Growing indoor pomegranates "Baby", "Nana" and others at home

Indoor pomegranate is an unpretentious culture that undeservedly has the fame of being capricious. It is avoided not only by beginners and amateurs, but also by many experienced flower growers. In fact, growing varieties of dwarf pomegranates is no more difficult than aloe.

Description of indoor pomegranate representatives

Dwarf grenades, or pomegranates, are perennial deciduous shrubs of the Derbennikovye family with trunks up to 1 m long and branches up to 1.5 cm thick. The bush grows in width to 90-120 cm.The plant produces beautiful bonsai up to 30 cm high. The main direction of indoor pomegranates is decorative, but their fruits are edible and taste almost the same as ordinary pomegranates.

The leaves are small, oval, shiny, light green or deep green, depending on the variety, and sit on short reddish-brown petioles. Young castings are bronze, mature ones are green, turn yellow before leaf fall.

The flowers are numerous, tubular, reminiscent of an elongated bell. Most often they sit alone, less often they gather in inflorescences of 3-5 flowers. Corolla diameter up to 4 cm, length - up to 10 cm. The petals are generally red or orange in color.

Most of the flowers are sterile - they have only a short sterile pistil, they do not form fruits... Fruiting flowers have a long column. Flowering is long in time, while a single flower lives no more than 3 days. The duration of flowering is due to the daily formation of new buds.

The fruit is a pomegranate with a diameter of up to 7 cm. The color is different: from brown or orange-yellow to deep red. Berries with a lot of seeds, taste slightly worse than ordinary pomegranate, less juicy and with less pulp. Ripening occurs in late November - early December.

What varieties are pomegranates

Breeders annually release new varieties and hybrids of dwarf pomegranates to the market. Most often on sale you can find Baby, Carthage, Nana seeds and some others.

Baby

Miniature variety up to 0.5 m high with small elongated leaves. The flowers are red or brick-red, flowering occurs at 3-4 years of life of the shrub. In the baby pomegranate, the fruits appear closer to the 6-7 year of life. This requires artificial pollination of female fruiting flowers. The fruits of this pomegranate variety are yellow, up to 3 cm in diameter.

Nana

The dwarf Nana pomegranate is up to 1 m high and has small elliptical leaves. The flowers are crimson, appear in the second year of the plant's life. Variety unpretentious in care and is considered one of the most popular. The fruits of this type of pomegranate are up to 3-5 cm in size, pinkish-red.

Alba

Alba is a tall tree that needs regular pruning. Leaves are glossy, elongated, dark green in color. Does not bear fruit. Forms large 5-6 cm double cream and white flowers. Blooms from the second year of life.

Carthage

Carthage is a plant up to 80 cm high. It blooms and bears fruit only for 6-8 years. The flowers of this pomegranate are double red, 3-4 cm in diameter. The fruits are small - 5-6 cm in diameter, with a sweet and sour taste.

Features of growing and caring for decorative varieties of pomegranate

Caring for red and sweet yellow pomegranates is easy - even a novice florist can handle it.They grow on almost any soil, since their wild ancestor prefers loose soil, poor in organic matter and minerals.

Temperature

Pomegranate is a southern plant, but it easily tolerates significant temperature changes. In summer, it is better to keep it at a temperature of + 20 ... + 30 ° C and high humidity. For this, balconies, loggias, wide southeastern window sills are suitable.

The plant does not tolerate heat and stuffiness, which is why it is better to keep it in well-ventilated places, while avoiding a constant draft.

In winter, the optimum temperature is + 10 ... + 14 ° C. Short-term reductions are acceptable, however, in no case should the plant be kept at temperatures below zero.

Important! In autumn, after leaf fall and in winter, pomegranate looks completely dry and lifeless.

Watering

For an ornamental culture, unlike a wild ancestor, you need to create a well-drained soil with regular abundant watering... During the period of winter dormancy, pomegranates are watered no more than once every 6-8 weeks. In February, upon awakening, pomegranates are watered as the top layer of the earth dries up with water at room temperature - at least 2 times a week.

Important! If you flood a flower, in too heavy, poorly drained soils, the root system will begin to rot and the plant will die.

During flowering, watering is reduced to 1 time per week. In hot weather, they resort to increasing the humidity around the pomegranate by spraying the entire bush with a spray bottle. After the end of flowering and the beginning of the formation of fruits, watering is carried out abundantly, once every 7-10 days. If the plant does not form fruit, water it as the soil dries.

