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emma_meyer18

New plan for a pomegranate tree!

5 years ago

So I just ate probably the best fruit ever, and now I want a tree. I saved the seeds and did many a youtube video watch to see how to take care/prepare them. I currently have the seeds in a moist paper towel all rolled up and put in a plastic bag. I would LOVE any advice on how to care for the seeds and when to plant them! I will probably ask a bunch of questions over the course of the year, so please respond with any good advice!!!!
BY THE WAY! I don't have a bunch of space outside, so I am thinking of having it in a pot.

Comments (18)

  • 5 years ago

    I grew a bunch from seeds. Kept them in a pot for maybe two years. The first winter I moved them indoors, the next outdoors. Found they were hardy enough to survive Atlanta winter so put them in the ground. About 3 foot high now but no blooms. I should've thinned them but I didn't have the heart.

    This is them in May this year.

    I started them in 2016 and here are the seedlings.

    And here are some blooming ones at the Atlanta Botanical Garden that same year.

    Maybe another year or two, mine might bloom.

  • 5 years ago

    I should've added how I grew them. I bought a pomegranate at the grocery store (had them before and not that enamored with them but I liked their blooms). I quartered the one I bought, put it in a pot with some garden soil or potting soil (don't remember which one but it was MG). Put it out in the sun to attract the bees, wasps, and ants to eat the pulp and let the seeds sink into the soil. Seems like they germinated fairly fast (a week or so?). The rest is history. I did the same thing with Dragon Fruit years earlier and it was so easy that I did the same thing with the pomegranate.

    Good luck!


    The fruit of the bushes at the ABG the following year were not that big (Oct 2017)

    And the bushes were fairly large.

  • 5 years ago

    Thank you so much for responding not only in great length and detail, but fairly quickly!!!
    I am just curious on how your fruits tasted and came out. I again dont have a lot of space in my backyard, and I was planning on getting a big pot to grow a decently sized tree. your trees look awesome, but your fruits are really small. do you get many tasty seeds? are they bitter for you? and, final question for this comment, what is a preferred temperature? I live in Houston so its normally hot, but this winter through January will stay around the 50-70s (Farenheit).

  • 5 years ago

    Those were not my fruits - those were at the ABG (Atlanta Botanical Garden). Mine has not bloomed since I grew them from seed (from one of those giant ones you pick up at the grocery store).


    You will probably have better luck growing them in your zone. I am in Atlanta and we've already had two mornings in the mid-20's this week. Those giant fruits probably were grown in California or Mexico. I wished there was more fruit, less seed in a pomegranate.


    https://fsi.colostate.edu/pomegranates/


  • 5 years ago

    I've gotta say, I am super excited to (and I'm hoping this works) have homegrown tasty fruits in just a couple of years! I've been waiting on my avocado tree for quite some time, and I will have to wait even longer if I want it to produce fruit anytime soon.

  • 5 years ago

    We have one we bought from Home Depot. The variety is called 'Wonderful'. They are a very fast grower and need very little attention. I think the first year we got three fruit, then last year around 6, and then this year we were covered (40?).


  • 5 years ago

    That is incredible! I got my pomegranate from Aldi, and I totally forgot what type it is. it looks similar to the pictures you made, and I really hope mine does as well!

  • 5 years ago

    It would even helpful to know where you are located so people can tell you if pomegranates are likely to thrive in your climate. The second point is to wonder if you realise that pomegranates don't ‘come true from seed’. That means that, however delicious the fruit you ate, it is a lottery how its offspring will look or taste. To be sure of getting exactly the same fruit you need to plant a named cultivar which has been grown vegetatively. Perhaps you could contact Aldi and see if they can tell you the variety name.

  • 5 years ago

    also note.. fruit production trees are full sun plants ... for production ... whether or not you can grow it as a houseplant .. it may never get enough light to thrive as to making fruit ... indoors


    but i am sure you will have fun and learn all about it.. while trying ...


    also note.. the story above.. about buying a plant.. and getting fruit the first year ... that plant was probably already 3 to 5 years old ... dont forget to calculate that into how long it takes a plant to go from seed to fruit ... if in fact .. that plant was from seed ... which flora seem to suggest.. and i agree ... it probably wasnt ...


    ken

  • 5 years ago

    All very good points. I am sure my purchased tree was at least 3 years old, and probably closer to 5. While I enjoy growing from seed, if it is fruit I am after, if makes sense to buy an established tree to shorten the time from planting to harvest. We have a great local nursery and they always stock fruit trees that thrive locally. Home Depot, can be hit or miss, as they don't specialize in our local area and their trees are often not well cared for after they arrive. In this case, it was fine as we had done our research (Wonderful is a well know cultivar that would be well suited to where we intended to plant it) and the plant was healthy at the time of purchase.

  • 5 years ago

    Some people just grow them for fun, flowers, and some take it to another zone - the bonsai zone - HAHA!




  • 5 years ago

    Absolutely. Fun is good. I just mentioned the not coming true because the OP started off by saying she’d eaten a delicious fruit and was going to try to grow the seeds. I assumed that s/he assumed s/he’d get the same delicious fruit from the offspring.

  • 5 years ago

    I would think they would love Houston. They are practically weeds in Tucson. Our power company gives them away as fast growing shade trees to promote energy conservation. Biggest problem here is inconsistent watering in the summer--inconsistent water leads to inconsistent growth, which causes the skins to split. That said, I abuse the heck out of mine, we had an awful hot/dry summer, and I still got a dozen decent fruits. The birds are happy.

  • 5 years ago

    I missed the OPs location. I see it now. But the point about not having high expectations of seed grown plants remains valid. OP says ‘I am super excited to (and I'm hoping this works) have homegrown tasty fruits in just a couple of years!’ This is unlikely.


    The same caveat applies to the avocado if that was also grown from seed.

  • 5 years ago

    I don't have the room for the tree types, I grow the dwarf varieties (which by the way are quite cold hardy, even into a "cold", northern Zone 7 climate maybe lower. I like the cherry orange red flowers, they are also great for bonsai as said above.

  • 5 years ago

    The humidity will be a problem in houston. Fungus/rot will infect your fruit. Houston is warm most citrus would do well for you.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Emmanema, if you have room to add another fruit, I recommend calamondin. I have one I've been growing for a few years here in upstate NY. I have it outside for our brief summer, which is when it does its growing and recharges for the year, and it is indoors next to my lighted shelf the rest of the time. I keep it a houseplant-sized bush with careful pruning. Every year I get the heavenly scented blooms and a few quarter-sized fruit. They're sour and I use them like lemons. I can't advise you on how long they take from seed because I bought mine as a blooming plant from our local Walmart one summer. I've tried other citrus, but the others are thorny and don't seem as adaptable or as durable. So far the calamondin is the only one that has survived being a potted plant. I think it would love life in Houston.

  • 5 years ago

    Wonderful is not a good variety for the Houston area. It splits bad. I planted about 6 different varieties last year. Too early to tell which will do best. They are not that expensive online. One of the cheaper trees to buy. I live north of Beaumont.