Russia is a beautiful country, but, unfortunately, our harsh winters do not allow growing sweet exotic fruits in open ground. We are content with imported fruits or cultivate them in greenhouses and greenhouses. However, it is not necessary to buy gifts southern nature in the supermarket, any hostess may well grow them at home. And, if lemons, kumquats, tangerines and other citrus fruits are already widespread as a room culture, then home grenades are quite rare. This state of affairs needs to be corrected, because indoor pomegranate is not too capricious and a very useful plant.
In nature, pomegranate (lat. Punica granatum) is a low (up to 3.5 m) deciduous shrub of the Derbennikov family. Wild pomegranates are found mainly in the subtropics, and cultivated pomegranates are grown in almost all southern countries, excluding regions with high humidity. The Latin name of the plant indicates the place of origin of the fruit: in the translation Punica means "Punic" or "Carthaginian". And until now, Tunisia, the birthplace of pomegranates, is their main supplier on the world market.
[!] ancient greek legend says that the first pomegranate tree was planted by Aphrodite, the goddess of love. And in modern Greece, they break the pomegranate fruit at weddings, wishing a young couple eternal love and fertility.
As already mentioned, pomegranate is a low branched shrub with a pronounced central trunk and side shoots covered with hard spines. Oval smooth leaves reach a length of three centimeters, the maximum size of flowers in diameter is about four centimeters. Pomegranate flowers are very decorative: large and bright, they perfectly decorate the shrub, so pomegranate is used not only as a fruit-bearing plant, but also as a landscape decoration.
There are only two types of pomegranate in the genus: the common pomegranate (Punica granatum) mentioned above and the Socotra pomegranate (Punica protopunica), found only on the island of Socotra.
Types of indoor pomegranate
Based on the common pomegranate, botanical breeders bred several varieties that differ in miniature size:
- Nana,
- Baby,
- Carthage.
The maximum height of a dwarf pomegranate tree is about one and a half meters. Otherwise, indoor pomegranates are very similar to their adult counterparts: a large number of branching woody shoots, oval glossy leaves, bright and large flowers.
Homemade pomegranate, like its natural predecessor, is a deciduous plant. This means that the change of seasons is reflected in the foliage of the shrub: in spring and summer the leaves are green, turn yellow in autumn, and fly around in winter. As for the life time of flowers, it is also short: flowers that have not formed ovaries last no more than two or three days. However, new buds appear so often that the tree is almost always in bloom.
[!] You can find out whether the ovaries will be in the form of a flower: fruits are formed only in long (jug-shaped) flowers. Usually the number of ovaries is small - about two or three pieces per hundred flowers.
Homemade pomegranate, like ordinary pomegranate, is grown not only because of the fruits, it lush bloom very decorative and decorates the interior. In addition, the tree can be formed in Japanese style bonsai.
As the owners of this exotic plant assure, the fruits that the indoor pomegranate gives are not as tasty as the purchased ones - too small and with big amount seeds. However, as you know, fruits grown with your own hands are much more desirable.
Pomegranate care at home
Despite the fact that the southern guest is not too capricious a plant, some efforts will be required from a grower to grow a homemade dwarf pomegranate. It is important to create conditions close to natural, only in this case the tree will actively bloom and bear fruit.
One of the features of growing pomegranate is the dormant period required by the plant. How to help the tree to winter?
rest period
At the end of autumn, when the trees outside the window begin to fall leaves, the indoor pomegranate, like its street counterparts, sheds leaves. On adult specimens, this process begins, as a rule, after fruit ripening.
The first fallen leaves are a signal for the grower that the plant should be prepared for wintering. To do this, the pomegranate is moved to a cool (13-15 ° C) room and watering is reduced. Such a room can be a glazed loggia of an apartment or covered veranda Houses. If there is no corner with the required temperature in the house, you can try to create conditions for wintering in a regular room. To do this, the grenade must be moved as close as possible to the cold window glass and cover with polyethylene.
[!] Young, one-, two-year-old grenades do not need a dormant period and can winter in an ordinary city apartment.
Temperature and lighting
Not to mention winter period when a pomegranate needs to provide a lower air temperature, the most suitable range for a plant is 20-25 ° C. Extremely low or too high temperature in summer period will negatively affect the pomegranate: a sudden fall of leaves, flowers and ovaries may begin.
The pomegranate is very photophilous, because its homeland is the sunny southern countries. One of the most common problems of growing a miniature tree at home is the lack of sunlight, so the windows of the southwest or southeast orientation will be the best location for the pomegranate. However, direct scorching rays can burn delicate leaves and, during the period of the most active sun, the plant needs to be shaded a little.
