Punica granatum
Common: Pomegranate, Granada
Family: Punicaceae
Sunset Zone: 5-24
Origin: Native of southern Asia, long cultivated in the Mediterranean, and brought by the Spanish to the New World. Legendary plant of the Southwest and Mexico.
Light: Sun for best bloom and fruit
Soil: Widely tolerant. Accepts alkalinity.
Water: Tolerants any amount.
Specimen, hedge, windbreak. Espalier on hot walls. Some can be trained into trees. Dwarf form can be used as low hedge, container or bonsai plant. Usually seen as large deciduous shrub.
Twiggy structure covered with small leaves. Grows at slow to moderate rate from 12 to 20 feet high and spreads at least half as wide unless pruned back. In most gardens, it reaches 8-10 feet.
Small glossy leaves, bronze in spring, bright green in summer and golden in fall. Blossoms on most varieties are red. Many produce round, red to bronze fruit, 3 inches in diameter. Fruit is filled with seeds surrounded by pale red translucent pulp. Seeds are very sweet and can be chewed or used to make a delicious jelly.
Tough, durable, long lived. Tolerates hot winds, drought, salty soils, intense sun and cold winters.
Easy to grow and withstands neglect once established. Resistant to Texas root rot and other fungus diseases. Internal black rot may enter through blossoms and decay fruit. Leaf footed insect makes tiny holes in outer fruit cover, and fungus may enter.