How To Grow Pomegranate Plants
Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) is a tropical vining plant native to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. Passionflower, also known as passion fruit, produces stunning, intricate flowers and sweet fruit. Passiflora edulis is hardy in zones 9-11.
HISTORY
Traditionally served on the Jewish high holiday of Rosh Hashana, pomegranate seeds are meant to symbolize fruitfulness. Chinese, Hindu, and many other cultures around the world also regard the pomegranate a symbol of fecundity and abundance. Early Christian art utlizes the image of an opened pomegranate to symbolize the sufferring and resurrection of Jesus. The ancient Greek story of Persephone, tricked by the god Hades into eating 6 pomegranate seeds and spending six months of the year with him, is a mythical explanation for the changing seasons as she emerges each spring from the underworld.
USES
- Delicious in salads, smoothies, desserts, and eaten fresh.
- Choose a location in full to partial sun with well-drained soil.
- Plants are hardy in zone 7-11.
- If you are growing in a cooler area, use a pot (Minimum-10 gallons).
- Space plants 10-15 ft apart.
- Pomegranates are self-fertile but planting them in pairs will increase pollination.
- Fertilize in the spring and fall for the first few years.
- When the plants are well established, prune away dead, crossing, damaged, and diseased branches while the shrubs are dormant.
- Shrubs will fruit in 3-6 years.
- In the winter, propagate from 8-10-inch hardwood cuttings.
- Dip in rooting hormone and plant into well-drained potting soil.
- A humidity dome will help the cuttings root successfully.
- Keep in a bright location until rooted.
- Transplant the following growing season.