How To Grow Pomegranates in Arkansas

Pomegranates are treasured in Persian and other Middle Eastern cuisines for their acidic, tangy flavor. These fruits are easy to grow in your back yard if you can meet their optimal growth requirements. Pomegranates cannot survive temperatures below 10 degrees F, prefer a full sun environment and do not perform well in drought conditions. If you want to grow pomegranates in Arkansas, your plants should do well but you will need to provide a space heater if the temperature falls below 10 degrees in a rare cold spell.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Potting soil
• Water
• 8-8-8 fertilizer

Instructions

1. Buy a pomegranate sapling from a nursery. Wonderful and Grenada are common varieties.

2. Determine where to plant your pomegranate tree. The tree will develop a low, sprawling shape, so find a spot where it can flourish without competition.

3. Dig a hole twice as large as the pomegranate's root ball. Remove any rocks or sticks from the site. For best results, plan to fill the hole with either potting soil or a mixture of native soil and compost.

4. Remove your pomegranate sapling from its container and massage the root ball with your fingers to break it up. Place the sapling in the hole and make sure that the tree points straight up and down.

5. Fill in the hole with potting soil. Water the area thoroughly. Continue to water the plant thoroughly every two weeks for best fruit development.

6. Fertilize the young tree with 8-8-8 fertilizer several times a year.

Tips & Warnings

• Depending on the variety, your pomegranate tree will bear fruit in one to three years.

• Pomegranate trees have delicate limbs, so you might want to stake the young tree with garden stakes and twine for the first season.

References

• Backyard Gardener
• Arkansas Geography
• Purdue University Horticulture and Lansdscape Architecture department