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Carl Linnaeus, the man who gave the name pomegranate, must have had a peek into the future before naming this plant.
Somehow, he had to know that less than a hundred years after his death, the pomegranate would become as wanted as the apple fruit.
Pomegranate as a word means seeded apple. Although not belonging to the apple family, it bears the apple surname.
This is probably because of its shape and color, which mimics the shape of the red apple.
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The pomegranate fruit is composed of plenty of succulent seeds that are nutritious and necessary for the propagation of the plant.
Pomegranate fruit is a bulk of healthy benefits sitting on your table, waiting to get into your body. This is to say that pomegranates are very nutritious and beneficial for a variety of health conditions.
Upon series of tests and laboratory experiments, modern scientists have affirmed that pomegranate fruit helps protect the heart against recurring heart diseases.
Pomegranate fruit can also keep cancerous cells from developing on different parts of the body.
The health benefits of taking pomegranates regularly are the reason why I do not just recommend an apple a day to keep the doctor away. I also recommend a pomegranate a day to keep the doctor at bay.
Pomegranates are known to be three times more antioxidants than Chinese green tea.
Amazed right?
You could be enjoying the sweetness of fruit while protecting your cells from diseases, by eating a pomegranate fruit at least once a day.
Eating a pomegranate fruit does not only serve as an antioxidant, it serves as an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer remedy.
It brings down hyped-up blood sugar levels and reduces the risk of hypertension in an individual, as well as the effects of aging.
As a controller of blood sugar, the pomegranate fruit also increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin which keeps diabetes away.
For those who already have diabetes, regular intake of pomegranate fruits helps repair the broken body’s sensitivity to insulin and rebuilds the body’s resistance to sugar.
As a nutritive element, a pomegranate contains protein, fat, carbohydrate, folate, vitamin k, vitamin b, and potassium, and a list of some other nutrients contained in light quantities.
Containing multiple seeds that are succulent to chew on, the pomegranate fruit has barks that are not edible.
The sweet seeds make for the apple name it has. A pomegranate fruit belongs to the family of Lythraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region of Persia now known as Iran, where it used to just grow out in the wild before it began to get cultivated as a plant, then a fruit, and then an important supplement for life.
The pomegranate fruits grow to become trees that stay evergreen all year round. In harsh weather conditions, the trees shed their leaves in autumn and regrow them in spring or summer.
A pomegranate tree does not usually grow tall and can be referred to as a shrub. The height of a mature pomegranate tree does not often exceed thirty-three feet high.
Pomegranates help for diabetes control and insulin sensitivity repair, because the juice that is produced from squashing the little berries inside the bark of the pomegranate, is a sour-tasting juice that only tastes sweet after drinking.
The pomegranate is generally acidic and does not have a sugary taste like the regular plants, but remains an enjoyably nutritious fruit to try out all year round.
The beautiful aspect of a pomegranate plant is in its ability to feature as a flowering plant and as a fruit plant.
When it is not yet producing fruits or for species that are non-seed bearing, their flowers are their focal points of attraction.
With a flower color that ranges between red and orange depending on the intensity of the sun in the environment, the pomegranate is a beautiful sight to behold in parks and gardens and in homes that have a thing for naturally blooming aesthetics.
The pomegranate seeds are a favorite for chefs and culinary experts. It is one that usually features salads of international quality.
The seeds can just be harvested from the husks, washed a bit, and sprinkled on the salad for the extra taste they bring.
Getting the seeds of a pomegranate fruit off the husk is a skill that requires a good level of expertise from the person who wishes to remove them.
Throughout history, and the specific histories of countries like India, Israel, Chile, Iran, Egypt, and Greece, the pomegranate is a constant fruit that features and is believed to hold various special abilities.
You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by having a pomegranate dwarf tree growing somewhere around your house.
I know the amazing feeling it brings along with it, so in this article, I am going to carefully walk you through the processes involved in growing, and caring for the pomegranate plant.
Not just any pomegranate plant, a pomegranate plant you can proudly tap and call yours.
I must warn you, that this is an adventure of learning and practice and you must be willing to go on this adventure by promising to not just take on the large chunks of knowledge in this article and store them somewhere in your mind.
You must promise to be one worthy of the knowledge in this article, by deciding to grow a pomegranate plant sometime soon.
