Grow pomegranate at home from seed. How to grow a pomegranate from a seed without much effort. Features of plant transplantation

Pomegranate is a flowering and fruiting plant that belongs to the genus of shrubs and small trees. The peculiarity of the growth of shrubs is that they are prone to uncontrolled growth of branches and thickening. For proper development, fruiting and a well-groomed appearance, pomegranate pruning is required. The method and time of pruning will depend on the conditions in which it is grown and what shape the gardener wishes to achieve.

Pomegranate requires regular pruning

Why trim pomegranates?

In nature, it grows well without pruning, but pomegranate needs to be trimmed, using this care technique you can:

• stimulate the growth of lateral branches;
• form strong skeletal branches;
• improve the shape of the pomegranate;
• avoid thickening;
• prevent damage from pests and diseases;
• stimulate intensive flowering;
• increase the yield and quality of fruits.

Formation is important for pomegranates cultivated both in open ground and at home. Therefore, pruning should be done correctly and regularly.

Pomegranate tree pruning: 1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year

Types of trimmings

Depending on the purpose in agronomy, there are several types of pruning:

• formative;
• sanitary;
• rejuvenating;
• supportive.

All these types of prunings are used when growing pomegranate during different periods of the growing season. The purpose of formative pruning is to refine appearance plants, to give the desired shape, it is carried out in the first years of cultivation. Pomegranate can be formed in the form of a spreading bush, a mini-tree, or a standard tree.

Sanitary pruning is carried out to clear old, weak, dried branches, to remove excess branches that thicken the bush and can cause gas exchange disturbances and damage by fungal diseases or pests.

The rejuvenating procedure is used to stimulate the growth of young branches if the bush begins to age and stops growth and fruiting. To preserve the already formed shape of an adult pomegranate, maintenance pruning is done. It will allow you to maintain a neat and well-groomed appearance of the plant.

Pruning pomegranate in the garden

IN southern regions This plant grows wonderfully in open ground. IN middle lane You can also grow pomegranates in open ground using the covering method. Pruning garden pomegranate has its own characteristics and technique. Form it in the shape of a bush or tree. In open ground, seedlings grown from cuttings or purchased from nurseries are most often planted.

Formation of a seedling from a cutting

Such a pomegranate begins to form at the growing stage even before planting on permanent place. After rooting, a seedling from a cutting grows into a single stem or with several side branches. This will determine how pinching is done.

When the cutting grows into one stem, pinch off the top. To form a bush, pinching is carried out at a height of 10-15 cm. When the side branches grow, they are pruned again. This is how the main 5-6 branches are formed. If in the future it should be a pomegranate mini-tree, then pinching is carried out at the height where the crown should begin to form. You also need to put a support to which to tie the future trunk so that it does not bend and is level.

When the seedling initially begins to branch, you need to remove excess weak and low-lying side shoots, leaving strong, well-developed ones, which will be the basis for the formation of the bush.

The seedling is planted from the cuttings into the ground when it reaches a height of 50 cm. The next pruning is carried out in the first spring after planting. In the garden, they continue to shape plants to give the desired shape, and also do sanitary pruning and remove weak, dried branches.

Pruning purchased seedlings

In nurseries they sell already grown plants, ready for planting in the ground; they already have a partially formed crown. Such bushes require maintenance and sanitary pruning every spring to form the pomegranate crown. If necessary, pruning can be done in the fall after harvest.

Regardless of how the pomegranate is formed into a bush or mini-tree, the basic pruning rules must be followed:

1. There should be no more than 6 main stems.
2. The middle of the crown should be visible and ventilated.
3. The shoots growing from below are removed.
4. Weak old and dry branches are removed.
5. Use disinfected instruments.

Pomegranate has the ability to grow and bear fruit for a very long time, about 100 years. To do this, anti-aging pruning is carried out every 25-30 years. The bush is cut off completely, leaving branches of 20-30 cm, the cuts are covered with garden varnish. After a short time, young branches grow and a bush is formed from them. Such garden equipment allows you to rejuvenate old pomegranate orchards.

The growth from below should be removed

Trimming a pomegranate from the seed

Many gardeners have this plant grown from a seed on their windowsill. For pomegranate grown at home, crown formation plays an important role. A seedling from a seed grows with one stem and without pinching or pruning has no decorative effect. Flowering and fruiting of such a pomegranate occurs very late; you will have to wait for many years.

First of all, you need to pinch the top, this is done on different heights. By doing this at a level of 5-12 cm, in the future you can get a beautiful branched bush.

If there is a desire to form a mini-tree, then the pinching is done higher, in the place where, according to the plan, the crown should be formed. As new branches grow, they continue to be pinched until the desired shape is achieved.

For pomegranates that grow on a windowsill, the same pruning rules apply as for garden pomegranates. After trimming an indoor pomegranate, you can grow new plants from the cuttings by rooting the cuttings in loose soil or placing them in water until roots appear. With this method of propagation, plants completely inherit the qualities of the mother bush.

Young pomegranate sprouts should be pinched

Pomegranate bush bonsai

Pomegranate is a crop that easily tolerates pruning, and branches and stems can easily take on different shapes. These characteristics allow you to create real masterpieces of floral art. Using this feature of the plant, pomegranate trees are formed in the bonsai style. The task is labor-intensive and time-consuming, but the result is worth the effort.

