Pomegranate project

[twarawa]

Hi all,

I just started a project with some pomegranate seedlings that I thought I would share. It gets pretty boring up here over the long winters and I've been tired of waiting to do something, so here goes.

I started some pom seeds just over a year ago indoors. They have not seen the light of day since they germinated, only my indoor growing setup, so they aren't as large as they could be right now. But, I am hoping to fix that this year. I have around 40 of them growing right now so if this doesn't work it will only free up some space inside the grow tent.

First, I started with four seedlings with tall and straight trunks. They are not quite pencil thick yet. and around 12" tall (cut back numerous times).
Here they are almost bare rooted.


Bare rooted by tylerwarawa, on Flickr


Rootball by tylerwarawa, on Flickr


Rootballs by tylerwarawa, on Flickr


Next, I put them together approximately how they would be arranged.


All together by tylerwarawa, on Flickr


Then I scraped off the outer layer of bark where the seedlings would come together. I have no idea if this will help or not but figured I would try it.


Scraped bark by tylerwarawa, on Flickr


I wrapped the entire area I would like to grow together with raffia (if it doesn't look that great it was my first experience with the stuff), and shoved a piece of coconut husk into the base to create a bit of flare.


Base by tylerwarawa, on Flickr


After it was all said and done I added a couple of wood spacers to keep the top of the trunks apart. They will likely be chopped back anyways after the trunks fuse.


Top by tylerwarawa, on Flickr


And, after a quick repot into some proper soil instead of the old potting soil, we have a pomegranate hopefully on its way to an acceptable broom style in the future.


Completed by tylerwarawa, on Flickr

 

[small trees]

That's very interesting! The spacers and the coconut husk are both smart. How fast do these grow/How long until you expect them to fuse? I have a larger pomegranate that I bought and have taken several cuttings from. I might use a few of them for something like this; it's a pretty neat project!

 

[twarawa]

That's very interesting! The spacers and the coconut husk are both smart. How fast do these grow/How long until you expect them to fuse? I have a larger pomegranate that I bought and have taken several cuttings from. I might use a few of them for something like this; it's a pretty neat project!

They seem to grow as seedlings fairly quickly. These ones are a year old wwithout ever being outdoors, which I assume is less than ideal. As long as everything holds together I hope to get the raffia off by the end of summer which would be around September here. I also will be bringing them outside for the summer, so I believe that will speed things up.

 

[small trees]

They seem to grow as seedlings fairly quickly. These ones are a year old wwithout ever being outdoors, which I assume is less than ideal. As long as everything holds together I hope to get the raffia off by the end of summer which would be around September here. I also will be bringing them outside for the summer, so I believe that will speed things up.

You obviously know since you kept them inside, but pomegranate aren't very cold hardy at all. Make sure your freezing temps are over before setting it outside. That seems a little quick for the trunks to fuse, but I really have no idea how these seedlings behave. Make sure you update this thread!

 

[twarawa]

You obviously know since you kept them inside, but pomegranate aren't very cold hardy at all. Make sure your freezing temps are over before setting it outside. That seems a little quick for the trunks to fuse, but I really have no idea how these seedlings behave. Make sure you update this thread!

I really don't have much experience to tell if that is a realistic timeline or not but I will be putting some of the other out this year and depending how fast they develop I should be able to gauge this one.

As for freezing, I did have two outdoors for about a month last year and they did freeze. They didn't like it but they didn't die either. I have found so far that these little guys can take a a lot and still bounce back. I've had an aphid problem in the tent before and they have taken a full defoliation once and a been cut back so no leaves were left another time and they come right back.

 

[edprocoat]

Twara I have never done a Pomegranate at all but I can tell you with Ficus and Elms 2-3 months and a trunk will be fused solid. The husk, you want the base to grow over that? I would think that could take longer to accomplish as it would have to create a lot of wood to cover that area. The base would have had a flare anyway, but not as big as with the husk to grow over. I would unwrap the top in 3 months and check for fuse, if it has I would then remove the wrap and girdle just below where you want it to flare to allow it to swell fast. Although in Canada you may want to wait till next year to do that as it will (I assume) slow down considerably during the winter. Then again being a Tropical it may grow just fine inside with good lighting.

ed

 

[Poink88]

Good idea and looks promising. Things I would have done different...
- twist the trunks as they go up.
- wire and introduce movement to the trunk after the raffia is applied.
- release a "branch" off the bunch one at a time.