[!] Due to the lack of sunlight, pomegranate shoots can stretch and acquire an ugly long shape. In addition, such shoots, as a rule, have too few leaves.
First of all, a large amount of light is necessary for the ripening of pomegranate fruits. If there is not enough insolation during the summer, the pomegranates will fall off in the fall, without having time to ripen.
In order for the plant to receive the necessary sunlight in full, you can take out the pomegranate in the summer open air – experienced growers insist on the benefits of such a procedure.
Watering and humidity
Watering pomegranate, as well as temperature, depends on the time of year. In winter, watering is significantly reduced (once a month), and with the onset of spring and the awakening of the plants, they begin to gradually increase. In the warm season, moisture should be sufficient, but without excess.
In order to determine the need for the next watering, you need to check the depth of drying of the soil: the earth should dry out by one third or half of the pot.
Both the bay and excessive drying of the soil are badly reflected in the pomegranate: the bay can provoke waterlogging of the earth and, as a result, the occurrence of root rot, and drought can completely destroy the plant. In addition, excessive watering in the fall provokes cracking of ripening fruits.
Pomegranates respond well to microclimates with sufficient moisture. Therefore, in especially hot summer days you can spray the plant with water room temperature from a spray bottle. If the air temperature in the room is low, spraying is not necessary.
pruning
Pruning is a mandatory procedure for a pomegranate. The formed plant develops better, gives more colors and ovaries, and it looks much more decorative: in the form of a fluffy bush with several main branches or a tree with one pronounced trunk.
Best time for pomegranate pruning - the end of February (before waking up) or September (before wintering). However, if necessary, you can prune individual shoots throughout the summer.
For pruning, young branches that are twisted or growing too densely, old elongated shoots and root shoots are chosen.
[!] Old, two-three-year-old shoots are not cut off completely, but only shortened by a third of the length - it is on them that flowers and ovaries are formed in the future.
[!] Pruning is done above the bud, oriented outward, if you leave the outermost bud, in the future new shoots will turn to the pomegranate trunk, which will badly affect the appearance of the plant.
Every five years, the pomegranate must be rejuvenated, gradually replacing the main skeleton-forming branches with young ones.
Soil, transplant and top dressing
For the cultivation of pomegranate, fertile, but at the same time quite light (water and breathable) soil with neutral acidity is required. The usual universal soil with the addition of sand is not bad. For self-preparation of the substrate, turf and leaf soil, peat and sand are used in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1.
In order for the water not to stagnate in the pot, and for the roots to receive the necessary oxygen, it is important to organize a sufficiently high, at least one quarter of the capacity, drainage layer. Expanded clay, small pebbles or clay shards can act as drainage.
The frequency of pomegranate transplantation depends on the age of the plant. Young, one-two-year-old specimens are transplanted every year, adults - once every two or three years, especially large trees - no more than once every five years. In addition, you can sometimes update the substrate without repotting and. respectively, without injuring the plant. To do this, you need to replace two to three centimeters of the topsoil in a pot with fresh, nutritious soil.
[!] One of the important rules when transplanting a pomegranate is to use a fairly compact dish. Only in cramped conditions will the pomegranate bloom intensively and give ovaries. Too spacious a bowl will provoke a rapid growth of green mass to the detriment of flowering.
For pomegranate transplantation, one should choose not too deep, but rather wide pots: the root system of the southern guest is located mainly near the surface of the earth.
Pomegranate needs feeding, but not all year round. In autumn and winter, during the period of leaf fall and wintering, it is better to exclude fertilizers, and in spring and summer, on the contrary, they can and should be used. In order for the southern tree to develop well after winter awakening, intensively increased new shoots and bloomed densely, nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers are used.
reproduction
Pomegranate can be propagated in several ways:
- seeds,
- cuttings,
- layering,
- vaccinations.
The first two methods are the simplest and most common among amateur flower growers. Let's consider them in more detail.
Reproduction of pomegranate seeds
It is better to purchase pomegranate seeds for planting in specialized flower shops, only in this case you can get a tree of the desired variety. Seeds taken from other plants, as a rule, lose their varietal qualities. The best time for planting seeds is the end of March or the beginning of April.
One or more pomegranate seeds are soaked for a day in water, after which they are sown in a mixture of peat and sand at a depth of about five millimeters. The soil must be watered intensively enough, and the pot with planted seeds should be placed in a warm, dark place. After the first shoots appear, the bowl must be transferred to the light.
When the second pair of true leaves appears on the sprouts, the roots of young pomegranates can be pinched 2-3 mm - this is done for better development of the root system. However, only experienced flower growers can carry out this procedure - too much pruning of the root with inexperienced hands will destroy the plant.