To turn a pomegranate from a seed, it must be already grown, and the strongest stem must be at least 2.5 cm thick. The following steps must be taken:

1. Remove all unnecessary branches.
2. The trunk is cut at a level of 20-25 cm.
3. Bend and shape the required form, fixed with wire.
4. The crown is formed from overgrowing branches.
5. Give shape, fixing with fishing line.
6. Trim the crown as it grows.

When the basic formative actions have been completed, they are cared for as for an ordinary pomegranate, watered and fed. Replant as necessary in fresh loose soil. In this matter, it is important to be patient, and a small pomegranate bonsai will delight you with its beauty and intricate shape.

Graft

In addition to pruning and care, to grow a healthy tree, pomegranate grown from seed must be grafted. This will allow:

• accelerate flowering and fruiting;
• give fruits varietal qualities;
• improve the appearance of the plant.

A pomegranate grown from a seed rarely has the qualities and characteristics of the variety from which the seeds were taken. Fruiting will have to wait about 5 years. The fruits grow small size with low taste characteristics. In order for the fruits to have varietal characteristics, they are grafted with cuttings from fruit-bearing bushes. This will allow you to get the first pomegranates within a year after grafting.

Also, with the help of grafting, you can add decorativeness; for this, cuttings are grafted from varieties that have the desired qualities. By grafting the Nana variety, you can get a dwarf pomegranate with small decorative fruits and beautiful leaves.

If you graft Socotri pomegranate cuttings, the bush will be decorated pink flowers, and the fruits will delight you with their size and taste.

If the goal is to obtain ornamental plant, then they graft a terry pomegranate, it does not bear fruit, but its flowering is magnificent. Among the methods for grafting pomegranate are:

• simple copulation;
• in a side cut;
• into cleft

For those who have had vaccination experience fruit trees, there will be no difficulties with grafting a pomegranate, but it will not be particularly difficult for a beginner. You can graft a seedling from seeds when the trunk or branches of the crown already have a thickness of 0.5 cm. The grafting is done in the spring before active growth begins.

For the procedure to be successful, you need to understand how to vaccinate correctly.

Socotri pomegranate produces large fruits after grafting

Simple budding

This is the simplest and most common method of vaccination. It can be carried out on seedlings already in the second year of cultivation so that the branches have the required diameter. The cutting should be the same thickness as the branch to which it needs to be grafted, have 4-5 developed buds, and be up to 5 cm long. To stimulate fusion, cuttings can be soaked for 8 hours in Kornevin’s solution. On the scion and grafting, an oblique cut 2.5-3 cm long is made at an angle of about 30 cm, the cut should fit tightly.

The joint is covered with garden varnish and wrapped with electrical tape or a garden bandage. The winding is left until complete splicing. Using this method, several varieties can be grafted onto one plant.

This method is practiced if the cuttings have a smaller diameter than the rootstock branch. The cuttings are cut at an angle of 30 cm on both sides, forming a peg. The rootstock branch is split from the side so that the cutting can be tightly inserted. Having connected the branches in this way, the junction is tightly wrapped with electrical tape. The winding can be removed after 2-3 months.

Side cut grafting scheme

A simple grafting method if you need to completely replace the variety. When a plant grows from seeds that does not satisfy its characteristics, it can be used as a rootstock for another variety. To do this, the plants are cut off completely, leaving only 20-30 cm of the main stem. It is better to use a cutting of the same diameter. The scion is cut on both sides at an angle of 45 degrees, it will look like a flat peg. The rootstock trunk is split in the middle. The rootstock is connected to the scion. The joint is covered with varnish and tightly wrapped with a garden bandage, thick fabric tape or electrical tape.

Important rules for grafting that increase the percentage of surviving cuttings:

1. Cuttings must be fresh and healthy.
2. The instrument is disinfected.
3. The fit of the scion and rootstock is tight.
4. Do not overload the bush big amount vaccinations at the same time.

By performing such a simple manipulation, you can get not only early fruiting trees, but also a high-quality pomegranate tree on the windowsill.

Cleft grafting scheme

Conclusion

Like every living plant, pomegranate requires proper care. With the help of pruning, you can create not only a beautifully shaped plant, but also ensure its healthy development, high-quality and long-term fruiting. An important process The cultivation of pomegranates also includes grafting, which will help in creating a magnificent bush with tasty fruits.

Growing different exotic plants at home exciting activity. Indoor gardening fans love to experiment. Having seen images of a beautifully flowering pomegranate bush, there is a desire to plant pomegranate seeds and grow the plant on your own windowsill.

You can grow a tree from a seed

Growing

By following simple instructions and knowing how to grow such a plant correctly, you can get a beautiful bush with oval green leaves, beautiful red flowers and edible fruits. Correct agricultural technology will allow you to get a positive result in such an experiment. You need to approach all stages of growing pomegranate from seed responsibly.

To make a pomegranate bush appear on the windowsill, you need:

• select seeds and prepare them for sowing;
• prepare the ground;
• sow seeds;
• Carefully care for the bush.

Seed selection

High-quality seed material will be the key to successfully growing a strong and healthy pomegranate bush. If you use seeds from store-bought pomegranates, you need to remember that this hybrid varieties and the bush that grows from seed will not produce fruit with the same qualities as the mother fruit. But this will not prevent you from growing a pomegranate from a seed, which will delight you with a lush crown and high decorative qualities.

