Growing Pomegranate Of An Ordinary Dwarf Form: Soil, Reproduction, Bush Formation And Pruning

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

← Read the previous part of the article

Irrigation mode, air humidity and soil

Dwarf pomegranate is a fairly moisture-loving plant, you need to water it regularly (abundantly in summer, rarely in winter) and often spray it with settled water at room temperature. The soil in a flower pot should always be moderately moist, because waterlogging can lead to root rot, and overdrying can lead to discarding of leaves and fruits.

Watering

During the active growing season, the pomegranate needs regular moderate watering, high relative humidity, which can be maintained by spraying. Like any other plant, after spraying the pomegranates, they must be protected from direct sunlight. The soil in the pot should be moist, you need to water the plant as the substrate dries. For the formation and ripening of fruits, the plant needs to be watered more abundantly, since when the soil dries up and the air humidity is low, the pomegranate can throw off the set fruits. Usually in the summer I water the plant with fruits twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. If brown spots form on the leaves during the active growing season, then it is necessary to increase the watering of the plant. From autumn, watering should be gradually reduced. During the dormant period of the pomegranate, watering should be limited - usually in winter I water the plant 3-4 times a week.

Plant pot

For planting pomegranates, it is best to choose a ceramic pot (or small container) that is tall and not wide and has good drainage. To avoid stagnation of water in the soil substrate, you can put a drainage layer of small stones on the bottom of the pot.

The soil

Wild forms of pomegranate in natural conditions usually grow in areas with poor soils (sandy, clayey, gravelly, stony), very often - on slopes with an altitude of 1000 m above sea level. The Nana form dwarf pomegranate grows naturally in dry limestone soil.

A home-grown pomegranate will love the fertile, nutrient-rich soil prepared for it. For indoor pomegranate specimens, various soil mixtures can be prepared, but the following components should be included in their composition: sod and leafy soil, humus (humus), sand and clay. You can add a small amount of peat to the mixture. Pomegranate is not very picky about the acidity (pH) of the soil. Although the plant prefers slightly acidic or neutral soils (it grows best at pH 6.0 to 7.0), it is able to adapt to soils of different acidity (especially the Nana form pomegranate).

Top dressing with fertilizers

In the spring-summer period (periods of budding, flowering, active growth and fruiting), pomegranates need to be fed once every 7-14 days. For feeding, universal water-soluble complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, silicon are suitable. For root dressing, I use various inorganic fertilizers - "Zdraven turbo", "AVA" (granules), "Kemira universal" and others. Of organic fertilizers I often use Vermicompost "Ideal" (once every 7-10 days).

Inorganic complex fertilizers usually contain an insufficient amount of silicon for pomegranates, so I add additional fertilizers containing silicon.

I came to the conclusion about the need for such dressings empirically. Several years ago, one of my colleagues (an experienced amateur florist) recommended a fertilizer containing silicon for pomegranates. After feeding with this preparation, the condition of the pomegranate improved markedly. Silicon stimulates active growth, budding, increases productivity, assists in the absorption of nutrients from the soil, increases plant resistance to frost, drought, diseases and pests. Top dressing should start in March and continue until the end of August. In the autumn-winter period, fertilization should be stopped and watering of the plant should be reduced.

Reproduction, transplant

Dwarf pomegranate reproduces successfully by stem cuttings, layering and seeds. Young pomegranates will grow slowly during the first two years. Reproduction by cuttings can be carried out throughout the year, but it is best done in the spring before flowering (February-March). Cuttings root well at a temperature of + 15 … + 20 ° C in soil and water. A stalk with 2-3 apical buds is suitable for planting. Usually, without the use of stimulants, rooting of cuttings lasts about 1.5-2 months. For a more successful and faster rooting of cuttings, you can use various solutions of root stimulants. Sometimes I keep the cuttings in an aqueous solution of the Ideal fertilizer for 15-20 days.

Dwarf pomegranate can be propagated by seeds, which usually germinate within one month at a temperature of + 20 ° C … + 30 ° C and regular watering. Bottom heating can be used if necessary, or the pot soil can be covered with a piece of plastic wrap before emergence. Fresh, extracted from ripe pomegranate fruits, it is advisable to soak the seeds for several days before planting. To increase germination and germination energy of seeds, they can be treated with special preparations. For example, you can prepare an aqueous solution of the Ideal fertilizer and keep the seeds in it for a day. The seeding depth is 0.5-0.7 cm.

Transplant frequency: young plants - once every 1-2 years, adults - once every 3-5 years.

Shrub formation and anti-aging pruning

To stimulate branching and abundant flowering next year, young pomegranate shoots can be cut off to the outer bud after fruit ripening (before wintering), leaving 2-3 pairs of leaves. I do this not always - only when a lot of young shoots grow on the pomegranate. It is imperative that I remove dry branches every spring.

Typically, a dwarf pomegranate grows as a bush with several trunks. Once every five years, old pomegranate bushes need anti-aging pruning. To do this, you can remove one of the old stems and leave a strong young shoot instead.

Possible growing problems

A novice grower may be frightened by the fall of the foliage of the pomegranate, which most often occurs for a natural reason (leaf fall). Sometimes the pomegranate loses its leaves and fruits when the soil substrate dries out, low air humidity, damage by pests, diseases. Dwarf pomegranate is an unpretentious plant. With good care and favorable conditions, the plant is rarely affected by pests, is resistant to diseases, blooms profusely and bears fruit for a long time.