Rules for planting and caring for indoor pomegranate and methods for growing it at home

Many people grow indoor plants to decorate their interiors. These can be flowers or just green bushes, weaving vines. Pomegranate is quite rare as a houseplant. Although it grows well at home. You can grow an ornamental bush or tree. With proper care for the dwarf species, you can enjoy delicious, juicy fruits.

What varieties of pomegranate are grown at home?

The best dwarf varieties are Carthage and Baby. They are the most decorative. They are bred not so much for their fruits, but for their abundant flowering. From spring to autumn, the shrub is strewn with small, but very beautiful, numerous scarlet flowers.

For beginning gardeners, it is better to purchase a plant in a pot. There is no need to wait for the seedlings to grow. The finished bush will bloom faster. But if you want to see the whole process - from sowing to fruiting, then you should start by purchasing seeds.

Carthage

The Carthage variety is a tree less than a meter tall with small leaves. Requires pruning, without which the branches become thinner and the plant blooms less often. The fruits are small, the size of a matchbox. Edible, sweet and sour taste. Seed germination is low.

From the moment of sowing to the first fruiting, about seven years pass. It responds to sufficient moisture and light with annual fruiting.

Baby

Decorative pomegranate Baby grown from seeds. This is a small shrub that grows no higher than half a meter. The elongated leaves grow in bunches, several leaves at a time. The first flowering occurs in the fourth year after sowing. Seed germination is average. The flowers are relatively large and purple in color.

Is it possible to enjoy the fruits in the first year of flowering? Most likely no.The first flowers are usually barren flowers. The fruits are small. Ripens up to seven pieces. If there are more ovaries, the excess ones should be cut off. The bush requires cutting and thinning.

External parameters and characteristics

Pomegranate is unpretentious, but each variety has its own characteristics. The shrub form of the plant is suitable for window sills.

The crown is wide, with numerous erect branches covered with brown bark. The leaves are small, elongated, olive-colored. The plant is deciduous or evergreen. It all depends on the conditions of maintenance and care.

There are two types of scarlet flowers - male and female. There are more male ones, they resemble bells. The female ones are more elongated and produce small fruits. At first they are covered with a thin orange peel. By the time of ripening, the color changes to burgundy with a brown tint.

Growing and propagating an indoor tree

Reproduction and cultivation of indoor pomegranate is no different from planting other ornamental plants. The seed material can be seeds or cuttings. If the goal is to grow an ornamental plant for the sake of beauty and not fruit, then you can use the seeds of an ordinary ripe pomegranate. To get tasty fruits, you should think about how and in what way to plant your indoor plant.

From a cutting

When planting a cutting, all the characteristics of the variety are preserved. The plant blooms earlier and begins to bear fruit. Cuttings are harvested at the beginning of July or at the end of winter. In the first case, the cuttings take root better. But more often the latter are used. The mother plant is less at risk of damage.

Cuttings are taken about 10 centimeters long with five or seven buds. The cut is made with a sharp knife at an angle from fruit-bearing trees. The sections are treated with a root stimulator and planted in fertile soil at an angle.Cover with film, keep warm, and water regularly.

In a month, the cuttings will take root and young buds will appear. The film is removed. For better branching, a third of the shoot is cut off.

From a seed

You can use store-bought seeds. It is better to take the seeds of ripe indoor pomegranate. They are cleared of pulp and hard seeds are removed. Before sowing, soak in water with a growth stimulator. Seeds should be sown in November or March, in a moist mixture of peat and sand. Shoots will appear in 2 weeks.

How does pomegranate grow?

When pomegranate is grown in comfortable conditions, the leaves are preserved all year round. In the absence of these, leaf fall begins. Then it is advisable to move the plant to a cool room until spring, watering it occasionally.

In March, pomegranate wakes up from hibernation. First the leaves bloom, and after a few weeks the flowers appear. Flowering continues until autumn. In summer, pomegranates are taken out onto the balcony or into the garden, protected from the wind.

Necessary conditions for growth

To know how to grow pomegranate, you need to familiarize yourself with some rules of indoor floriculture.

Soil composition

A soil consisting of sand, leaf soil, turf soil, and humus is suitable for a young plant. All components are taken in equal parts. For a mature tree, you can prepare soil from 50% turf soil, 25% leaf humus, 12% peat, 13% sand.

Suitable pot and its volume

Initially, pomegranate roots should grow in close quarters. When transplanting, the diameter of the pot increases by 2 centimeters.

Lighting

The tree needs a lot of sunlight. It is better to place the pomegranate on the south side of the window. In summer, at lunchtime, in order to protect the plant from burns, it must be shaded.

Temperature

The pomegranate tree loves warmth. During flowering, the temperature should not exceed twenty-five degrees.

Air humidity

If the room is stuffy and the air temperature exceeds 25 degrees, the pomegranate is sprayed twice a day with summer, settled water.

Rules of care

Not every novice gardener knows how to properly care for a plant. It's not difficult to learn, it just takes a little effort. As a result, a healthy pomegranate tree will grow and bear fruit at home.

