In Southern California, the pomegranate is hard to beat. Ours gets almost no supplemental water and still produces plenty of fruit. We don't weigh the haul but a guess would be somewhere around 25 or 30 lbs. Last year was a little light because I pruned it back pretty hard to get some of the unruly growth under control. This year forward I think we'll reap the benefits of that pruning.
We are losing some of the pollinated flowers though. I'm not sure if it's been the wind, not enough water or birds and squirrels knocking them off. The picture above shows a blossom caught in the St. Catherine's Lace (it's a buckwheat - Erigonum giganteum) as it begins to bloom.
Here's what the St. Catherine's Lace looks like in full bloom.
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So beautiful! Makes me think of a carnation tree. They grow happily here too -- don't know why I haven't planted one.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yes it's a beautiful tree and the fruit is delicious. We like to juice them.
ReplyDeleteMy dwarf pomegranate is about a year and a half old but still hasn't bloomed or born fruit. It's in a large container, and seems fairly leafy and healthy. I'm hoping maybe next year we'll get some fruit. Do you fertilize your tree with anything, or just let it do it's thing?
ReplyDeleteWe just let it do it's thing. We don't even water it directly but it gets occasional water when we water the plants nearby.
ReplyDeleteWe also have a younger bush (spread by birds I think) which is about 4 feet tall. It hasn't bloomed yet. I think I might remember something about it not blooming on new growth so pruning cuts the production of flowers for a season.
I'll look at our Wester Garden book to see if it says anything about it.