Seeds for planting are taken from a healthy, ripe fruit without damage. Pomegranate seeds must be:

• hard;
• colors Ivory;
• no mold or damage.

These characteristics affect the germination and future health of plants.

Seeds should be selected from a healthy large fruit

Seed preparation

The selected pomegranate seeds must be prepared before sowing in the soil so that they germinate well. To do this, the seeds are washed in clean water so that there is no pulp left on them. Clean seeds are dried on a towel for 24 hours.

It is recommended to treat already dried seeds for stimulation with Epin or another phytostimulant; for this, prepare a solution in accordance with the instructions.

A piece of cotton cloth or gauze is moistened with the solution, and the seeds are wrapped in it. Leave to swell for at least 10 hours. Make sure that the seeds do not dry out or become moldy.

Soil preparation

A universal soil mixture is suitable for sowing pomegranate seeds. You can add river sand to it in a 3:1 ratio. Pomegranate plant, not demanding on the soil, which should be:

• moderately nutritious;
• loose;
• with a pH level of 5.5-7.

The soil for sowing pomegranate must be disinfected, as when planting any other plant. This can be done in different ways:

1. Spill the soil weak solution magnesium permanganate.
2. Roast in the oven at 90°C for 30-45 minutes.
3. Pour boiling water over the soil.

After such treatment, the chances of young plants becoming infected with diseases and pests are significantly reduced.

The soil for pomegranate should be loose

Sowing seeds

For sowing, choose a container; it can be a small flower pot, plastic containers, or a balcony box. Before using the container, wash it thoroughly and rinse it with boiling water. The containers are filled with prepared soil and watered clean water. When the water is absorbed, sow the seeds to a depth of 1-1.5 cm and cover with film. Place in a warm, well-lit place. Shoots appear on average after 14 days, but sometimes it may take longer.

A few days after the sprouts appear, they begin to open the film slightly for a while. After a week, the film is completely removed. Make sure that the soil does not dry out and slightly moisten it. Pomegranate seedlings do not tolerate excess moisture well. If a lot of plants have sprouted, then they are thinned out, removing weak and low-quality ones.

Care

Sprouted pomegranate seeds are only half the success; in order for young seedlings to turn into a pomegranate tree or bush, you will need to carefully care for it.

Transfer

After 2-3 months, the seedlings will grow up and need to be planted in separate pots. For the first transplant you need to select flower pots volume 2-2.5 l. No need to plant seed indoor pomegranate immediately into large containers, this can slow down their growth. And with a large volume of soil, the plant will devote all its strength to developing the root system, and aboveground part will develop poorly.

Pots are filled to 2-3 cm with drainage, suitable for this:

• expanded clay;
• small pebbles;
• broken brick;
• fragments of ceramic pots.

This will ensure good drainage and prevent buildup. excess moisture at the bottom of the pot.

The soil for growing pomegranate from seeds is universal. Fill the pot, make a hole in the middle and lightly moisten it. Young plant carefully replanted with a lump of earth.

The day after transplanting, pomegranates are watered with Kornevin to stimulate rapid rooting.

The following transplants are carried out as the plant grows in the same way, gradually increasing the volume of the pot. By the age of 5 years, you need to plant a pomegranate in a tub or pot with a volume of 10-20 liters.

Bush formation

In order for a pomegranate to grow from seeds into a beautiful bush or miniature tree, it must be formed by pinching and trimming branches. The first pinching is done a couple of months after germination. Pinch the top of the seedling so that it forms side branches. As they grow, the next pinching is carried out to form branches of the next order. In this way, you can form a lush crown of a tree or a beautiful branched bush. Pruning of homemade pomegranate is carried out in the spring before flowering or at any time if there is a need for pruning long branches. In an adult bush, you can trim the branches growing inwards, this will improve its shape and the plant will look neat and well-groomed.

Pomegranate branches bend easily and, by fixing them, you can create a bonsai-style tree with an intricate crown shape. It will look especially impressive during the flowering and fruiting period.

Conditions and watering

Pomegranate is a heat-loving plant. For it you need to choose a well-lit place. In the southern regions, a grown pomegranate tree can be planted in open ground. In cooler zones, it is practiced to keep the plant in the garden or on the balcony in the summer.

This crop grows well even in drought conditions, but for full growth and development it requires regular moderate watering. In the hot season, water twice a week. Water for irrigation should be room temperature. IN winter period When the air temperature drops, the plant enters a dormant period and can last about two months. At this point, watering is reduced and watered no more than once a week.

Fertilizers

For full growth, flowering and fruiting, pomegranate, like other fruit plants, requires regular feeding, especially if it grows in a limited amount of soil at home.

Feeding is carried out from the beginning of March until November every two weeks. For this use:

• mineral complex fertilizers;
• organic fertilizers.

You can use one type of fertilizer or alternate. For fertilizing, you can select the optimal fertilizer for this purpose in specialized gardening stores.

This can be a mineral soluble fertilizer for citrus fruits or fruit plants. It will be able to fully satisfy the pomegranate’s need for nutrients Oh. For adherents of organic farming, fertilizers based on humates are suitable. They are absolutely environmentally friendly and very nutritious.

At home, pomegranate may partially or completely shed its leaves, this indicates the onset of a dormant period. During this period, it is important to remember that there is no need to apply fertilizers. If the pomegranate seed does not have a dormant period in winter, the bushes are fed once a month, reducing the dosage recommended in the instructions by half.

