What Kind of Climate Does a Pomegranate Tree Need?
In recent years, science has discovered the extraordinary health benefits of pomegranates, including slowing down the hardening of arteries, per National Geographic News, thereby putting this juicy red fruit in the forefront of our minds. Pomegranates are available in supermarkets only for a limited season, but they are amazingly easy to grow. As a result of new information, including the kind of climate a pomegranate tree needs to thrive, gardeners are cultivating and enjoying this fruit from their home gardens. Does this Spark an idea?
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Origin and History
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Pomegranates are native to southeastern Europe and Asia, typically grown in Egypt, India, Iran and Spain. When missionaries first began traveling to the Americas in the 16th century, pomegranates were introduced into Mexico and California. They can be found all over the world today.
Ideal Climates for Pomegranates
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Since they are native to the Mediterranean regions, the kind of climate pomegranates need to thrive are ones where summers are dry and temperatures range from 70 to 80 F in the summer and the winters are cool but temperature rarely fall below freezing. They are extremely heat tolerant; almost no climate is too hot for them, but they will be severely injured if they are subjected to temperatures lower than 12 F. In the U.S., pomegranates thrive in the Mediterranean-like climate found in California.
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Other Suitable Climates for Pomegranates
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While the ideal climate for pomegranates produces the best quality fruit, they can be grown in tropical to warm temperate climates. They were introduced in Florida in the 1800s, where a successful commercial industry thrived. Certain cultivars do particularly well in certain U.S. states, as in the case of Wonderful pomegranates in California and the Purple Seed or Spanish Ruby varieties in Florida.
Other Favored Growing Conditions
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The best growing conditions for pomegranates beyond climate include calcareous, alkaline soils that are loose. They need plenty of irrigation for proper fruit production, which is enhanced after cold winters in tropical locations.
Effects of Climate on Pomegranates
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As stated before, pomegranates produce the best fruit when they are planted in areas with hot summers and cool winters. To make the plants more successful in a wide variety of growing conditions, cultivars have been introduced that are primarily targeted for the growing conditions in that region. To grow pomegranates well, gardeners simply need to find the variety of pomegranate that thrives where they live.
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- Photo Credit pomegranates and snow image by mefanti from Fotolia.com