When the pomegranates are strong enough, they can be planted in separate containers in a regular substrate.
Reproduction of pomegranate cuttings
After the spring formation of the pomegranate, cut shoots can be used for propagation. For this, branches about ten centimeters long and five buds are best suited. The shoots are buried in a peat-sand mixture, watered and covered with the top of a cut plastic bottle, while unscrewing the lid and thus making a hole for ventilation. After rooting and the appearance of several pairs of leaves, the cuttings are transplanted into separate pots.
[!] Be patient: rooting cuttings is a rather lengthy process. In addition, not all cuttings survive, so it is better to plant several pieces at once, and subsequently choose the healthiest one.
Pests and diseases
Pomegranate is loved by many insect pests: scale insects, aphids, spider mite, however, the greatest danger to the southern tree is the whitefly. You can fight this white scourge different ways: if the population is still small, you can use folk remedies: garlic or onion infusion. If insects are widespread, best solution will be the use of modern insecticides: Aktelik, Aktara, Tanrek and others.
Pomegranate diseases, as a rule, appear due to improper care of the plant. So, for example, too much watering leads to the appearance of root rot, and the scorching direct sun provokes the development of burns on the leaves. If you carefully look after the pomegranate, no diseases will damage the southern tree.
Fruiting homemade pomegranate
Despite the fact that the pomegranate is beautiful in itself, many owners of this wonderful plant want to get delicious fruits.
Fruit formation is not uncommon, but in order to make pomegranates bear fruit more intensively, the following must be considered:
- The best air temperature for the mass formation of buds is 15-19 ° C;
- Excessive watering stimulates the growth of green mass, but at the same time slows down the formation of buds and fruits;
- Prolonged drought also negatively affects the ovary, in addition, the resulting fruits have low taste;
- The location of the indoor pomegranate in a shaded place prevents the normal growth of the shrub and the appearance of flowers;
- The largest number of fruits is formed on two-year-old shoots about 15-40 cm long.
[!] The ovaries formed on the pomegranate of the first year are recommended to be cut off so that the tree grows better.
Do I need to pollinate indoor pomegranate?
It is believed that all dwarf species- self-pollinating plants. However, this is not entirely true and the number of self-pollinated flowers can range from 5 to 30%. If you purchased a copy with a small number of such flowers, you need to help the pomegranate a little.
For pollination, you need a simple paint brush or a match with a piece of cotton wool. In order for the flowers to be pollinated, you need to collect pollen from the stamens with a brush and apply to the pistil.
The benefits and harms of pomegranate
So, your homemade pomegranate has grown, and its wonderful fruits have ripened. It's time to enjoy exotic fruit… But, before you try the amazing fruit, learn all about its properties: about the benefits and even the dangers of pomegranate.
Let's start, of course, with the good:
- Pomegranate fruits are used not only as delicious treats, but also by medical indications: anemia, colds, exhaustion of the body;
- In addition, pomegranate juice has the ability to reduce pressure and neutralize some infections (as an aid);
- Not only the pulp of the pomegranate is useful - the peel of the fruit is used in folk medicine as a remedy for gastric diseases and as an antihelminthic medicine;
- Even flowers have been used exotic tree- they are brewed, getting a drink similar to hibiscus.
In general, the huge content of nutrients (vitamins, acids, trace elements, sugars, and so on) make pomegranate one of the most healing fruits.
And now, some negative:
- Due to the high content of acids, pomegranate is contraindicated in people suffering from gastritis or ulcers;
- Acids in large quantities can also destroy tooth enamel;
- Pomegranate juice should not be given to children under one year old.
[!] All the properties of an ordinary pomegranate are also characteristic of its indoor varieties.
As you can see, pomegranate is a wonderful fruit, widely used in medicine, cooking, winemaking, and even in the cosmetics industry. And the most amazing thing is that to grow southern handsome possible without special efforts at home.
One day the king decided to find a husband for his daughter. To test the applicants for the hand of the princess, he asked them to bring pomegranate fruits from the garden, which was guarded evil spirits. No one could get into the magical garden, and only one beautiful young man, in love with the princess, was able to dispel the evil spell and break three grenades.
Under natural conditions, pomegranates are sprawling trees from 2 to 5 m in height. Less often you can find wild pomegranate bushes. For their breeding in an apartment or a small botanical garden the best way suitable room pomegranate Baby.
Feature and description
Baby dwarf pomegranate is a small tree 0.3–0.5 m in height. The leafy part of it is collected in small groups. The leaves are elongated. The stem part is not too large, branched, painted in light brown. Frequent branches have a fine structure, strewn with small spines.
