Pomegranate Seedlings Update

These seedlings just don't stop!  This picture is actually a few days old and they've grown even more.  I should transplant them soon, but I've had some interesting job developments and I'm currently putting my transplants/seed starting on hold (although it kills me because I've just received a bunch).  If you just want to sprout something to raise your germination self esteem then this is the plant for you.  It's my dream to one day grow my own pomegranate.  For some reason this is one of the most charming fruits to me.  Beyond the fruit, the trees are lovely and so are the blooms.  Instead of the logical compromise of a dwarf pomegranate tree, I felt like a challenge.  Maybe in a few years my first pomegranate will be within reach.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Seedling Update

My pomegranate seedlings have been growing quickly.  Today I noticed they are already starting to branch!  You can see clearly that the middle/back seedling is starting to branch from the seed leaves.  This is crazy!  I've never seen any plant do this so quickly and not even from the adult leaves.  I expect these pomegranate seedlings will really take off in the next few weeks.  Hopefully at some point I'll actually get them to fruit.  The local greenhouses have a dwarf variety which fruits regularly so I'm willing to bet thees will too.  Pomegranates are also grown as ornamentals and can even be crafted into bonsai.  I hope to try out the bonsai option some time in the future.

Pomegranates Sprouting (Punica granatum)

Pomegranate's are one of my favourite fruits.  A few days ago I realized that this is one of the few plants I haven't tried to grow from seed.  After eating a large fruit I saved about a dozen seeds.  I made sure to clean each one well, washed them, then let them dry for about a week.  Next the seeds were soaked for about 24 hours and planted in a general mix at about 23C.  Within about a week, these sprouts are coming up.  Allegedly pomegranates are easy to sprout so I expect to see most of them germinate.

The local greenhouses have the dwarf cultivar which only grows to 2m (6') or a max of 1m (3') or so in a container.  The fruit of these dwarfs is about the size of a golf ball.  Although I intend to keep my plants in pots, I wanted something that gets bigger and would produce larger fruit.  Maybe I'll actually see some in a few years.  Only time will tell.