Pomegranate tree, evergreen or deciduous?
 

Hi, folks.

Gardening in San Jose, California -- USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 16.

My wife would like to add a pomegranate tree in our front yard. There
used to be a Deodar cedar in the spot where we would plant the
pomegranate tree. Although the cedar was far, far too large, it was
evergreen and provided a year-round privacy screen between our yard and
our neighbor's yard.

I like the look of a pomegranate tree, and the fruit. But my gardening
manual (Sunset Western Garden Book) says that pomegranate trees are
deciduous. If this is true, we would not be restoring our year-round
privacy by planting a pomegranate. However, my wife says that she has
never seen any of the pomegranate trees in our neighborhood without
leaves. Thinking back over my memories of our periodic walks, she may
be right.

A Google search with the key words "pomegranate evergreen deciduous"
has led me to conclude that pomegranate trees are indeed sometimes
evergreen, and sometimes deciduous. Gosh, that was almost helpful.
What I would really like to know is WHEN a pomegranate tree will remain
evergreen. Does the variety matter? If the climate matters, what
are the conditions which influence leaf drop? Presumably, there's a
critical minimum temperature...

Thanks for your advice!


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Pomegranate tree, evergreen or deciduous?
 

"John Ladasky" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi, folks.

Gardening in San Jose, California -- USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 16.

[...]
What I would really like to know is WHEN a pomegranate tree will remain
evergreen. Does the variety matter? If the climate matters, what
are the conditions which influence leaf drop? Presumably, there's a
critical minimum temperature...

Thanks for your advice!

In Phoenix AZ (USDA 9b, Sunset 13) full size pomegranates like 'Wonderful'
are deciduous and always lose all of their leaves in the winter. But the
ornamental dwarf 'Nana' (fruit not palatable) is evergreen. I would suspect
similar results in Palo Alto. We have had both varieties for over 20 years
and find that 'Wonderful' suckers easily and it is much easier to grow as a
large shrub. The shrubs are still very vigorous but it helps to thin by
pruning out some of the older shoots every 2-3 years.

Olin

Pomegranate tree, evergreen or deciduous?
 

Olin wrote:

In Phoenix AZ (USDA 9b, Sunset 13) full size pomegranates like 'Wonderful'
are deciduous and always lose all of their leaves in the winter. But the
ornamental dwarf 'Nana' (fruit not palatable) is evergreen. I would suspect
similar results in Palo Alto. We have had both varieties for over 20 years
and find that 'Wonderful' suckers easily and it is much easier to grow as a
large shrub. The shrubs are still very vigorous but it helps to thin by
pruning out some of the older shoots every 2-3 years.

Olin

Thank you Olin, that was a helpful beginning. It leaves me a little
pessimistic about the possibility of an edible, evergreen pomegranate
in my climate -- but at least I know.


+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Ladasky Home Solar, Inc.: blowing sunshine up your |
| power grid since March 24, 2005. Fiat lux! |
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Uptime Downtime kWh generated kWh consumed |
| 555 days 6.5 hours 10544 10475 |
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+