The flowering period begins in March and ends in November. The timing may vary depending on the conditions in which the pomegranate grows and its immunity. The flowers are large, six-petalled, painted in a bright purple hue. Flowers are arranged singly. Their size can reach up to 7 cm in diameter.
In the first year, all flowers are empty flowers.
During the first 2-3 flowerings, the plant should not be allowed to bear fruit. Buds must be completely removed. A young plant can form ovaries only 3–4 years after picking into a permanent pot. The variety does not bear fruit abundantly, although flowering continues even during the formation of the ovaries. It is recommended to leave no more than 5 fruits on a bush. With the formation of more fruits, the plant may not have enough strength to provide them with nutrients for full growth and development.
Fruit characteristics:
fruit size does not exceed 4 cm in diameter;
- by color and palatability they are no different from large fruit varieties;
- pomegranate ripening takes 3-4 months.
Fruiting requires high energy costs from the plant, so the number of fruits obtained each year will be very different.
Growing process
The easiest way to grow Baby from seeds. There is another breeding option - by rooting cuttings, but it requires the presence of a mother tree. The germination rate of this variety is consistently high. More than half of the pomegranate seeds are accepted. Seed material can be bought at a special store or taken from self-grown pomegranates.
Preparing and planting seeds
After acquisition, the seed material should be left for a day in a growth-stimulating solution based on humus. After that, the seed should be dried.
For planting, it is best to take a not too large flowerpot. The soil is desirable to take peat. The seeds are buried in the soil by 2 cm. The top of the pot should be covered with cling film to create the effect of a greenhouse. A pot with planted seeds should be placed in a bright place. Seedlings do not have to wait long. Do not forget about moderate soil moisture with warm water. The room should be aired for 20 minutes daily. When shoots appear with 4 full leaves, you can completely free the plant from the film.
Planting cuttings
The parent plant is used as a donor. Cuttings are taken from a fruiting branch. Each cutting should have at least 5 buds, given that the 2 lower ones will have to be removed, approximately 7 buds will remain. After that, the shoots should be placed in a solution of the biostimulator of root formation with the lower end for 4 hours.
They should be planted in moist peat soil, deepening by 4 cm. The sprout should be covered with a film or container that is suitable in diameter to the flowerpot. Several times a day, shoots should be slightly opened for airing and moistening.
The fact that the cuttings have taken root can be recognized by the appearance of new buds and the blooming of existing ones. As soon as the first leaves appear, you can remove the film. The first pick should be carried out after six months, adding sand to the peat mixture.
picking
Young plants should be transplanted every year in the spring, a new flowerpot should be 3 cm larger than the previous one. Upon reaching the age of 3, picking is carried out every 2-3 years. Transplantation is carried out by the method of transshipment. Completely earthen lump is changed in the presence of a disease or pests. Once every six months, it is desirable to change the top layer of soil.
Upon reaching the age of 5, the plant is transplanted into a permanent flowerpot. Then the transplant is carried out every 5 years.
Features of care
Caring for a decorative pomegranate tree at home is completely simple. First of all, you should think about the place of residence for the plant. The pomegranate came to us from hot countries, so it needs an increase in daylight hours, especially in winter time. The ideal place for a pomegranate is the south window. The tree does not require shading even on the hottest days. In the middle of spring, when the last frosts have passed, if possible, a flowerpot with a flower should be exposed to fresh air (balcony, veranda). Do not forget that the pomegranate does not like smoky rooms, so it is better not to put it on the balcony if someone smokes there.
Move grenades to the street should be gradual. Although it is a light-loving plant, direct sunlight after a long winter period can be harmful. Pomegranates are harvested for wintering in mid-autumn, with the onset of frost.
Temperature regime
Pomegranate can easily tolerate cold and drought, but the immunity of the plant and its fruitfulness may suffer from this, so you should ensure a comfortable temperature regime for cultivation. In summer, the temperature should fluctuate between 22-26 ℃, in winter - 10-12 ℃. When the temperature drops to 6 ℃, the plant may die.
Soil composition
As mentioned above, peat soil is used for planting. In the future, neutral soil is used. Perfect option- purchase land in a specialized store with a pH7 mark - this is an earth mixture for roses.
Do not immediately purchase a large amount of soil. In the first years of life, the plant will have enough half a pot of earth, then its amount is gradually increased. When the plant is fully formed, it should be transplanted into a flowerpot with a volume of 4-5 liters.
Watering
by the most important element care is to provide plants optimal humidity. Moisture stagnation in the roots should not be allowed, otherwise the pomegranate will die. To regulate the moisture at the root system in a pot when planting, you need to organize good drainage.
As a drain, you can use:
- Styrofoam;
- expanded clay;
- ceramic fragments;
- pebbles.
