The pomegranate represents fertility, love and life. The delicious fruits are grown on a large scale in countries with a temperate climate such as Turkey. It is still little known that pomegranate trees can also be cultivated in milder regions of Germany and even reach harvest maturity here.
What tips are there for cultivating pomegranate trees in Germany?
To cultivate pomegranate trees in Germany, choose hardy varieties such as Poeny Magic, Uzbeke, Tirol or Katake. Plant them in a sunny, protected location in loose garden soil and provide them with phosphorus-based fertilizer and regular watering.
Which varieties are suitable?
Since there can be sub-zero temperatures even in warmer areas in our latitudes, you should use winter-hardy and self-fertile varieties. For example, the following are suitable:
- Poeny Magic
- Uzbek
- Tirol
- Katake
Assuming some winter protection, these are frost-proof down to ten degrees below zero and can be wintered outdoors in our latitudes.
Planting and location
Always place pomegranate trees in a warm, protected and sunny place, for example in front of a house wall. Direct sunlight promotes flower formation and ensures that the fruits ripen.
The small tree has no special demands on the substrate. Loose garden soil is completely sufficient.
Care tips
Pomegranate trees are hungry. During the growing season until the end of August, supply the plants with a commercially available complete fertilizer for fruit trees every two to four weeks (€9.00 at Amazon). The preparation should contain phosphorus, as this promotes flower and fruit formation.
In the summer months, the pomegranate tree needs a lot of water, but waterlogging must be avoided. Therefore, water deeply, but allow the ball to dry every now and then.
pruning
The pomegranate makes things easy for you in this regard because regular pruning is not necessary. If you want to limit the size of the plant, you can shorten it slightly in autumn or early spring. Take this opportunity to also remove thin and annoying shoots.
Don't cut back too much, as the fruits will form on the young, this year's branches.
Pomegranate in a bucket
If it gets too cold for you in the winter months, you can cultivate the pomegranate in a bucket. Unfortunately, in this case the fruits do not always ripen, but the beautiful, deep red flowers make the pomegranate tree an attractive addition to the balcony garden.
You also need a sunny and protected place here. A suitable substrate is commercially available potting soil that contains mineral components such as
- Sand
- expanded clay
- Lavas chippings
mix. Water regularly, because the pomegranate reacts to dry periods by shedding its leaves. Fertilization is carried out every two weeks with a liquid fertilizer for fruit plants.
Wintering
Leave the pomegranate outside as long as possible and only place it in an unheated greenhouse or cool room during frosty periods. The winter quarters can be dark as long as it is not warmer than ten degrees. A garage or tool shed is also suitable.
Do not let the root ball dry out completely, but water very sparingly. If the tree sprouts again at the end of March, it can remain outdoors as short-term night frosts cannot harm it.
Tip
Pomegranates don't ripen in the room. The delicious fruits reach full ripeness from September to October.
