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Post by hortusbrambonii on Jan 10, 2013 13:42:26 GMT -5
Anyone who can tell me if such a thing as a cold-hardy pomegranate that would survive the Belgian climate and give fruits nonetheless could exist?
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Post by raymondo on Jan 10, 2013 16:55:06 GMT -5
There is a pomegranate growing in a park in town here that survives -10°C. Its fruits are small but it does fruit. I've tried growing named cultivars but none so far survive the winters here. I'm thinking perhaps I should try both cuttings and seed of the one in the park!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2013 22:35:24 GMT -5
My area definitely has a milder climate, but we can get away with growing more tender things, on south facing walls, or in wind sheltered areas, especially near the water heater. I know pomegranates tend to be bushy, unless trained as a tree, which could make them more adaptable to greenhouse conditions.
They used to be allowed to warm orange orchards with "smudge pots," and one relative reported that these were used to preserve Magnolia trees in northern Europe.
Also, pomegranates and other fruit were reportedly very large in Washington state, due to the long photoperiod. I understand that it could get very cold. Does the Belgian climate allow plenty of daylight, and are you dealing with a large cultivar?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2013 22:36:11 GMT -5
I notice that the fruit tend to be small, except on mature trees.
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Post by steev on Jan 10, 2013 23:23:39 GMT -5
I'm not sure what degree of cold you're talking about. Pomegranates certainly grow well in NorCal, though perhaps not where snow is normal. I have several varieties growing on my farm (15F regularly in January), but none have yet fruited.
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Post by atash on Jan 11, 2013 1:39:20 GMT -5
I think Pomegranates are fairly hardy, but need lots of heat units to actually bear fruit. I think that will be your limiting factor in Belgium, hortusbrambonii. I've never seen a Pomegranate freeze to death in Seattle. I've never seen one bear fully ripe fruit either.
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Post by steev on Jan 11, 2013 1:52:47 GMT -5
I suspect that's right, dammit!
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Post by mountaindweller on Jan 11, 2013 2:14:42 GMT -5
We have two pommegranate trees here but it only gets down to -5C. You could always wrap something around in winter. But usually they are grown in Greece were the summers are soaring and I doubt you get a ripe pommegrante in Britain. Unripe they taste terrible.
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Post by steev on Jan 11, 2013 2:29:14 GMT -5
Don't we all. Feh!
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Post by synergy on Jan 11, 2013 2:29:45 GMT -5
I live just north of the 49th parallel and heard of people keeping less hardy citrus going in winter in greenhouses or even outside with christmas lights adorning them and on during cold weather and covered with remay. I wonder if mulching with dark rocks or reflective backing around the back could shift the microclimate enough to ripen in summer?
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Post by castanea on Jan 15, 2013 19:40:06 GMT -5
Anyone who can tell me if such a thing as a cold-hardy pomegranate that would survive the Belgian climate and give fruits nonetheless could exist? As atash notes, there are actualy two separate issues to be concerned with. Winter cold hardiness is one and summer heat units is the other. Most pomegranates are cold hardy to 10-15 degrees F. Some are hardy to 5 degrees F. A few have been known to come back from 0 degrees F even if the tops are killed. But those cold hardy varieties still need adequate summer heat to mature fruit. I doubt Belgium has adequate summer heat. California pom breeder John Chater bred some varieties, such as Eversweet, specifically for cooler summer climates such as the California coast, but most poms need quite a bit of summer heat for fruit production. |
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Post by hortusbrambonii on Jan 16, 2013 3:12:29 GMT -5
I see. So a cold-hardy pomegranate might grow very well over here without a problem, but that would be no guarantee at all that fruits would be formed because they need a lot of heat for that in summer time.
So except for some ornamental form lilke 'nana' that's not grown for the fruits it's not worth trying find a cold-hardy form, fruits will not be formed or if they form mature?
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Post by mountaindweller on Jan 17, 2013 3:52:59 GMT -5
How cold does it get raymondo? I have one seedling grown, one wonderful and one Rosavaya. They all survived winter without even mulching. Putting stones around might help a bit too.
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Post by raymondo on Jan 17, 2013 5:28:46 GMT -5
It gets to -9°C or -10°C a few times throughout winter, sometimes lower. We've had -15°C but that's a rare event. I had both those cultivars, at different times. I think I need to create a suitable microclimate. I am planting more trees but it will be some time before they have an impact. I'll take some cuttings from the one in the park during winter to see how it fares in my garden.
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Post by castanea on Jan 20, 2013 22:41:33 GMT -5
I see. So a cold-hardy pomegranate might grow very well over here without a problem, but that would be no guarantee at all that fruits would be formed because they need a lot of heat for that in summer time. So except for some ornamental form lilke 'nana' that's not grown for the fruits it's not worth trying find a cold-hardy form, fruits will not be formed or if they form mature? You can probably grow and fruit Eversweet. |
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