Shine

Plants need a lot of light. In spring, with a short daylight hours, additional lighting is organized up to 18 hours using phyto lamps or a conventional incandescent lamp. In summer, do not leave the pomegranate in direct sunlight for a long time - there is a risk of burns on the leaves and flowers. In the hottest hours, during the period of the greatest activity of the Sun, it is desirable for the plant to be in partial shade.

In winter, the consecration mode is left natural, without backlighting, otherwise the plant will begin an active growing season, which is highly undesirable.

Priming

For growing dwarf pomegranate, well-drained, light, aerated soils with neutral acidity are preferred. For this, soil mixtures for begonias or roses are suitable. The soil can be prepared independently from equal parts of sod soil, peat, humus or compost and river sand. Before planting the pomegranate, the soil is sterilized with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or calcined for 10 minutes in an oven at a temperature of 200 ° C.

Pruning

Pruning is carried out to maintain the decorative shape and activate the flowering process. They begin to form the crown from the first year of life. One or more leading trunks are left without fail, cutting off root fry. For bonsai, one powerful shoot is suitable, for a small shrub - 4-5 branches.

The pomegranate is pruned several times a year. The first pruning is carried out at the beginning of the growing season (February-March). Remove old, dried shoots without signs of living buds and growing inside the bush. The main shoots are shortened by 2-3 cm to stimulate flowering and growth. Usually the cut is over the second lateral kidney.

In the summer, pruning is carried out in periods, cutting off too elongated bushes. In autumn, after flowering, thin, weak, drying out branches are removed, the crown is too dense, leaving the branches for spring formation.

Top dressing

Although the plant is tolerant of poor soils, for better flowering, the flower regularly feed:

1. The first feeding is carried out in April with nitrogenous fertilizers - urea, ammonium nitrate. Liquid fertilizer is prepared at the rate of 1.5 ml of substance per 1 liter of water.
2. From the beginning of flowering until September, the soil is enriched with phosphorus fertilizers - superphosphate, double superphosphate with the same calculation as for nitrogenous fertilizing.
3. After the end of flowering and shedding of foliage, once every 2 months, the soil is fertilized with potassium salts, for example, potassium sulfate (0.1% solution - 1 g per 1000 ml of water). Potassium helps to strengthen the root system and immunity.

Pot

Growing capacity for adult flowering pomegranates should be narrow and low regardless of the variety. Plant in too large pots feels discomfort, discards peduncles, builds up exclusively green mass.

Transfer

Up to 3-4 years of life of a shrub or tree, it is transplanted annually by transferring it into a larger container. Further, depending on the variety, they do not resort to transplants at all, or they are carried out no more than 1 time in 3 years.

Reference! Despite the recommendations of flower growers, it is better to replant all varieties once every 3 years, since the soil tends to deplete.

Wintering

In winter, plants look sick and even lifeless, which is why inexperienced growers resort to active treatment and fertilization. You don't need to do this: in winter, the pomegranate needs peace, rare watering and coolness. Pomegranate overwinters from mid-December to February-March.

Protection against diseases and pests

The plant is regularly inspected for pests and disease symptoms. Most problems arise due to mistakes in care, too frequent or infrequent watering, dry or excessively humid air:

1. Powdery mildew manifests itself as a whitish bloom on the leaves in conditions of poor ventilation and high humidity. Sick pomegranates are wiped with a sponge dipped in a solution of soda ash at the rate of 5 g per 1 liter of water with the addition of 10 ml of liquid soap. In case of profuse lesions, they resort to fungicides - "Topaz", "HOM".
2. Spotting - the appearance of yellow-brown spots on the surface of the foliage. The main reason is excessive soil moisture. It is better to transplant the plant into new soil, after examining the root system and removing the rotten roots. Before planting in new soil, it is better to hold them in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 10 minutes.
3. Whiteflies - small butterflies that parasitize the foliage, causing the leaf blade to twist and turn yellow. To get rid of the insect, the crown is sprayed with garlic water - 3 chopped garlic cloves per 1 tbsp. warm water, insist for 48 hours. Of the chemicals used "Aktara" or "Fitoverm".
4. Aphid - small green insects that feed on foliage juices. A large number of small greenish eggs are found on the back of the leaves. The insects are washed off under running water, and the foliage is soaked in liquid soap for 10-15 minutes. Spark, Strela or Tanrek are used as insecticides.

Conclusion

Terry indoor pomegranates are spectacular plants that do not cause difficulty in care. Long and abundant flowering pleases the eye from April-July to October, and fruit-bearing varieties give small but unusual taste of pomegranate. At home, the pomegranate will not cause trouble even for a beginner.