foliage

Small, narrow, glossy green leaves, often bronze when young and yellow before falling.

Growth

Moderate

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Hard

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.9 ft (0.58 m)

2. After 1 year

   5 ft (1.4 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.3 m)

4. After 3 years

   10 ft (3.1 m)

5. After 5 years

   16 ft (4.9 m)

   full size

About 5 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Moderate

• Water deeply during the first two growing seasons, letting the soil surface dry between waterings.
• Keep moisture reasonably even as fruit develops; drought followed by heavy watering can split the skins.
• Apply a light dressing of balanced fertilizer in spring if growth is weak; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding.
• Mulch the root area, leaving a clear gap around the stems.
• Grow container plants in free-draining compost and move them to a cool, frost-protected place before severe winter cold.

Pruning. In late winter or early spring, remove dead, damaged and crossing branches, retaining a framework of several main stems or one trunk. Keep routine pruning light to preserve fruiting wood, and remove unwanted basal suckers during the growing season.

Pick ripe pomegranates in autumn, usually September–November in the US, UK and Canada, and March–May in Australia; fruit may not ripen outdoors in cool UK and Canadian gardens. Harvest full-sized fruit with the variety’s mature skin colour and slightly flattened, angular sides; cut the stalk with secateurs before fruit splits or frost arrives, as pomegranates do not ripen after picking.

Late winter

Prune lightly before growth begins and check container plants for dry compost.

Spring

Plant after severe frost has passed; refresh mulch and feed lightly if needed.

Late spring

Move overwintered containers outdoors gradually once frost risk has passed.

Summer

Water evenly during flowering and fruit development, and remove unwanted suckers.

Autumn

Cut ripe fruit from the branches when fully coloured for the variety; fruit does not ripen further after picking.

Late autumn

Move containers under cover in cold regions before hard freezes.

• Train as a small courtyard tree, allowing room for its spreading crown and keeping thorny branches away from paths.
• Use against a sunny, sheltered wall to improve warmth and fruit ripening in cooler climates.
• Combine with lavender, rosemary and sage in a Mediterranean planting with well-drained soil.
• Include in an edible landscape or informal fruiting hedge where its flowers and autumn fruit remain visible.

Garden styles it suits: Mediterranean, Modern courtyard, Edible landscape, Backyard orchard, Persian (chahar bagh) and Moroccan.

Plant it with: Lavender, Rosemary, Common sage, Thyme, Catmint and Yarrow.

Wildlife: Flowers attract bees and other nectar-feeding insects. Birds and small mammals may eat split fruit.

• Fruit splitting: maintain even soil moisture, mulch and harvest ripe fruit promptly; heavy rain after drought can still cause losses.
• Poor fruiting: provide maximum sun and summer warmth, avoid excessive nitrogen and heavy pruning, and check that the plant is a fruiting rather than double-flowered ornamental selection.
• Aphids and scale insects: inspect young shoots and stems; wash off aphids and treat persistent infestations with a labelled horticultural soap or oil, avoiding hot weather.
• Fruit rot: remove damaged and rotting fruit, clear fallen fruit and thin crowded branches to improve airflow.

Ripe arils and seeds are edible and are not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses, though large amounts may cause digestive upset. Roots and bark contain potentially poisonous alkaloids and should not be eaten or used in homemade remedies. The rind is not intended as food and can cause digestive upset; toxicity information for other parts in pets and horses is limited.

• Flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)

  Also thorny with red flowers, but usually flowers on bare wood in early spring and has broader, toothed leaves; its fruit resembles a small apple rather than a crowned pomegranate.

• Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

  Has similarly small leaves and crinkled flowers, but flowers occur in large terminal clusters and its small, dry seed capsules lack the pomegranate's fleshy fruit and prominent crown.

Punica refers to ancient Carthage, while granatum means seeded or grain-filled; pomegranate comes from words meaning seeded apple.

Propagation. Take hardwood cuttings during dormancy or semi-ripe cuttings in summer. Rooted suckers can also be separated. Seed-grown plants vary in fruit quality and may take several years to crop; cuttings preserve the parent plant's characteristics.

Accepted botanical name

Punica granatum

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states, Pacific Basin, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.

Native range

Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

Measured

Soil pH 6 to 6.9. Average height 610 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.