By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
Fig trees are among a small group of fruiting trees that have been cultivated for thousands of years. Pomegranates are another member of that exclusive club. (The other two are persimmons and olives.) Like the other members of this club, pomegranates are grown on their own roots. They are propagated by taking cuttings from existing trees and rooting them. You can do this yourself if you know someone who has a pomegranate variety that you can't find at a nursery. Pomegranates grown from seed typically don't produce good fruit.
I like growing pomegranates because they ripen relatively late—in October for most of Napa County, or in September in the hotter areas. They have bright green, shiny foliage and attractive orange-red flowers. And, of course, the ripe red pomegranates hanging on the tree are beautiful.
Pomegranates can tolerate heavy, wet soil and have few pests. The trees have a low winter-chill requirement, which makes them suitable for our warming climate. They are also relatively drought- and salt-tolerant. They need less water than most fruit trees, although they do need some supplemental water to grow and bear well.
Pomegranates can be long lived; some specimens in Europe are known to be more than 200 years old, although they tend to lose vigor after 15 years. Unless you intend to make a lot of juice or syrup, you probably wouldn't miss the extra fruit. I always end up with a lot to give away. Another thing I like about pomegranates is that gophers tend not to go after their roots.
Although pomegranates have many wonderful qualities, many people find it challenging to remove the kernels (known as arils). Through online research, I have found easy ways to peel pomegranates so you can just strip off the arils. You can also peel them in a bowl of water to avoid inadvertent sprays of juice or flying arils.
Pomegranates have a shrubby growth habit but can be trained into small trees that can reach 30 feet. I've left mine as shrubs and find that the weight of the fruit bends most of the branches down, so the shrubs stay at around 8 feet for several years without being pruned for height.
In their shrubby form, pomegranates may reach 16 feet. Dwarf varieties, growing 3 to 5 feet tall, also exist. Pomegranates bear fruit on the tips of new growth; the fruit ripens five to seven months after flowering. You can expect a pomegranate to start fruiting two to three years after planting.
Pomegranates come in both fruiting and ornamental varieties, but even the fruiting ones make beautiful additions to the landscape.
The biggest threat pomegranates face is that they tend to crack after the first fall rains, or if you over water late in the season. Once they crack, birds will feast on them, or they will start to mold and rot. You can plant an earlier-ripening variety, such as Parfianka, if you live in an area that receives early fall rains.
Most pomegranate varieties need heat to ripen; one variety, Eversweet, is recommended for coastal areas. Pomegranates sucker heavily from the base. Because these suckers will produce the same fruit as the original plant, you can remove them, or leave them to grow and let your shrub widen.
Pomegranate branches can be spiny. (The popular Wonderful variety has small spines.) Pomegranates are native to an area stretching from Iran to the Himalayas of Northern India and are severely injured at temperatures below 12°F.
We typically think of pomegranates as having dark red seeds, but they arils come in a range of colors from nearly clear to pink and purple. Some varieties have clear or pale juice. The different varieties also range in sweetness from very tart to very sweet. The seeds' size and hardness differ among the varieties as well. The seed is the hard part of the aril.
The fruits' skin color also varies. We're familiar with the dark-red Wonderful, by far the most common variety, but skin color at maturity can also be mostly green, light yellow or pink. A few varieties more commonly grown in other countries (for example, Malissi and Djebeli) are nearly seedless. Standard varieties for California include Ambrosia, Eversweet, Granada, Ruby Red, Early Wonderful and Wonderful. Ambrosia has purple arils; Eversweet has clear seeds and produces clear juice.
Another variety worth considering is Utah Sweet. It has soft seeds and pink arils. Angel is a relatively new variety that has soft red seeds. With so many varieties, there is sure to be at least one you'll love.
Napa Library Talk: Napa County Master Gardeners will give a talk on “Planning a Moon Garden” on Thursday, August 5, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. via Zoom. Learn about this ancient nocturnal garden theme and pick up some design tips. Register at http://ucanr.edu/2021AugMoonGarden.