Fertilizer for fruit plants is excellent for pomegranate

Pests

It is not always possible to protect plants from pests. Grenades can hit:

• spider mite;
• scale insect;

These pests deplete the plant and prevent it from fully developing, so immediate treatment may be required. To get rid of pests, use tobacco dust and garlic infusion.

1. When aphids or spider mites are detected, tobacco dust is sprinkled on the leaves and the soil is lightly sprinkled. You can prepare an infusion, for this 2 tbsp. l. powder is added to 1 liter of water, left for 24 hours and sprayed on the bush.
2. To combat scale insects, an infusion of garlic peels is prepared. Take 2-3 tbsp. l. husks are poured into 250 ml hot water and insist for at least a day. Pomegranate is sprayed with the prepared infusion.

If these remedies fail to control the pests, you can treat the plants with Actellik or Intavir. After treatment with insecticides, the room must be ventilated. The best option will spray outdoors.

Intavir - insecticide for pest control

Flowering and fruiting

Growing a pomegranate from a seed, caring for it, everyone looks forward to the moment of flowering and fruiting. The first flowering is possible after 2-3 years. Pomegranate blooms for a long time, from late spring to mid-summer. The bright red flowers are bell-shaped with protruding stamens; they give the bush a special decorative appearance.

With the appearance of the first flowers, you can achieve the first fruiting; for this you need to carry out pollination. They use a cotton swab to transfer pollen from the stamens of one flower to the queen of another.

It is good to pollinate two bushes between each other, then the percentage of formed ovary increases. To improve the effect, you can spray it with Ovary.

After successful pollination, within a few days the bush will be decorated with small pomegranates, which will ripen in mid-November. Fruits grown at home will not be the same size as in southern gardens, but their value is great. Small grenades will be confirmation proper cultivation and care.

Conclusion

By following all the recommendations for growing and caring for pomegranate seeds, you can get a wonderful result. Such a plant will decorate the windowsill, delight you with incredibly beautiful flowering and surprise your friends with the fact that pomegranates bear fruit from the seed. Positive experience of growing such unusual plant on the windowsill - this is a direct path to new experiments in breeding various exotics at home.

Where can I get planting material? Buy a large, richly colored fruit at the market or store. Fruits with rot or mold should not be taken for planting. The seeds obtained from such specimens are weak and painful, and do not germinate and develop well.

Only healthy, ripe pomegranates are suitable, which need to be carefully cut and the contents removed. Remove the soft shell, place the seeds in a colander and rinse under the tap to remove juice and pieces of pulp. Carefully inspect the bones. Only hard seeds that are grayish-beige or ivory in color are suitable. This means they are already ripe and have enough nutrients to germinate. The planting material is green, soft to the touch, and does not sprout. Such bones simply rot when they fall into the ground and disappear.

Germination

Place the pomegranate seeds on a saucer and pour in a little water until they are half immersed in the liquid. Planting material needs air, because oxygen awakens the grain and starts the germination process. The seeds must not be allowed to float in the water, otherwise they will die.

Planting material must be disinfected. Products such as Zircon or Epin are recommended. Just 2-3 drops, and no fungus or rot. Change the solution in the saucer every 12 hours. The seeds should lie in water for about 3 days, and they should not be allowed to dry out, otherwise the hard shell will crack and the grain will die.

You can cover the saucer with gauze or cotton cloth, which retains moisture well. Water intended for soaking should be passed through a filter to remove any harmful impurities. Place the saucer in a warm place, away from drafts.

After three days of bathing, the bones practically do not change their appearance. Unlike other planting material, they do not grow in a plate, but in the ground. It is important to prepare in advance correct soil and pots, because the grains are placed in the soil directly from the plate.

Substrate preparation

Pomegranate takes root in almost any soil, but in order for the plant to be strong and develop quickly, one of three options should be used. The easiest way is to buy a special substrate designed for indoor flowers. It contains a lot nutrients, quite loose and breathable.

The second version of the soil is prepared from peat and coarse river sand, which is pre-calcined or doused with boiling water to disinfect it. Take the components in equal proportions, stir thoroughly and fill the pot with the mixture.

If there is no peat at hand, it is replaced with turf soil and humus. Combine the ingredients and leave for several days, and add river sand before planting the pomegranate seeds. The last component will make the soil looser and softer, and the humus will become a source of minerals.

Regardless of the composition of the substrate, you need to put it in the pot drainage layer. If it is absent, the water constantly stagnates at the bottom of the container, the roots of the tree rot, and it suffers from fungus. Expanded clay or small pebbles, pieces of polystyrene foam or crushed clay shards are suitable.

Tip: If the soil dries out quickly or becomes too compacted, it should be replaced with new soil, to which pine or other wood sawdust is added.

Planting seeds

1. Fill the pot with substrate, make several holes 1–1.5 cm deep in it and lightly moisten it with a spray bottle.
2. Do not make the holes too deep, otherwise it will be difficult for the sprout to break through the ground.
3. Place the wet seed and sprinkle with soil without compacting it.
4. Sprinkle with water and close the pot cling film or plastic bag. You will get a mini-greenhouse in which it is always warm and humid.
5. There is no need to add fertilizers or growth stimulants. Pomegranate seeds will take the necessary nutrients from the soil.
6. The main thing is that the pot with the future tree is constantly warm.