Watering should be plentiful. Its regularity will depend on the rate of drying of the top layer of soil. To check soil moisture, you can use a toothpick. If the stick remains dry when lowered into the ground, you can water the plant.
Adjustment of the intensity and frequency of watering is carried out during the growing season and seasonally. To help the tree during the spring sap flow activity, water more often. When the first ovaries appear, watering should be slightly reduced, otherwise the fruits will crack from excess moisture.
In summer, the plant needs to increase the intensity of watering, especially if the tree is standing under the scorching sun on the street. Baby pomegranate responds well to regular spraying. They should be carried out early in the morning or in the evening, when the sun has almost set. Warm and soft water is used for moistening and watering.
In the cold season, watering is carried out every 7-10 days, otherwise even drainage will not save root system from waterlogging, and it will rot.
top dressing
To provide the plant with the necessary nutrients, fertilizers should be used regularly. Top dressing is applied 2 times a month. They begin to fertilize the tree in the middle of spring, when active sap flow occurs. The advantage of the variety is unpretentiousness in the choice of fertilizers. You can use any top dressing for indoor flowers that does not contain chlorine. This substance can significantly reduce the immunity of the rhizome.
Prior to flowering, fertilize with nitrogen should be applied twice. You can use the purchased tool or the usual wood ash. Nitrogen is necessary for the formation of a strong trunk and activation of green growth. The plant responds well to the introduction of organic matter:
- a solution of dry bird droppings or fresh mullein;
- concentrated decoction of nettle leaves or dandelion flowers;
- wood ash solution.
"Fitoverm" - a remedy for various pests
Before fertilizing, the soil should be shed with clean, warm water. It is necessary to make top dressing in cloudy, warm weather. The liquid accumulated in the pan must be drained. In the autumn, the intensity of top dressing is reduced. Fertilizers are applied once a month to prepare the tree for a dormant period.
Hibernation
Hibernation occurs after fruiting, from mid-November. The plant begins to shed the deciduous part and enters a dormant state for 2-3 months. The air in the room during the wintering period should be dry. Ideal Temperature- +12 ℃. If there is nowhere to rearrange the grenade, then it should be moved away from the battery or separated from it with a screen.
Before wintering, the soil in the pot should be completely dry. For the entire dormant period, watering is carried out only 4 times. Only very young plants are watered once a month.
pruning
Removal of weak, dry branches is carried out upon exiting the state of hibernation before the flowering period. And you should also remove the branches that grow inward. It is worth adhering to certain rules when forming a crown.
- At least 5 buds should remain on each branch.
- The number of skeletal branches is from 4 to 6.
- Excess root shoots should be removed.
Diseases and pests
Domestic pomegranates differ from their wild relatives in weak immunity.
Conclusion
Baby's dwarf home pomegranate has long won the hearts of flower growers. The variety is notable for its unpretentiousness in care and delicious juicy fruits, which in taste do not differ at all from large varieties.
Dwarf pomegranate - a bush with a large number of oblong leaves and large red flowers. Leaf color - pale green.
The cups are like a bouquet in which wavy scarlet or pinkish petals are tightly collected.
There are varieties of plants with yellow or white petals, but still the most common is the dwarf pomegranate with red flowers. It belongs to the family Derbennikov.
The dormant period of the bush is short and occurs only after the complete fall of the foliage. Some of the flowers still appear until the end of autumn, when the fruits ripen.
REFERENCE! The fruits look pretty large berries about seven centimeters in diameter dark red or orange shades. Each fruit contains more than a thousand seeds located in separate two-tiered chambers.
An edible cover surrounds each of the seeds. Berries different tastes like a regular pomegranate. Most often, this plant is used for decorative purposes, and in order for the fruits not to deplete the bush, they are often removed.
On our website, we have also prepared an article on growing and caring for, which, among the many pomegranates, attracts flower growers with its unpretentiousness, beauty and unique properties.
You can visually familiarize yourself with the Carthage dwarf pomegranate in the photo below:
Home care
Consider how to care for a decorative pomegranate.
Post-Purchase Care
Carthage's dwarf garnet room conditions prefers very bright lighting and calmly withstands the absence of shading. If there is not enough light, it does not bloom. In the summer it's good to take it out on open space. Well transfers a plant and placement in a winter garden.
pruning
Dwarf pomegranate calmly withstands pruning, and you can give it the desired shape by pinching and cutting off excess shoots. When pruning, do not forget to leave six main branches, which are the basis of the bush.
You can learn more useful about pruning a dwarf pomegranate in the video below:
Watering
In the heat and in a room with dry air, the bush requires spraying with slightly cooler water.
