Wonderful pomegranate

Sun

Full sun; choose a sheltered position with reflected warmth in cooler climates.

Water

Water regularly while establishing and during fruit development, allowing the surface soil to dry between waterings. Established plants tolerate drought, but irregular watering can reduce fruit quality and encourage splitting.

Soil

Well-drained soil, including sandy, loamy or clay soil that does not remain waterlogged; tolerates moderately alkaline conditions.

Height

12-20 ft (3.7-6.1 m)

Spread

8-15 ft (2.4-4.6 m)

Flowers

Orange-red flowers from late spring through summer.

Foliage

Glossy, narrow green leaves, often bronze when young and yellow before falling in autumn.

Growth

Moderate, faster with warmth and regular water.

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 (0.59 m)

2. After 1 year

   5 ft (1.7 m)

3. After 2 years

   9 ft (2.7 m)

4. After 3 years

   13 ft (3.8 m)

5. After 5 years

   16 ft (4.9 m)

   full size

About 4 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

Fast

• Plant after severe frost risk has passed, keeping the root flare at soil level.
• Water deeply during dry spells, especially while fruit is swelling; avoid alternating drought with heavy watering.
• Apply a modest balanced fertiliser in spring only if growth is weak; excess nitrogen encourages shoots rather than fruit.
• Mulch the root area, leaving a clear gap around the stems.
• Remove unwanted basal suckers if training as a small tree.
• In cold regions, grow in a large container and overwinter in a cool, frost-free place with good light.

Pruning. Prune in late winter or early spring before growth starts, removing dead, crossing and crowded shoots while retaining a framework of several main stems or a single trunk. Avoid hard annual pruning, which removes fruiting wood and stimulates vigorous, unproductive growth.

Expect the first substantial crop about 3-5 years after planting a nursery-grown plant. Harvest in autumn when fruit is full-sized, deeply coloured and becoming slightly angular, checking a sample for ripe flavour because colour alone is unreliable. Clip the stem rather than pulling the fruit; pomegranates do not ripen further after picking, and ripe fruit should be gathered before heavy rain or frost.

Late winter

Prune lightly, remove dead wood and thin crowded stems before buds open.

Spring

Plant once severe frost risk has passed; renew mulch and feed lightly if needed.

Late spring

Check new growth for aphids and protect flowers from late frost where practical.

Summer

Keep watering consistent as fruit develops and remove unwanted suckers.

Autumn

Sample fruit for ripeness and clip mature pomegranates before frost or prolonged rain.

Late autumn

Move container plants under frost-free cover in cold climates and reduce watering as leaves fall.

• Train as a small specimen tree in a sunny courtyard, allowing room for the spreading crown.
• Use as a fruiting focal point in an edible garden with herbs beneath the outer canopy.
• Grow as an informal, thorny boundary shrub in warm gardens.
• Pair with lavender, rosemary and santolina in a sunny Mediterranean-style border, keeping their crowns away from regularly irrigated soil.
• Train against a warm, sunny wall to improve shelter and fruit ripening in marginal climates.

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

Plant it with: Lavender, Rosemary, Santolina, Thyme, Sage and Yarrow.

Wildlife: Flowers attract bees and, where present, hummingbirds. Birds and other animals may feed on split fruit; the dense, thorny branches can provide shelter.

• Fruit splitting: maintain even soil moisture and harvest ripe fruit promptly, especially before heavy rain.
• Poor fruiting or unripe fruit: provide full sun and maximum summer warmth, avoid excessive nitrogen and heavy pruning, and recognise that cool summers may not ripen this late cultivar.
• Aphids and scale insects: inspect shoots and stems; wash off aphids and treat persistent infestations with a locally approved horticultural oil or insecticidal soap according to the label.
• Frost damage: choose a sheltered site, protect young plants during cold spells and remove dead growth after new growth reveals the extent of damage.

The ripe arils are edible for people. Pomegranate is not generally listed as toxic to cats, dogs or horses, but eating peel or large amounts of fruit may cause digestive upset. Roots and bark contain potentially poisonous alkaloids and should not be eaten or used in homemade remedies; keep prunings away from pets and livestock.

• Dwarf pomegranate (Punica granatum var. nana)

  Much smaller in habit, with smaller leaves, flowers and fruit; its small fruit is usually grown for decoration rather than eating.

• Flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)

  Usually flowers on bare stems in late winter or early spring, has toothed leaves and produces hard, yellow, apple-like fruit rather than leathery red pomegranates.

Pomegranate comes from words meaning 'seeded apple', while the botanical name granatum also refers to the fruit's many seeds.

Propagation. Take hardwood cuttings during dormancy or root leafy cuttings in summer with warmth and humidity. Seedlings do not reliably retain the fruit quality or other characteristics of 'Wonderful'.

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.