The pomegranates are grown from Turkey to the former Soviet republics such as Armenia and Georgia to Iran, China and Indonesia. But the pomegranate trees can also bear flowers and fruit in the warmer regions of Germany.
The botanical name of the pomegranate tree is Punica granatum. It is a three to five meter tall tree that can become very old. In addition, the small cultivar Punica granatum Nana is widespread in Europe. The dwarf pomegranate tree is a shrub about one meter tall. Both trees have orange-red, funnel-shaped flowers in spring and shed their leaves in autumn.
Pomegranate as a container plant
This exotic fruit is more associated with the warm climate zones of Asia, the Mediterranean region and India. In most regions of Germany, the pomegranates are planted as an ornamental tree because of the beautiful flowers and leaves. Due to their sensitivity to frost, they are mainly kept in pots and after the leaves have been shed in autumn, they are brought to a cool and frost-free place to overwinter.
The pomegranate tree needs a dark winter quarters with temperatures between 2° and 7°C, where it hibernates until February. During the hibernation it is poured very little and not fertilized. During the period between February and May, he can slowly get used to being outside in a warmer and brighter place where he can be placed after the Ice Saints.
Pomegranate in the open ground
In the regions of Germany with a milder climate, where wine is also cultivated, planting pomegranate trees outdoors is conceivable, e.g. B. on a protected south wall of a building. There it is also possible that the trees bear fruit and that they get enough sun to ripen. In essence, the harvest depends on whether the summer is warm and dry enough.
The permafrost periods are not well tolerated by the pomegranate trees. Among other things, the sensitivity to frost depends on the variety. There are quite robust varieties that can survive the winter outdoors with some protection against the cold:
- Uzbek
- Provence
- There was
- Tyrol
- Salavatski
- Russian #26
- cataque
- Kaj Acik Anor
- Entekhabi Saveh
tips and tricks
The pomegranates are harvested from October until the first frost. The fruits do not ripen, so only harvest ripe fruits. This can be recognized by the orange-red colored, cracked shell.