Accidentally repotted a pomegranate out of season...

[Toshi]

Hey everyone,
This is my 3rd summer now with bonsai. I've been mostly growing tropicals, maiming a cypress here and there and a few weeks ago I picked up this pomegranate. I had a complete brain fart one day leading me to repot and root prune, albeit minimal pruning. The soil it was in was practically mud so my first thought was to change it immediately. I'm surprised it was alive as a lot of the roots were dead and in very poor health. This was about 2 weeks ago and there hasn't been any change, no dropped leaves but no new buds either.

How likely is it to bounce back with enough vigor to survive next winter? I've also come across a lot of conflicting information about overwintering and hardiness, some sources say to protect under 40 while other say it's hardy to zone 6.

I would sincerely appreciate any advice.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Welcome to the site!

It helps if you put your location in your user profile, so people can give you specific advice based on your location. However I would say that no dropped/wilted leaves is a good sign. Give it time - two weeks is really fast for any tree to push new buds.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I dislike talking in zones because I need to look them up to know what the lowest temperature in that zone is. The USDA did a poor job at devising that system.

My pommegrenate survived frost up to -5°C for some nights.
I'm not sure if they care a lot for seasons when it comes to repotting. Stalling for a couple of weeks after a full soil change is pretty normal.

 

[Toshi]

Thanks, I'm in NY zone 7b. I'm relieved to hear that there's hope.

 

[AZbonsai]

The cops will be over momentarily! Stay by your plant...but don't have it in your hands or it could get ugly. Welcome to bonsai. I have done this a few times. I have gotten away with it sometimes, sometimes, not so lucky. I always try to follow advice from @bonsainut, and I am reassured by his words of wisdom, you should be as well. My only other piece of advice would be get in contact with some other local bonsai enthusiasts that might have a club in your area. They can walk you through issues you may have relating to your particular growing environment. Good luck.....and the cop thing was just a joke.

 

[Carol 83]

This will probably garner alot of criticism, but I have successfully overwintered a couple dwarf pomegranates indoors, under lights for two years. The growth is leggy, but otherwise they do fine.

 

[Toshi]

The cops will be over momentarily! Stay by your plant...but don't have it in your hands or it could get ugly. Welcome to bonsai. I have done this a few times. I have gotten away with it sometimes, sometimes, not so lucky. I always try to follow advice from @bonsainut, and I am reassured by his words of wisdom, you should be as well. My only other piece of advice would be get in contact with some other local bonsai enthusiasts that might have a club in your area. They can walk you through issues you may have relating to your particular growing environment. Good luck.....and the cop thing was just a joke.

Haha thanks. I used to go to the club at the Brooklyn botanical gardens but I've since moved and it's just too far away for me now.

This will probably garner alot of criticism, but I have successfully overwintered a couple dwarf pomegranates indoors, under lights for two years. The growth is leggy, but otherwise they do fine.

This is exactly what I thought I could do and now I'm not sure what's best.

 

[milehigh_7]

Pomegranates are one of the few that will actually do just as well indoors as out. They don't need a dormancy, (at least not every year if ever). On the other hand, they are hardy at least into the upper teens and will become deciduous below about 35F.

As far as coaxing it back, if you want to give poms a jump start that when they are yet not dead but close, you can "tent" them for a while. In other words make a small greenhouse out of a plastic bag, milk jug or something that can increase the ambient humidity. Keep out of direct sun but warm. Don't let dry out but they likewise don't like "wet feet."

They do prefer the maximum light possible but will live in lower lighting. They like acidic soil about 5.5pH. Normally a deeper pot than most other plants.

Ask me anything about them I will try to help.

 

[Toshi]

Pomegranates are one of the few that will actually do just as well indoors as out. They don't need a dormancy, (at least not every year if ever). On the other hand, they are hardy at least into the upper teens and will become deciduous below about 35F.

As far as coaxing it back, if you want to give poms a jump start that when they are yet not dead but close, you can "tent" them for a while. In other words make a small greenhouse out of a plastic bag, milk jug or something that can increase the ambient humidity. Keep out of direct sun but warm. Don't let dry out but they likewise don't like "wet feet."

They do prefer the maximum light possible but will live in lower lighting. They like acidic soil about 5.5pH. Normally a deeper pot than most other plants.

Ask me anything about them I will try to help.

Thank you for your input but now it raises a question. If the previous owner grew it as an outdoor tree let's say, would I have to continue that? Would it potentially fall into a state of decline if I suddenly began to overwinter it indoors in a greenhouse and stopped it from going dormant?

 

[milehigh_7]

Thank you for your input but now it raises a question. If the previous owner grew it as an outdoor tree let's say, would I have to continue that? Would it potentially fall into a state of decline if I suddenly began to overwinter it indoors in a greenhouse and stopped it from going dormant?

Nope, it will be fine. Remember, that if possible you should let it soak up the summer sun if it's an option.

 

[Toshi]

Quick little update on this guy, seems to be recovering well in the form of some modest growth all over as well as a couple of suckers that I've pinched. I'd like to do a hard cut back but should I let it recover and wait until next spring or could I get away with a little cutting back mid/late summer?

 

[SilverioSan]

Quick little update on this guy, seems to be recovering well in the form of some modest growth all over as well as a couple of suckers that I've pinched. I'd like to do a hard cut back but should I let it recover and wait until next spring or could I get away with a little cutting back mid/late summer?
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I personally would let it recover and touch it next year but I am a newbie as well so don't take my words for granted.

 

[Toshi]

I personally would let it recover and touch it next year but I am a newbie as well so don't take my words for granted.

I generally like to take a conservative approach as well but would prefer not to lose an entire summer if I can help it.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Judging from the leaves, it needs recovery time.
It will start popping more buds and regain energy. Or not, which means a chop would weaken it. I did a very hard chop this spring and I'm just going to let it run for now. The plant gave me 40 new branches to work with, which I'll select this summer. But that's it for this year on my pommegrenate.

Waiting another year is worth it.

 

[papymandarin]

indeed, thinking that letting a plant grow freely the whole year is "losing a season" is the most widespread misconception about bonsai, you usually lose much more time if you DON'T let the plant recover after such work (if not simply losing the plant itself)

 

[Toshi]

Ok awesome I appreciate the wise words, I'll leave it be for now.

The very last question to bother you all with is regarding soil pH, specifically for pomegranate. I did some reading which said they're more partial to a slightly more acidic soil and some people water with a combination of 1tsp vinegar to 1 gallon of water every few months. Any thoughts there?

 

[milehigh_7]

They like 5-5.5 pH lots of thoughts on how to accomplish that and in truth I'm not sure it matters. Just remember you also need a mineral supplement to to take advantage of the pH environment that the plant wants.

 

[milehigh_7]

The other thing to remember is that it is the pH of the soil that you are concerned with. I use a lot of DE which is about 6.5 whereas kanuma is more acidic. Also, things like spagnum and bark is going to make it more acidic.

 

[Toshi]

Ughh, seems i'm the recipient of some little green invaders, aphids? I used a solution of 1tbsp dish soap to 1 gal of water. I put that in a spray bottle and added a tiny amount of rubbing alcohol. I'm spraying a few times a day, hopefully that'll work.

 

[theone420]

Bayer 3 in 1 worked for me. I had a bunch on my Crape Myrtle this year and the 3 in 1 seems to be knocking them down. so if the soap doesnt work you can try that too.