If the pomegranate is placed in a cool place, this procedure is not necessary.
During the flowering period, watering should be reduced, but it is necessary to monitor the leaves, since with a lack of moisture, the bush will begin to drop foliage.
After the pomegranate has faded, it should be watered more abundantly so that a large number of flowers appear next year.
REFERENCE! During the dormant period, dwarf pomegranate should be watered as little as possible - once in two months. At the end of this period, watering is gradually increased. Upper layer soil should dry to a depth of about two centimeters.
If you want to grow fruits, autumn watering should be very careful, because with an excess of moisture, they will begin crack.
Planting and soil
Despite the fact that the pomegranate tree in nature grows on impoverished dry soils, home plant prefers more nutritious soil with drainage.
For planting a dwarf pomegranate, you can make the following mixtures:
- in part of the earth, humus and sand, a double part of clay-soddy soil;
- sand, turf, humus and leafy earth in equal volume. This mixture is well suited for young bushes;
- two parts of sand, peat and loam in one part;
- four parts of turf, two parts of leaf humus, part of sand and the same amount of peat.
Transfer
Transplanted young pomegranate bush Every year. After three years, transplantation is performed much less often: every three years by spring.
The pot is filled with a third of the drainage system and the plant is transplanted by transshipment. The capacity is chosen most of all by a couple of centimeters in diameter, since the pomegranate bush dislikes too wide pots.
In a close pot, flowering is much more intense than in a free one. For a plant at the age of five years, a three-liter pot with a drainage hole is enough.
Growing dwarf pomegranate from seeds
To grow a pomegranate bush using seeds, it is better to buy them in specialized stores, in this case, the plant can bloom in the same year, and bear fruit in the second year.
IMPORTANT! Fruit seeds can be used houseplant. The most ripe seeds are selected, they are washed and allowed to dry. Should be sown in April to a depth of five millimeters.
The soil prepared from the same proportions of sand and peat is regularly moistened. The air temperature for seed germination should be in the area 27 degrees. When a pair of leaves appears, the seedlings should be planted in small containers and ensure regular watering and warm air temperature. You can pinch several times.
reproduction
You can propagate dwarf pomegranate cuttings. They are taken from adult plants that produce fruits. The cutting must have 4-5 kidneys. The lower part is planted at a slight angle into a mixture of equal parts of sand and peat to a depth of about three centimeters.
Shanks should be covered glass jar. The soil needs to be moistened, ventilated. Before planting, you can treat the cuttings with a special rooting solution. They are planted after three months. The buds of young bushes are best cut off.
Temperature
Since the dwarf pomegranate is thermophilic, it prefers temperature above 20 degrees.
If the temperature in the room reaches 25 degrees and above, the plant can be taken out to the balcony. In a dry and hot microclimate, the bush will begin to lose foliage, which will affect the development of the plant itself.
When fruiting in autumn, the pomegranate provides more low temperature 12-17 degrees. From the end of autumn until March, it is better to keep the bush at 10 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature that a pomegranate bush can endure is 6 degrees.
Lighting
Dwarf pomegranate can be placed on any windows, except northern. In summer, the plant is taken out into the garden or onto the balcony, accustoming it to the open air gradually. In early autumn, the bush should be moved back to the room.
Benefit
All parts of the pomegranate plant have medicinal properties. The fruits contain a large number of organic bushes, as well as carbohydrates, proteins, fats. The fruits also contain phytoncides, tannin, folacin, and various trace elements. Fruit juice has antiseptic, diuretic, astringent properties.
Pomegranate flowers can be brewed as a tea. Such a drink resembles the well-known hibiscus tea.
Diseases and pests
The main pests of the dwarf pomegranate are scale insects and whiteflies. If there are few pests, they can be collected manually. In case of mass damage, special preparations should be used.
With increased dryness of the air, the pomegranate bush may suffer from spider mite. To prevent its occurrence, you need to spray the plant.
If the tick still appears, the plant is treated with a medicinal solution, after covering the soil with a plastic bag.
Sometimes the plant may appear powdery mildew. When overflowing, the pomegranate leaves turn yellow. When roots rot better bush it is better to transplant into dry soil, after getting rid of rotten roots. In this case, it is good to cut off the crown.
Dwarf pomegranate is a beautifully flowering shrub that gives numerous juicy fruits with a pleasant taste. It blooms for a long time, covering the whole plant with red flowers. The plant requires special care, including compliance temperature conditions, watering regime and sufficient illumination. Dwarf pomegranate decorates any room, and also looks great in gardens, on verandas and balconies.