Natural selection

When the shoots hatch, it is recommended to move the pot to a south window. Young trees need a lot of light to grow and gain strength. Do not remove the film, but regularly ventilate the sprouts by opening the improvised lid for 1–2 hours and water them. The soil should not be too wet or water should accumulate at the bottom. In such cases, you need to stop watering for several days to allow the substrate to dry out, and then reduce the amount of liquid to moisten the soil.

If the seeds are planted in winter, the first leaves will appear on the sprouts in early to mid-spring. Then the film is removed so that it does not interfere with the trees stretching upward. Only one plant is left in the pot, the strongest and largest. The rest need to be carefully pulled out. You can simply pinch off the top, leaving the root in the ground. It will gradually decompose, providing the developing sprout with additional nutrients.

Important: Not all seeds planted in winter hatch in March-April. Some may take months to awaken, so it is recommended not to throw away empty pots without sprouting, but to set them aside and continue to water. If after 6 months nothing has happened, it means the seeds have not sprouted.

Picking

The seedlings do not need to be thinned out, but rather transplanted into separate containers. Pomegranate picking is carried out after the appearance of two true, non-cotyledon leaves.

How to carry out the procedure?

1. You will need several medium-sized pots. The quantity depends on how many trees you plan to grow.
2. Fill each pot with drainage and substrate with pine sawdust.
3. Make one hole 2–2.5 cm deep. Be sure to moisten the soil so that the pomegranate quickly takes root.
4. Carefully distribute the roots over the hole. Sprinkle the seedling with soil and compact the soil a little.
5. You can add water, but if the substrate is wet enough, watering should be postponed for several days.

It is recommended to throw away seedlings that are too thin, weak or crooked. They grow into sickly trees that are constantly attacked by pests or fungus.

Irrigation water and sunlight

Pomegranate comes from warm countries, so the tree loves the sun and tolerates high temperatures. The pot with the plant can be placed on a southern windowsill, closer to the light, but be sure to shade the delicate leaves from ultraviolet radiation. It is advisable to hang patterned curtains or blinds on the windows, which diffuse the sun's rays and make them softer.

In summer, it is useful to take the pomegranate tree out onto the balcony. Owners summer cottages move the pot with the plant into the garden. On fresh air pomegranate blooms faster and develops better. It is recommended to bury the pot with earth, hiding the seedling under a taller tree.

In winter, water pomegranate 2 times a week, and in summer up to 4–5. If the soil inside remains wet and the top layer dries out quickly, it should be sprayed with a spray bottle. Water should not get on tree leaves and flowers. Use only warm, settled liquid, to which you can add fertilizers for indoor flowers or complexes for tomatoes and sweet peppers in spring and summer. Among natural supplements, there is an infusion of manure and aquarium water. You need to fertilize the soil twice a month; before adding nutrients, the pomegranate is watered generously.

Other nuances

1. To make the tree fluffy, you need to pinch the fourth pair of leaves after the third pair of leaves appears. This will cause the pomegranate to grow with two crowns.
2. The plant will bear fruit if it is grafted. In other cases, a tree grown from a seed only blooms, but no fruit appears on it.
3. Closer to winter, around November or early December, the pomegranate sheds its leaves. When the last one falls, you need to take the pot to a cool greenhouse or cellar. The plant should overwinter at a temperature of +5–0 degrees.
4. From November to March, pomegranates are watered once every 1.5–2 months. No need to fertilize.

During the flowering period, you can try pollinating the plant with a brush or cotton swab. No one guarantees that an ovary will appear on the pomegranate, but it is likely that by autumn several fruits will ripen on thin branches. Even if the tree does not bear fruit every year, it is worth planting for its beautiful rose buds, which will appear every 10 months.

Video: how to grow pomegranate

Pomegranate means “grainy” in Latin. It has been known in its wild state since the time of Carthage. In cultural gardening, two autonomous species are grown - Common and Socotrans, although there are many wild pomegranates. Traditionally, pomegranate groves are part of the Mediterranean landscape. In our latitudes, grow this exotic tree in country garden unreal. But if you really want to get pomegranate from a seed, growing it at home will be a good solution. Moreover, this is not at all difficult, and there is a special third type of indoor plant - Dwarf pomegranate.

This deciduous subtropical plant rarely reaches a height of two meters in cultivation. In the wild it can grow up to six meters. In indoor cultivation, its height is unlikely to exceed 80-100 cm, but its low growth will not affect the fruiting of the tree.

By the way. Dwarf pomegranate is popular, along with lemons, oranges, other citrus fruits, home cultivation of pineapple and coffee trees.

The fruit of the plant is a berry, which consists of 6-12 sections, arranged in two rows and filled with more than a thousand seeds. It is from these seeds that pomegranate is grown.

By the way. Pomegranate begins to bear fruit in the garden at three years old, and with careful care can continue to bear fruit for up to forty years. Dwarf pomegranate is capable of bearing fruit in the second year, but this will last for a maximum of seven years. And there is a high probability that the fruits will not appear at all.

However, growing any indoor exotic plant, which is impossible due to inconsistency climatic conditions, to have in the garden at a dacha near Moscow is an exciting activity.

Landing

Pomegranate seeds are on sale today; they can be purchased, packaged in a beautiful bag with a bright, realistic picture, on the Internet or when visiting a store. But it is better to take fresh seeds of another indoor pomegranate for sowing.

Important! Fruits that are sold on the market can have excellent taste qualities. But, unfortunately, they are all hybrids, which means that plants grown from their seeds will not retain their maternal qualities. Most likely, they will not bear fruit at all, although their decorative value will remain high.