 

[twarawa]

Twara I have never done a Pomegranate at all but I can tell you with Ficus and Elms 2-3 months and a trunk will be fused solid. The husk, you want the base to grow over that? I would think that could take longer to accomplish as it would have to create a lot of wood to cover that area. The base would have had a flare anyway, but not as big as with the husk to grow over. I would unwrap the top in 3 months and check for fuse, if it has I would then remove the wrap and girdle just below where you want it to flare to allow it to swell fast. Although in Canada you may want to wait till next year to do that as it will (I assume) slow down considerably during the winter. Then again being a Tropical it may grow just fine inside with good lighting.

ed

Thanks for the insight, Ed. You're right the bottom may take longer to fuse, it does have quite a large gap between the trunks. What do you mean by girdle below the flare? I'm assuming not a tourniquet.

 

[twarawa]

Good idea and looks promising. Things I would have done different...
- twist the trunks as they go up.
- wire and introduce movement to the trunk after the raffia is applied.
- release a "branch" off the bunch one at a time.

Thanks, Dario. I thought about twisting the trunks but didn't really want that look, although it would soon grow out.

As for movement in the trunk, this one I wanted to keep straight and will probably keep it in the shohin size range. I have another 30 something I need to do something with this year so I may try this again and those would be wired.

I didn't think about the branching when I did it but now I may go back and alter them to do it more like you said. That would add a little more naturalness to the look I think.

 

[Poink88]

I didn't think about the branching when I did it but now I may go back and alter them to do it more like you said. That would add a little more naturalness to the look I think.

More importantly...some taper.

BTW, may sound counter-intuitive but the lowest branch should be the biggest/thickest tree, then the next, etc. Again so you have the biggest branch at the bottom which will create a more realistic image later. If you want, you can leave the biggest for your apex/main trunk but the lowest branch should be the next biggest then so on with the smallest as the highest branch.

Most will exit the smallest tree first...

 

[small trees]

Thanks, Dario. I thought about twisting the trunks but didn't really want that look, although it would soon grow out.

As for movement in the trunk, this one I wanted to keep straight and will probably keep it in the shohin size range.

A lot of pomegranate trees will twist with age anyway. Mine is one example. Google 'twisted pomegranate' for more. I'm honestly not sure if this is a natural variation, a cultivar, or what, but it is a natural occurrence in some pomegranate trees.

 

[nathanbs]

More importantly...some taper.

BTW, may sound counter-intuitive but the lowest branch should be the biggest/thickest tree, then the next, etc. Again so you have the biggest branch at the bottom which will create a more realistic image later. If you want, you can leave the biggest for your apex/main trunk but the lowest branch should be the next biggest then so on with the smallest as the highest branch.

Most will exit the smallest tree first...

he mentioned in his original post that he wanted to make a broom style. Your suggestions are more in line with anything but a broom. I agree that even a broom should have some taper but they typically are a stick with a lollipop head so i think hes on the right path. FWIW broom is definitely my least favorite as it reminds me of topiary

 

[Poink88]

he mentioned in his original post that he wanted to make a broom style.

Sorry, I missed it. Thanks.

 

[small trees]

he mentioned in his original post that he wanted to make a broom style. Your suggestions are more in line with anything but a broom. I agree that even a broom should have some taper but they typically are a stick with a lollipop head so i think hes on the right path. FWIW broom is definitely my least favorite as it reminds me of topiary

Don't trees like BVF's Hawthorn fall under broom style though? I like to think of brooms as the style an oak tree might naturally be found in. Unless it's just another form of formal upright.

 

[Neli]

Good job! Try to fuse 10-15 next time and twist them as Dario said...leave branches too.

 

[nathanbs]

Don't trees like BVF's Hawthorn fall under broom style though? I like to think of brooms as the style an oak tree might naturally be found in. Unless it's just another form of formal upright.

No a broom is where all of the branches eminent from the end of the broom handle(trunk) much like the bristles of a broom do. This is at least my interpretation of what a broom style is

 

[GrimLore]

No a broom is where all of the branches eminent from the end of the broom handle(trunk) much like the bristles of a broom do. This is at least my interpretation of what a broom style is

I look as brooms as brooms as well but it seems there are a LOT of specimens out there that have a mushroom shape and are somehow called brooms - it puzzles me but oh well...

Grimmy