Ornamental pomegranate is a dwarf shrub grown outdoors in warm climates. Thanks to the attractive appearance it is often used to decorate residential premises, winter gardens and greenhouses. The shrub is quite unpretentious, so caring for indoor pomegranate at home does not cause problems. At correct content the plant blooms and sets tasty fruits. Iran and Asia Minor are considered its homeland.
Botanical description
A large amount of moisture is required by the pomegranate during the formation of buds, and during flowering, watering is reduced. During fruit ripening, the tree is moistened very carefully, since excess liquid can cause cracking of the fruit.
The flower requires moderate humidity. Cool water should be used to spray indoor pomegranate. You can also place the pot with the plant on a pallet with moistened sand or pebbles. It is recommended to gently wipe the leaves with a damp cloth or sponge.
Dwarf pomegranate is fed twice a month, for this they use liquid mineral fertilizers. During flowering, formulations containing an increased amount of phosphorus are needed. Usually fertilization is combined with irrigation.
Pomegranate home plant care includes pruning, which helps not only to form a beautiful damage, but also to stimulate the growth of shoots, flowering and fruiting. Since the tree grows very quickly, its size can double during the summer, pruning is necessary for the plant. During the procedure, thin and uneven branches are removed.
The first pruning is carried out in the spring, at the beginning of the growing season. No more than six skeletal branches are left on the tree, and young shoots are shortened to five internodes. In summer, you can cut off the shoots growing inside the crown. After flowering, weak and thin branches are cut off, on which there are no fruits.
pomegranate tree transplant
Experienced flower growers propagate the plant by grafting. At the same time, a pomegranate grown from a seed is grafted onto a rootstock varietal stalk taken from an adult healthy specimen. Reproduction is carried out in a split of the rootstock bark, in a side cut or in the butt.
Decorative pomegranate - very interesting plant , which, if properly maintained, will decorate the room with bright leaves and unusually beautiful flowers. Caring for a flower is simple and does not take much time.
Care at home for indoor pomegranate and its very cultivation is within the power of even novice flower growers, because this shrub is unpretentious and not capricious. How to grow it at home, basic care requirements - all this will be discussed below.
Indoor pomegranate: home care,peculiaritiescultivation
Varieties pomegranate many. There is also a species that can be grown at home on the windowsill. However, one should not expect fruit from it. This small tree grown solely for its beauty during the flowering period.
It's deciduous shrub plant feels good in open ground only in the tropics or subtropics.
At home, the shrub rarely grows to a height of more than 1.2 m, and in width - up to 0.9 m. Its foliage is 2.5 - 3 cm long. spring period The leaves have a bronze tint, and in the summer they are set bright green. In autumn, pomegranate foliage begins to turn yellow and fall off.
Caring for indoor pomegranate at home
In order for the dwarf pomegranate to bloom intensively, it is necessary to follow the basic rules for caring for this deciduous shrub. Although the plant is not too capricious, but some rules should be followed.
How to care, indoor pomegranate lighting
This bush loves good lighting, therefore, it is worth putting it on any window, but not on the one that faces north. However, in the middle of daylight hours, it is better to cover the pomegranate from hot sunlight. It is especially worth protecting from the hot sun, recently transplanted plants.
When it gets warm outside, dwarf grenades can be taken out to the loggia. There is a lot of sun and fresh air. This plant is accustomed to outdoor conditions gradually. And it should be placed in a place where direct rays of the sun will not fall on the foliage. At the end of summer, the pomegranate is returned to the premises.
The temperature in the room where this shrub grows should not rise above + 20 ° C. If in the summer it becomes hot and stuffy in the room, then it is better to move the plant to the open air, since the pomegranate does not tolerate such conditions, stops flowering, and the foliage may turn yellow and fall off.
When fruits are tied on the shrub, the temperature in the room should be reduced to +13 - 15 ° С. In winter, it should be maintained in the room where the dwarf pomegranate grows and bears fruit, the temperature is about 12 ° C., But it turns out that this flower can withstand cold temperatures up to + 5 - 7 ° C.
Watering indoor pomegranate
You should also observe the conditions for watering this shrub:
- when the plant is at rest in winter, it is watered no more than once every 2 months;
- at the end of winter, when the plant begins to grow, the amount of watering should be increased. At this time, the plant should be watered when the top of the soil in the pot begins to dry out;
- when the pomegranate begins to bloom actively, the amount of watering is slightly reduced, since in nature the flowering of this shrub occurs during the drought period. However, flowers should not be watered too rarely or too often during this period, as the plant may simply drop buds;
- after flowering, the number of waterings is increased so that the plant gains strength for the next season;
- if the gardener wants to grow fruits on a plant, then watering should not be frequent during their ripening period.