The process of planting pomegranates step by step

Removing the seeds is easy. They need to be cleared of pulp and examined carefully. Only hard grains of a light cream color are suitable for sowing; if they are green and soft, they should not be planted.

The prepared seeds are left in water for 12 hours, adding a few drops of the Epin biostimulator. It is necessary that there is a little water - it should not cover all the seeds, since they will need oxygen.

The substrate is being prepared. It becomes loose, soft and fertile. Although the plant is unpretentious to soil structure and composition under normal conditions, it will need additional nutrition in the house. You can buy universal seedling soil in the store, or you can make it up from peat, sand and leaf turf. All ingredients in equal quantities.

The growing container may be small. When the seedling develops and outgrows the pot (this will happen in a year or two), it will need to be transplanted into a larger container. You can read about how to make containers for seedlings yourself in

After soaking in the solution, the seeds are well dried and buried in a moistened substrate. Planting depth is about 1.5 cm.

Advice. It is immediately recommended to sow several grains in one pot. After the seedlings appear, it will be clear which of them are strong and have a high growth potential, and which are better to be removed immediately so that they do not consume nutrients from the soil. If all seedlings good quality, they can later simply be planted in individual pots.

The crops are thoroughly watered and covered with glass. The pot is placed on the windowsill, where the sun remains for the maximum number of hours.

By the way. If planting was carried out at the very beginning of spring, and there is enough light, the seedlings may hatch in two to three weeks. When sowing at other times, it may take months for the seeds to germinate.

Seedling care

Indoor pomegranate needs special comfort and the creation of the best conditions. Caring for seedlings begins as soon as they emerge from the soil.

Table 1. Stages of caring for pomegranate seedlings.

Caring for an adult tree

It may take a pomegranate about eight months from germination to become a mature indoor tree. After this, it can already be treated as an adult plant.

1. Move it to a room with a temperature of +20ºC, that is, the tree can live in any room at normal room temperature.
2. It is advisable to maintain the intensity of lighting and the number of direct sun rays, at least until the plant blooms.
3. Pomegranate still needs regular ventilation.
4. Watering can be reduced to once a week.
5. To see pomegranate bloom, it will need feeding.
6. In winter, the pomegranate should shed its leaves and have a dormant period.

Winter peace

Flowering of the tree can occur nine months after germination. It begins and continues in the summer. Flowers are produced in two varieties. The one that looks like a pitcher is bisexual and bears fruit. Having the appearance of a bell - sterile.

After flowering, if fruits have set, they will ripen during the fall. Then the tree will definitely shed its leaves, signaling that it is time for it to plunge into peace.

Advice. You should not stimulate pomegranate growth in winter. It is necessary to create for him comfortable conditions for relax. Otherwise, the plant will quickly become depleted and eventually die.

To give the pomegranate a rest, in winter it should be moved to a room where the temperature does not rise above +12ºC. Watering is reduced to twice a month. All feeding is stopped. The tree should be at rest for two months.

The pomegranate will indicate that the dormant period is over by the appearance of new leaves. After this, it needs to be returned to its original room, watered intensively and fed with organic matter.

Features of watering

When watering, it is necessary that water is delivered only to the root. It is better to use a small watering can with a narrow nose.

Important! Watering decreases during the flowering period of the pomegranate, increases when the fruits begin to form and ripen, and decreases during dormancy.

The water is always two degrees warmer than the air in the room. You need to defend it for at least a day.

If the room is dry, the humidity is raised by spraying the leaves without cold water, preferably boiled.

Rules for applying fertilizers

An adult tree older than one year is fertilized every two weeks with a complex organomineral composition. The exception is the dormant period, during which no fertilizing is applied.

If the pomegranate is not grown in quality decorative tree, and for fruits that will be eaten, it is fed with mineral fertilizers only until the flowering period. As soon as the tree blooms, feeding begins with slurry or chicken droppings diluted in water.

By the way. Manure and droppings are not best fertilizers for plants that are grown in an apartment, their smell may not be liked by other residents. For feeding, you can take the pomegranate out to the balcony once every two weeks for several days, especially in the summer.

Features of transplantation

A year must pass from the time of the first transplant of the seedling to the second. The following must be taken into account - the larger the pomegranate pot, the more barren flowers will form on it. The container should be chosen to be tight. It is time to replant after the first year, when the tree root has entwined the entire earthen ball, filling the pot.

By the way. With each subsequent transplant, the container increases in diameter, first by two and then by three centimeters.

After four years, the tree is no longer replanted, but every year about five centimeters of the top layer of substrate in the pot is removed and replaced with a new one.

Trimming

This plant bears fruit on young shoots current year. Pruning is an important part of pomegranate care. Its crown must constantly be shaped so that it grows in the form of a lush bush or tree with three to five skeletal branches.

On each first branch, branches of the second order are laid - up to five pieces. The third order of branching is formed on them, where the formation of fruits occurs.

Advice. Be sure to cut out the shoots at the root if they appear in the pot. Also remove all fatty branches and shoots with an internal direction of growth.

After three years, you can begin to cut off old branches that are no longer involved in fruiting.

Improvement of pomegranate

This tree has a lot of pests in apartment conditions. Of the diseases, the most serious are cancer of the root and branches.

Table 2. Methods for exterminating pests.