Watering and spraying

How often to water the plant? It depends on the time of year. In winter, abundant watering is not needed. In spring, more moisture is required. In summer, the plant is watered frequently, but avoiding stagnation of water. In hot weather, the tree is sprayed daily with settled water.

Fertilizer

It is necessary to start applying fertilizer in the spring and continue until the fall. How to feed the plant? It is better to give preference to nitrogenphosphorus and organic fertilizers. In winter, bait is not required.

Formation and pruning of the bush

In order for the pomegranate to bloom more abundantly, bear more fruit, and look well-groomed, pruning is required. This procedure is carried out in early autumn. Dried, twisted, densely growing branches need to be trimmed.

Transfer

Pomegranates up to three years old must be replanted annually, in early spring. Mature trees - once every three years.

Rest period

In autumn, the pomegranate tree begins to prepare for winter, gradually shedding its leaves. At this time, it is necessary to create certain conditions. First, move the plant to a cool room with a temperature of at least 13 degrees. Also reduce watering.

Three-year-old trees need to be prepared for wintering. Until this age, a young pomegranate can overwinter under normal conditions.

How to graft pomegranate for fruiting

Without experience, the grafting process may not always be successful. To graft, you need to take a cutting grown from a seed and a bud from a fruit-bearing tree.Make a shallow cut in the bark on the cutting, one and a half centimeters long. Insert the cut bud into the cut and wrap the graft with electrical tape. Water the pomegranate generously.

After eight days it will be clear whether the vaccination process was successful or not. After the scion, the pomegranate tree will begin to bear fruit after five years.

The beginning of flowering and fruiting and features of care during this period

Flowering begins in late April-early May and continues until the end of August. Flowers have different shapes. In the form of a bell - they do not bear fruit, and if they look like a jug - a pomegranate will gradually form from these flowers.

Care should be as follows:

1. For greater yield during flowering, watering is reduced, but the soil should not be allowed to dry out.
2. The tree must be sprayed carefully; drops of water should not fall on the flowers.
3. For a flowering tree, the appropriate room temperature is twenty degrees.
4. Fertilize once a month with phosphorus fertilizer.

Diseases and characteristic symptoms

There are several diseases that can affect indoor pomegranate.

Powdery mildew

The fungus mainly attacks pomegranates in mid-summer. The infected plant becomes covered with a white coating, in the early stages of the disease it resembles a cobweb. Over time, the leaves lose their shape, turn yellow, and fall off. In case of infection, the pomegranate must be treated with Fundazol.

Branch cancer

When the disease occurs, the bark of the pomegranate tree swells and the branches become covered with cracks. The plant must be cleared of affected branches and cut off with a sharp knife. cure pomegranate for this disease hard enough.

But you can prevent its occurrence. To do this, it is necessary to observe the temperature regime and prevent damage and hypothermia of the tree.

Spots on leaves

Yellowish-brown spots may appear on the leaves due to excess moisture in the soil. If spots appear, the plant must be replanted, removing the rotten roots.

Whitefly and aphids

Pests settle on pomegranate leaves, gradually suck the juice out of the greenery, and lay larvae. The reproduction process occurs quite quickly. The infected tree must be treated with soapy water or karbofos.

What problems arise when growing

Owners of indoor pomegranate may encounter some problems.

Doesn't grow

Reasons for poor growth of indoor pomegranate:

1. After transplantation it can grow roots.
2. The soil in the pot is dense.
3. Insufficient lighting.

Blooms but doesn't bear fruit

The plant does not bear fruit for several reasons:

1. If the rest period has been disrupted.
2. Not enough heat.
3. Bad light.
4. Frequent drying out of the soil or excess moisture.
5. Lack of nutrients in the soil. From April to September, it is necessary to apply mineral and organic fertilizers once a month, alternately.
6. Not regular crown formation.
7. The bell-shaped flower is sterile. It is better to pick off such flowers.

Gets sick often

Frequent illnesses may indicate improper care. A disease such as powdery mildew can affect a tree due to low temperature, high humidity, and musty conditions in the room.

With frequent watering, stagnation of water in the pan, the root system of the plant will begin to rot. Gradually the leaves turn yellow and then fall off. In a short period of time the tree dies. To prevent this from happening, the plant must be carefully removed from the pot and the roots that have begun to rot must be removed. Wash the root with a solution of potassium permanganate, dry it, and sprinkle the cut area with activated carbon. Replant into another soil.

A sickly appearance of a plant in spring and summer may indicate a lack of moisture and nutrients in the soil.

The leaves are turning yellow

If at the beginning of autumn the leaves on the tree begin to turn yellow, it’s not a problem. Pomegranate is a deciduous plant, and shedding its leaves at this time of year is a natural process.

The plant does not tolerate dark rooms, dry air, or dry soil. The growing location for an indoor tree must be chosen near a south window. If the pomegranate has been in the shade for a long time, it must be gradually accustomed to the light.

Untimely watering is detrimental to the plant. You should especially take care of the soil during the summer and heating season, as the soil dries out faster. After watering, the water must be removed from the tray.