Flowering and fruits of pomegranate
This shrub blooms from late spring to early autumn. The flowers are oblong, solitary, their color is purple, bright red or orange. The life span of flowers is up to 3 days. And although there are a lot of buds on this shrub (up to a hundred pieces), however, the ovaries are formed extremely rarely - only two or three, and the rest of the flowers simply fall off. The fruits of the dwarf pomegranate are small - up to 6 - 7 cm in diameter, they ripen in mid-autumn.
How to transplant indoor pomegranate
Plants that are no more than 2-3 years old should be transplanted annually. But if the shrub has been growing at home for more than three years, it is often not necessary to replant it - this plant should be subjected to the procedure no more than once every 3 years.
Usually, when transplanting, the plant is simply gently transferred from one pot to another.
The soil for transplantation is taken from equal parts of turf and sand, and any drainage material is laid out on the bottom of the pot. new pot should not be much larger than the old one in order for the plant to bloom well, the root system in the new pot should be a little crowded.
What soil to prepare
- Under natural conditions, such a plant lives in "ascetic" conditions - on soils poor in useful substances, with little or no watering.
- However, when growing a dwarf pomegranate at home, you should create more comfortable conditions for it:
- drainage must be arranged in the pot;
- the soil should be enriched with minerals, and its acidity should be maintained within pH7.
Nutrient soil for this flowering shrub You can buy it in a specialized store, or cook it yourself at home. Mixes can be made as follows:
- 2 parts of sod land, 1 part of rotted foliage and ½ part of peat fertilizer and river sand;
- 2 parts of river sand, 1 part of light loam and peat fertilizer;
- 1 part clay, soddy land, leaf soil, humus, river sand;
- seedlings are planted in the following mixture - 1 part sod, humus, hardwood and river sand.
Fertilization
It is necessary to fertilize under this deciduous shrub no more than a couple of times in 30 days. In March - April, any fertilizer containing nitrogen is usually applied. When buds begin to appear on the plant, superphosphate is required to be added under the flower. But in September - October, the third feeding of dwarf pomegranate is carried out. The composition, which includes any potassium salts. By the end of November, feeding is stopped, the number of waterings is also reduced, and the temperature in the room where the flower is located is lowered.
Reproduction of indoor pomegranate
This plant can be propagated by seeds or cuttings.
Seeds for growing this deciduous shrub are usually purchased in specialty stores. When growing pomegranate from such seeds, the plant begins to bloom, as a rule, in the same year. But fruiting usually begins after 2 - 3 seasons.
Seeds are planted in containers in mid-spring under covering material. When a few leaves appear on young seedlings, they can be transplanted to permanent place. Young plants for active growth require warm and timely watering. To form the bushes correctly, the top should be pinched.
Cuttings are usually cut from those pomegranates whose age is at least 5 - 6 years. In summer, it usually plants half-lignified cuttings, but in winter, fully matured shoots are taken for propagation. There should be at least 5-6 buds on the cuttings.
The cutting is planted in a pot at a slight angle, deepening into the soil by 4–5 cm. To create a greenhouse effect for the plants, the pot is covered with a covering material or plastic bottle. The soil must be moist. Before this planting, the cuttings should be watered with a preparation to improve root formation.
After a few months, the seedlings take root and can be transplanted to a permanent place. Such young plants will begin to bloom in a few seasons.
Pruning a pomegranate bush
The pruning procedure for this plant should be carried out in early February, when the pomegranate's buds are just beginning to swell. The shrub is transferred to heat and dried shoots and extra branches are removed.
Almost all small shoots are cut off. To stimulate the growth of side shoots, shoots are removed above the buds protruding outward.
When forming this shrub, no more than 6 main shoots are usually left. It is not worth pruning the plant strongly, so as not to weaken it.
In the process of pruning, this shrub can be given any shape, including in the form of a small tree (if you remove all the lower shoots). When pruning a flower, it must be remembered that its buds appear only on fully formed one-year-old shoots.
Pests and diseases of pomegranate
At home, this deciduous shrub grows less resistant to diseases and pests. The most common disease affecting dwarf pomegranate is powdery mildew.
Usually scale insects or whiteflies attack this plant. If the number of pests is insignificant, then they can be selected manually. In case of severe damage by these "harmful" insects, it is necessary to spray the pomegranate with special preparations.
If there is little humidity in the room, then a spider mite can attack the pomegranate. To get rid of it, you should regularly spray the foliage with water from a spray bottle. You can also use chemicals Fitoverma type.
Indoor Grenade Enemies
So, the main enemies of this ornamental shrub are whiteflies, scale insects and spider mites. You should regularly inspect the foliage of the plant in order to start the fight against these "harmful" bugs in a timely manner.