Growing a Pomegranate Tree
Growing a pomegranate tree isn’t the goal. The goal is to grow a pomegranate tree that is healthy enough to survive a long time.
The following growing requirements should be taken into consideration when growing the pomegranate tree:
- Soil Type
- Plant Location
- Watering
- Mode of Cultivation.
Done correctly, you can have a healthy pomegranate tree, bearing pomegranate seeds that embody health benefits to your body as well as aesthetic appeal to the environment.
1. Soil Type
The soil type that is best for growing a pomegranate tree is loamy soil. The loamy soil has to be a mix of some sandy soil constituents.
It should be slightly acidic and more alkaline.
The soil pH level should be taken seriously to ensure that pomegranate fruits can ripen when they eventually germinate.
The soil has to be well-draining soil and you should be responsible for applying fertilizer or compost at regular intervals, to ensure that the pomegranate is receiving the best care available.
The soil shouldn’t be moist all year round to avoid the growth of fungi.
2. Plant Location
When selecting a location to situate the new plants, I advise that you select a location that gets adequate sunlight.
Do not select a place that is shaded or under a larger tree canopy. This is because the pomegranate needs at least eight hours of full sun to thrive properly.
The sunlight it gets is for the production of food by the process of photosynthesis, hence, plant outdoors or place the plant pot near the window sill where it can get direct sunlight.
The sunlight also helps to keep off some fungal diseases that come with moistness and soggy soil.
3. Watering
The watering requirements of a pomegranate tree vary as the tree matures. At the initial stage of growth, watering should be done compulsorily by soaking.
For the first year of its growth, plan a watering schedule that cuts across one to two times per week.
As the pomegranate grows higher, it loses its thirst for much water and therefore means that you have to cut down on your supply of water to it to prevent root rot.
In winter, you need to cut the amount of water you are applying to the pomegranate by half.
This is because the weather at the moment is moist and does not allow for excessive loss of water from the soil like spring, summer, or Autumn.
4. Mode of Cultivation
The pomegranate plant can be cultivated either by seeds, stem cuttings, or transplanting. The best method of cultivating a pomegranate is by transplants.
Cultivating by seeds is great but there is always a slight variation from seed to seed. There is also a variation between seed and parent plant, such that the seed does not resemble the parent plant in its entirety.
You can always get a pomegranate plant from a shop that serves as a plant nursery. Acquire the semi-grown pomegranate and transplant it to your choice plant pot.
How Long Does it Take for a Pomegranate Tree to Produce Fruit?
A pomegranate has to grow fully before it produces fruit.
So the most important question should be how long it takes the pomegranate tree to grow?
The pomegranate tree takes different growth periods based on the method of propagation. If you are propagating by seeds you should be willing to be patient with the plant.
This is because planting seeds take a lot of time before the plant can sprout and begin to grow. It takes about eight to nine years before a pomegranate propagated by seeds can fully grow and be ready for harvesting fruits.
This is why I always tell those who care to listen to propagate by transplanting or stem cuttings. This reduces the number of years you have to wait.
With the transplanting technique, your pomegranate should take about five years to grow and be fully ready to give off the fruit.
Now to the main issue, how long it takes a pomegranate plant to produce fruit.
The pomegranate is an annual producer and produces fruits every year. But it takes about seven months every year to produce fruits. So you should be expecting your pomegranate succulent berry seeds by late summer.
Should You Prune Pomegranate Tree?
Yes, you should prune the pomegranate tree.
Your frequency of pruning should take the form of once every year. This is to reduce the bush from the pomegranate and help them produce better.
Pruning also helps to remove bad stems from the tree especially stems that have pest and disease issues. You should practice pruning to help your pomegranate do better.
Can Pomegranate Grow in Pots
Yes, pomegranate plants can grow in pots.
They can also develop properly in a pot, become trees in pots, and give off fruits sitting in potting soil. It all depends on your technique of potting as a gardener.
The potting soil should be rich in nutrients and should be well-draining. It should also be changed from time to time to accommodate the growing root size and nutrient requirement of the pomegranate plant.
Conclusion
Seeded Apple, the apple of Grenada, and the various names that have formed this fruit’s taxonomy are only proof of the value in this fruit.
The benefits of growing the pomegranates also have a financial undertone, being that you could sell the fruits for monetary value.
In this article, you have learned all the steps involved in growing a healthy pomegranate tree.
This is the first step to your pomegranate orchard.