Pomegranate is an excellent plant for home grown. At proper care it will delight you with a beautiful view and delicious fruits. In addition, this plant is unpretentious and is suitable even for novice gardeners. You will learn from this material how to grow pomegranate at home and how to care for it.

Choosing planting material

It is better to grow fruit from grains in late February or early March. Then the seedlings will appear within 2-3 weeks after sowing. At other times you will have to wait several months.

To grow pomegranate from seeds at home, it is important to choose viable material. Buy seeds only in specialized stores. And be sure to check the quality of the grains. They should be white or cream, firm to the touch and smooth surface. Soft and green seeds will not germinate, so avoid purchasing such planting material. Choose these varieties:

• Uzbekistan. The variety at home reaches 2 meters in height and 1.5 in diameter. Therefore, the variety is suitable for owners of spacious apartments. The pomegranate has spherical, bright red fruits, weighing 120 g. They have a sweet and sour taste and burgundy color grains
• Baby. The variety reaches 1.5 meters in height. It has yellow-brown fruits with a red blush. They ripen by mid-winter and reach 5-7 cm in diameter. The variety requires artificial pollination.
• Carthage. The tree grows up to a meter in height. It has dark red or orange fruits that differ in taste from regular pomegranates. Most often, the variety is grown in decorative purposes.
• Nana. A dwarf hybrid reaching 70 cm in height. It blooms already in the first year after planting with large orange-red buds. Sweet and sour fruits reach 7 cm in diameter.

Is it possible to grow pomegranate at home from fruit purchased in a store or market? Of course you can. But keep in mind that most of these fruits are hybrids. And trees grown from them do not retain the taste of the variety. For cultivation, choose ripe fruits with bright red skin without signs of rot or mechanical damage.

Seed preparation

Before growing pomegranate at home on the windowsill, it is important to properly prepare the seeds. Carefully clean them of pulp and rinse well. Please note that if even a little of the sweet shell remains on the grains, they will become moldy. Pour the peeled seeds with water with the addition of 2-3 drops of Epin or Zircon. The liquid should cover the seeds halfway.

Place the container in a cool place where there are no drafts and leave for 12 hours. Make sure that the moisture does not evaporate. If this happens, the grains will dry out, their shell will crack, and they will not germinate. Therefore, add water as needed.

How to grow pomegranate in a pot at home

Plant seeds in universal soil designed for flowering plants. If you want to make the substrate yourself, then mix in equal parts peat, fertile soil and sand. Before growing pomegranate in this soil at home, be sure to disinfect the mixture. To do this, bake it in the oven or hold it over steam. This way you will protect the seedlings from pathogenic bacteria living in the soil. How to plant seeds:

1. Place a layer of drainage at the bottom of the pot. For these purposes, use expanded clay, broken brick or pebbles.
2. Fill the drainage with disinfected soil.
3. Dry the grains with a paper towel and bury them 1-1.5 cm into the substrate.
4. Spray the planting with warm water from a spray bottle and cover the pot with polyethylene or glass.

Place the greenhouse in a warm, well-lit place. Maintain the room temperature within +25 °C. Ventilate the greenhouse regularly and do not allow the soil to dry out. To do this, spray the substrate from a spray bottle with settled warm water.

Seedling care

Seedlings when planted in winter time appear already in the second or third week. When this happens, start removing the cover. First, remove the glass for an hour, then two, and so on. When the sprouts become stronger and a pair of true leaves appear on them, plant the seedlings in separate containers, shortening the roots of the plants by a third. For planting, use the same soil mixture that you used to germinate the seeds. Be sure to provide good drainage.

When the seedlings form about three pairs of leaves, pinch off the tops. This stimulates branching of the tree. You need to pinch each of the shoots again when three pairs of leaves appear on the branches. Then the pomegranate will grow into a lush tree.

Cultivation

Pomegranate is an unpretentious plant. But in order to achieve rapid growth and fruiting from it, you will need to create comfortable conditions for the tree. To do this, do the following: agrotechnical measures:

• regular watering;
• maintaining optimal temperature, humidity and light;
• frequent feeding;
• transfer;
• pruning and crown formation.

Read more about how to grow pomegranate at home and create comfortable conditions for it.

Temperature

Pomegranate is a heat-loving plant. And for normal growth in the spring-summer period, it needs a temperature of +20...+22 °C. In hot weather, it is advisable to take the pot out onto the veranda or balcony. If this is not possible, spray the foliage more often to “cool” the crop. Otherwise, the tree will lose its leaves, and this will slow down its development.

During fruit ripening, which occurs in autumn, maintain the room temperature at +14...+16 °C. From November to March, it is advisable to give the tree a rest period. To do this, move the pot to a room with +10…+12 °C.

Lighting

Homemade pomegranate- the plant is very light-loving. And for development he needs good lighting. Therefore, place the pot near an east, south or west window. But do not forget to cover the crop from the midday rays of the sun.

Is it possible to grow pomegranate at home on the north side of the room? Such placement of the crop is only possible if you provide the tree with additional lighting with a phytolamp. Daylight hours for a plant should last at least 12 hours.

Watering

Regular and abundant irrigation is the basic rule of how to grow pomegranate at home. In spring and summer, water the plant 4-5 times a week so that the soil is barely moist. But make sure that the water does not stagnate in the substrate. When the tree blooms, reduce irrigation, but do not allow the soil to dry out. After the buds come off, moisten the substrate well. Then next year the tree will produce more flowers. In winter, keep watering to a minimum and moisten the soil no more than once a month.