Food Growing Forum: Napa County Master Gardeners will present a discussion of “Herbs and Starting Winter Vegetables by Seed” on Sunday, August 8, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., via Zoom. Register to receive the Zoom link: http://ucanr.edu/2021/FoodForumAug
Free Guided Tree Walk: Join Master Gardeners of Napa County for a tree walk in Fuller Park in Napa on Tuesday, August 10, from 10 a.m. to noon. Limited to 12 people per walk. COVID safety protocols will be followed. You will be asked health questions and asked to sign in. Face masks and social distancing are required. Register here.
Got Garden Questions? Contact our Help Desk. The team is working remotely so please submit your questions through our diagnosis form, sending any photos to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a detailed message at 707- 253-4143. A Master Gardener will get back to you by phone or email.
For more information visit http://napamg.ucanr.edu or find us on Facebook or Instagram, UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
‘Wonderful' is the pomegranate most of us pick up at the grocery store. Originally found in a bundle of cuttings from Florida, ‘Wonderful' has been propagated widely in California since the early 1900s. But the story of pomegranates (Punicagranatum) goes back much further.
Also called Chinese apples, pomegranates are one of the oldest documented edible fruits. They require long, hot summers and can survive under myriad conditions. For best fruit production in Napa Valley, plant pomegranates in a sunny location in ordinary soil with good drainage. For the first two years, water deeply every two to four weeks in dry weather to encourage root establishment and fruit production.
When pomegranate plants are about two feet high, select four or five of the healthiest-looking branches, preferably well-spaced, and cut them back to 12 inches.Remove the remaining growth and any shoots or suckers that appear above or below these chosen branches.
Pomegranate trees can be grown as dwarfs, but most reach 15 to 20 feet tall. Disciplined pruning can keep them tidy in smaller spaces.
The pomegranate produces fruit at the end of new growth. Judicious pruning annually for the first three years will produce bushy plants with abundant new growth each year.
With their shiny, dark leaves, bright orange flowers and dramatic red fruits, pomegranates make attractive, long-lived additions to the garden. Their ruby arils—the pulp-covered seeds—are beautiful in salads and make a refreshing juice. The fruit is also used commercially for making grenadine, the sweet red syrup in a Shirley Temple. Local birds appreciate any fruit left on the tree.
No wonder the Spanish missionaries considered pomegranates essential to propagate along El Camino Real in the 1700s. Pomegranates are still often found on old homesteads and in historic gardens across the state.
By 1927 California boasted 2,750 acres of pomegranates. As of 2011, the last year the USDA tracked commercial production, California had more than 30,000 acres of pomegranate orchards.
Some fruit trees, like plums, are susceptible to oak-root rot and can't be grown near diseased oak trees. Fortunately, pomegranates do not have this issue. Sometimes the pomegranate rind splits, exposing the seeds to insects, moisture and mold. Regular watering minimizes splitting, as it does for tomatoes and other fruits. Cease watering two to three weeks before your anticipated harvest.
Allow pomegranates to ripen fully on the tree as they won't ripen further after harvest. Clip the stem to avoid damaging the fruit; do not pull the fruit off the stem.
Pomegranates actually improve in storage, becoming juicier and more flavorful. Keep the fruit cool but not cold. A temperature below 41°Fwill turnred arils pale and promote decay. Stored at the proper temperature and around 85% humidity,the fruit can last for up to seven months. When the arilsstart to fade and look streaky, flavor fades, too, and it is time to put the fruit in the compost.
Pomegranate seeds germinate readily, but you may not get a high-quality tree from seed. Most pomegranates are propagated from rooted cuttings.
A few years ago, University of California Extension fruit-tree specialists Paul Vossen and Deborah Silver published a paper recommending pomegranate varieties for our area (http://home orchard.ucdavis.edu/plant_pomegranate.pdf). They describe ‘Wonderful' as producing large, deep-red fruits with juicy red arils, small seeds and good flavor. Vossen and Silver also suggest ‘Grenada' and ‘Eversweet' for a harvest that begins in August instead of September.
And if you have space for only one? Taste different varieties to find your favorite. The good news is that even ordinary pomegranates from your grocer's shelf can be Wonderful.
Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Making Wreaths from Your Garden” on Sunday, December 6, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Learn what plants from your garden will make good wreaths and how to choose and prepare plant materials to make them last a long time. Get tips and tricks for designing and making easy creative wreaths for the holidays or any time. Each participant will create a wreath to take home, using locally collected plant materials and supplies provided. To register, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 707-944-8712 or visit its web site.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.