How to Grow Saveh Pomegranates
The pomegranate, also known as the Chinese apple, is an attractive shrub with bright-green elliptical leaves and vitamin-rich fruit. Pomegranates grow well in mild-temperate to subtropical semiarid climates and can bear fruit in parts of the United States, such as Arizona and California. Although pomegranates can survive winter temperatures of zero to 15, they seldom set fruit under those conditions. Pomegranate shrubs that don't bear fruit, however, produce dramatic orange-reddish blooms as a consolation prize. The Entekhabi Saveh pomegranate, from the mountainous region of Iran, is among the most cold-tolerant and perhaps the most prized of the pomegranates. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Organic compost
- Mulch
- Ammonium sulfate, or other nitrogen fertilizer
- Pruning shears
- Horticultural oil or neem oil (optional)
Instructions
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Select the proper site for planting your Saveh pomegranate. It needs well-drained, slightly acidic soil that gets at least six hours of full sun a day. If you are planting more than one shrub, space them 12 feet apart.
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Dig a hole as deep as the planting container, and 1 1/2 times as big around. Break up the soil well to help the shrub establish itself.
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Amend the soil with organic compost to add nutrients.
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Place the pomegranate tree in the hole, making sure it is centered and upright. Backfill the hole, tamping down the soil as you go to avoid gaps and air holes.
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Surround your newly planted Saveh pomegranate with a berm, or ring of soil, several inches thick and high, and 2 to 3 feet in diameter.
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Apply 4 inches of a good organic mulch, such as peat moss, composted pine needles, or composted leaves.
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Water your shrub thoroughly. Repeat the watering in a few days. After that, your Saveh pomegranate will need watering only twice a month during the growing season. Avoid risk of fungal infection -- don't use overhead watering.
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Fertilize your pomegranate with a 2- to 4-oz. application of ammonium sulfate, or other nitrogen fertilizer, the first two springs. After that, this hardy shrub needs little or no fertilization.
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Cut back your Saveh pomegranate shrub when it is 2 feet high. Allow four or five shoots to develop in evenly spaced intervals around the plant, starting about a foot off the ground. This provides a balanced appearance, and makes sure leaves get equal amounts of light. For the shrub's first three years, shorten the branches when pruning. After that, remove only the suckers -- small sprouts that shoot off from the crown of the plant -- and the dead or damaged branches.
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Examine your plant frequently for the presence of scale, an insect that sometimes infests pomegranate. Check for round, smooth, waxy-looking bumps on twigs and leaves. If you detect scale, cover the bumps with horticultural oil or neem oil to smother the pests.
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Pick the fruit when it shows full color on the outside -- a bright yellow streaked with deep pinkish-red. Assess the fruit's ripeness by tapping on it -- you should hear a metallic sound and the seeds and juice inside should be ruby-red. Don't let fruit stay on the tree after it is ripe; it can crack open, especially after rains, and be susceptible to rot and mold.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't worry if your Saveh pomegranate produces only flowers the first year; it normally takes at least two years to bear fruit.
To make pomegranate juice, simply cut the pomegranate in half and twist each half on an ordinary juice squeezer. You also can cut a hole in the stem end, place the pomegranate over a glass, and squeeze the fruit.