For watering, use only filtered water that has been standing for at least a day. The temperature of the liquid should be 1-2° higher than that of the air in the room.

Garnet loves high humidity. Therefore, from spring to autumn, regularly spray the leaves of the crop. In hot weather, carry out this procedure 1-2 times a day. In winter, especially if you keep the tree in a cool room, stop spraying.

Top dressing

An important rule on how to grow pomegranate at home is regular application of fertilizers. From early spring to autumn, feed the tree once every 2 weeks. For this purpose, use complex preparations intended for indoor plants. If you grow a crop to get fruits, then instead mineral fertilizers add organic - a solution of chicken manure or manure liquid. But remember that if you overfeed the tree with nitrogen, you will not get buds and, accordingly, fruits.

Transfer

The pomegranate tree grows better in cramped containers, because the larger the pot, the more fruitless bell-shaped buds the crop produces. But the plant needs to be replanted. Carry out the first event using the transshipment method a year after planting. Then replant the pomegranate when its roots completely fill the pot. It's better to do this in the spring. Choose a container with a diameter 2-3 cm larger than the previous one. Do not replant mature trees, but change the top layer of substrate annually.

Trimming

In order for the pomegranate to bear fruit better, do not forget to trim the crown. Carry out the procedure in February, when the tree begins to form buds. Form the plant as a bush with 3-4 skeletal branches, or in the form of a tree with a low trunk, on which there are 4-5 skeletal shoots. In the future, leave 4-5 second-order shoots on each of them. Cut out excess branches, choosing weak shoots and those that grow deep into the crown. Remember that pomegranate bears fruit only on the shoots of the current year. Therefore, remove old shoots. And also do not forget to cut out the root shoots.

How to grow pomegranate from cuttings at home

Start this activity in the summer, when this year’s non-lignified shoots appear on the tree. For cuttings, choose growths 10 cm long. You can also use root shoots for propagation. So, how to grow a pomegranate from a twig at home:

1. Place the cuttings with the lower cut in a solution of a root formation stimulator, for example, “Kornevina”. Keep the branches in the liquid for 6 hours.
2. Before planting, rinse the shoots under running water and bury them 2-3 cm in a container filled with a mixture of peat and sand.
3. Moisten the soil and cover the plants with plastic or trimmed plastic bottles.
4. Place the greenhouse in a bright, warm place.

Moisten the soil regularly, preventing it from drying out. When the cuttings take root, after 6-10 weeks, plant them in separate containers filled with soil for citrus crops and always with drainage. Or use a mixture of humus, leaf, turf soil and sand.

Growing problems

Pomegranate is an unpretentious plant, but if not properly cared for, the tree becomes capricious. Often inexperienced gardeners encounter the following problems:

• The leaves are turning yellow. A similar phenomenon occurs if the crop is hot. Move the tree to a cool area or increase foliar spraying with cool water.
• The leaves turn yellow and dark spots appear on them. This is how the plant reacts to lack of moisture. To correct the situation, increase watering.
• Pomegranate leaves are falling. If this happens in the fall, then don't worry. This is how the plant prepares for winter. If leaf fall begins in spring or summer, then most likely the tree is suffering from heat and insufficient watering.
• The leaves of the crop dry out. This phenomenon leads to insufficient humidity in room. But the leaves also dry out due to a violation of the watering regime, which led to rotting of the roots. Sniff the soil; if it smells moldy, immediately replant the crop in new land. Be sure to inspect the roots of the tree and remove rotten shoots. Treat the cut areas with crushed charcoal.
• The bark cracks, and wounds with spongy swellings appear on the shoots. Cancer of the branches leads to this. At the first sign of illness, clean out the damage to healthy tissue and treat the wounds copper sulfate, and then garden varnish.

Pests often appear on neglected plants: spider mites, scale insects, whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs. To get rid of insects, treat the tree three times with insecticides such as "Aktara" or "Aktellika" with an interval of 5-6 days.

Now you know how to grow pomegranates at home and how to care for the plant. Follow these rules and provide the culture with comfortable conditions, and it will reward you with rapid growth and tasty fruits.

Exotic momordica

Some stores offer seeds of the Indian pomegranate momordica. This plant is annual vine. And it is connected with ordinary pomegranate only by the name and the presence of red sweet seeds. Otherwise, these cultures are strikingly different. Therefore, if you are offered such a variety, passing it off as a tree, refuse to purchase. If you want to add a new one to your collection exotic fruit, then feel free to purchase seeds. After all, getting fruit from them is not so difficult.

How to grow Indian pomegranate momordica at home? Sow seeds in containers filled with loose, fertile soil with a neutral reaction. Peat humus tablets are suitable. Start the event in late March - early April. Soak the seeds in honey solution (1 teaspoon per glass). Wrap them in a napkin and place them in a warm place on damp sawdust. Keep the planting material in this condition for 10-12 days, remembering to regularly wet the fabric.

Bury the prepared seeds with an edge of 1-1.5 cm. Moisten and lightly compact the soil. Then place the planting in a warm, draft-free place. Water the soil regularly, preventing it from drying out. At the end of May, transplant the seedlings into separate pots, keeping the earthen ball. In the future, provide your momordica with regular watering and periodic feeding, and it will bear tasty and healthy fruits.