Pomegranate advice?

[badatusernames]

I got this pomegranate recently. Don't look too close, the wire that is there is disgusting, I know. What' I'm trying to figure out is how to keep it healthy.

Can these be treated as a tropical without a dormancy period, or do they need a period in the 40s? It sounds like anything lower than that is no bueno. Any tips that may be different about this one in terms of how it likes water &etc compared to other flowering or fruiting bonsai?

At some point I'm going to need to learn how to style it as well. i hear ramification is difficult. The trunk on the far left in the first photo has a bit of a problematic long straight section.

 

[Carol 83]

@bonhe would be your go-to guy for poms. Being in IL, I brought mine in this fall and put it under the lights. it's been blooming all winter. Not saying that is the right thing to do, but it worked OK for me.

 

[penumbra]

What Carol says is also true for me.
Your pom has a great trunk.

 

[leatherback]

They are not tropical per se. Giving them a dormancy period treating them like mediteranian plants works well too. So avoind deep frost but the occasional cold spell is fine. I do believe however there are different varieties with different hardiness levels.

Mine move into an unheated shed for winter. This year we have lows around 3F for several nights in a row, daytime temps in the teens. The shed was well and fully frozen. This week I noticed the buds starting to swell, no damage as all. One of them I forgot to bring in and got the full cold spell. I still need to check whether it lives.

 

[Lutonian]

I have a dwarf pom in a pot (not bonsai) that stays on my patio 365 days a years has gone down as far as -7c with no issues, produces lots of flowers and ping pong sized fruit every year so far.

Just got seed for dwarf pom orange master this year in a local garden center going to give them a try.

 

[Soup Dragon]

i hear ramification is difficult.

Ramification is easy. They back bud like crazy, from everywhere.

 

[leatherback]

Ramification is easy. They back bud like crazy, from everywhere.

that might be the dificult part. You keep taking sprouts away!

 

[bonhe]

that might be the dificult part. You keep taking sprouts away!

You are right! If one is not careful enough, that branch can be died , especially if it carried a lot of fruits and/or the tree is old !
Thanks for cold tolerance information. I know there was a big pomegranate research farm in the Soviet Unions in the past. They were growing well there !
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[penumbra]

You are right! If one is not careful enough, that branch can be died , especially if it carried a lot of fruits and/or the tree is old !
Thanks for cold tolerance information. I know there was a big pomegranate research farm in the Soviet Unions in the past. They were growing well there !
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Yes branches on poms do tend to die back on older branches, but it is easy enough to get them to back bud.

 

[bonhe]

Yes branches on poms do tend to die back on older branches, but it is easy enough to get them to back bud.

The whole branch can die, not just the branchlet!
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[penumbra]

The whole branch can die, not just the branchlet!
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Yes it can.

 

[badatusernames]

Yes it can.

so how do i get it to do not that

 

[penumbra]

so how do i get it to do not that

When you figure it out let Me know. Just keep it healthy and growing. I have not lost any large branches, only small ones.

 

[badatusernames]

When you figure it out let Me know. Just keep it healthy and growing. I have not lost any large branches, only small ones.

hahah, good to know

 

[leatherback]

so how do i get it to do not that

Thinking out loud here..

It is for a tree hardly ever interesting to replace a branch. If invested in a branch, why drop it? If it costs more to maintain than what it brings in? So.. Being shaded out, not having enough growth in a year and being depleted by fruits and flowers?

If I think about Birch, a colonizing group of plants: If they become too dense they start dropping branches at will. The trick there is to keep the canopy open enough, if I remember correctly.

 

[bonhe]

Thinking out loud here..

It is for a tree hardly ever interesting to replace a branch. If invested in a branch, why drop it? If it costs more to maintain than what it brings in? So.. Being shaded out, not having enough growth in a year and being depleted by fruits and flowers?

If I think about Birch, a colonizing group of plants: If they become too dense they start dropping branches at will. The trick there is to keep the canopy open enough, if I remember correctly.

Thanks. Pruning time is also very important for pome. If we prune it too early in the season, we might loose that branch in the long run!
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[badatusernames]

Thanks. Pruning time is also very important for pome. If we prune it too early in the season, we might loose that branch in the long run!
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when do you prune?

 

[bonhe]

when do you prune?

In the fall - winter, when all the leaves were gone. At that time, I also wire them as needed.
These 2 trees had pruning and wiring in January. The pictures were taken this morning.


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[badatusernames]

In the fall - winter, when all the leaves were gone. At that time, I also wire them as needed.
These 2 trees had pruning and wiring in January. The pictures were taken this morning.
View attachment 358730 View attachment 358731

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Awesome, thank you!

 

[bonhe]

Awesome, thank you!

Thanks and you are welcome.
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