POMEGRANATE
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Punica granatum
FAMILY: Punicaceae
The pomegranate is a member of the Punicaceae family. The only other member is a very unimportant fruit with similar characteristics. The pomegranate dates back to before recorded history. Egyptian sculpture from 2500 B.C. shows pomegranates and the tomb of Rameses IV from 1160 B. C. had dried pomegranate in it. The ancient Greeks and Persians thought the pomegranate had some mystic connection with procreation because of its many prominent seeds.
The pomegranate is a small tree or bush with many stems forming an irregular crown. It is hearty in central Florida and deciduous. When it is grown for fruit, the pomegranate should be trained to a tree shape. When they are grown for decoration they may be allowed to make a more shrubby growth. Their glossy, green leaves, their large, orange, hibiscus-like blossoms, their dark red fruit in the fall make them desirable ornamentals.
The leaves are lanceolate, pointed at the top. They are about 2 to 3 inches long and are arranged oppositely on the stem. The flowers are bell-shaped with 6 to 8 orange petals. Within the flowers are many yellow stamens. They bloom in the spring and develop fruit through the summer. The fruit is thick-skinned, spherical and 3 to 4 inches in diameter. The remains of the flower are attached at one end. There are many seeds in a sweet, red, juicy flesh.
Pomegranates will survive under dry conditions but fruit better where they receive adequate water. They are also nitrogen-hungry, needing about one half pound of pure nitrogen per year. This may be furnished in the form of a heavy mulch of cow manure and 6-6-6 fertilizer twice a year, in winter and spring.
Pruning should be confined to the removal of suckers, removal of dead wood and interfering branches each winter. This annual pruning is required to maintain production of good-quality fruit. Fruit may be allowed to ripen on the tree or picked when mature, but unripe, and allowed to ripen indoors.
DATE: March 1987
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