Shrub · Lythraceae
Pomegranate
Punica granatum
Come fall, the pomegranate hangs heavy with deep red fruit split to show ruby arils.
Full sun
Every 7–10 days
150–210 days
USDA 7–10
Overview
Up close the pomegranate reads as a woody, many-stemmed shrub, its trunks rising in a dense cluster from the base unless a grower has trained it down to a few clean stems. All through the warm months it is dotted with red-orange flowers set along the branches. Grown for thousands of years around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, it has worn this same form the whole time.
By fall those flowers give way to the fruit the plant is known for: round, deep red pomegranates that hang heavy on the wood. Split one open and the inside is packed edge to edge with ruby arils, glistening juice sacs pressed tight around their seeds. A leathery rind and a pale, tannin-rich pith wall them in.
Down at ground level the plant shows its restless side, throwing up a crowd of suckers from the roots and crown that thicken the base into a tangle. The bark and rind carry a bitter, astringent edge, a sharp contrast to the sweet arils they enclose, and the whole shrub can climb well overhead when left to grow.
Care
The short version: set it in full sun and well-drained soil, water deeply every 7 to 10 days and keep the moisture even as the deep red fruit ripens, prune lightly in late winter, and cut away the suckers as they rise.
Light
The pomegranate flowers and fruits best in full sun, at least 6 hours of direct light a day, which is what fills the branches with red-orange blooms. It will grow in a little partial shade, but the blossoms thin out there, and thinner bloom leaves fewer fruit hanging later.
Water
Once its roots take hold the plant is drought tolerant, its woody stems holding up through dry spells. Give it a deep soak every 7 to 10 days when rain is short, and hold the moisture even through late summer and fall, since sudden swings swell the fruit until the red rind cracks.
Soil
It roots best in well-drained loamy soil and takes to most soils that never stay wet. Aim for a pH between 5.5 and 7.0, and keep it out of heavy ground that holds water around the roots.
Temperature
The shrub endures a wide swing, from 10°F to 104°F (-12°C to 40°C). Hard cold can strip it to bare ground, while the long heat of summer is what deepens and ripens the fruit.
Humidity
It likes the air dry, around 20% to 50% humidity. Damp, heavy air is the danger, since it feeds the anthracnose that pits and rots the fruit in humid regions.
Feeding
A balanced 10-10-10 through spring and summer keeps the wood growing, at about 1 pound per 3 feet of plant height split between March and July. Two feedings like that carry a settled plant through its fruiting.
Pruning
Cut it back in late winter, before the buds break. Clear the suckers, the dead wood, and any branches rubbing across each other, and keep the hand light, because the fruit rides on 2 to 3 year old wood and hard cutting strips the crop away.
Repotting
Only the container-grown dwarf forms need lifting, about every 2 to 3 years. Look for roots winding around the pot, water running straight through, and growth that has stalled. A mature plant in open ground stays put.
Size & spacing
At full size the shrub stands 12 to 20 feet (3.7 to 6 m) tall and throws its stems 8 to 20 feet (2.4 to 6 m) wide, a broad, dense mass of woody growth. Dwarf cultivars stay a fraction of that and tuck into a pot or a tight corner.
When to plant
The pomegranate marks the season with its own color. Plants go out in spring once the last frost lifts, the red-orange flowers open from late spring through fall, and the deep red fruit is picked from August into October, about 6 to 7 months after bloom.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring after the last frost
- Harvest: blooms late spring through fall; fruit harvested August to October, about 6 to 7 months after bloom
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–10
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Most of what goes wrong shows plainly on the fruit or in the crowded growth at the base, and it reads in the color and surface of what you see. Catch the marks early and a small change in watering or pruning turns it around. Match the look below to its cause.
Dark sunken pits rotting the fruit in humid air
Those dark, caving pits in the skin are anthracnose, a fungus that spreads in warm, wet air and rots the fruit on the branch before it colors up. It is the main reason pomegranates fail in humid regions. Open the shrub so air moves through, keep water off the fruit, strip away and destroy anything infected, and plant resistant cultivars where the air stays sticky.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead wetting
- Remove and destroy infected fruit
- Choose disease-resistant cultivars in humid regions
Red rind splitting open on the fruit
A pomegranate splits as a moisture-swing problem, not a disease: after a dry stretch breaks into heavy rain or a long soak, the arils swell with water and the fruit outgrows its taut red rind until the skin tears. Hold the soil evenly moist from late summer through fall, spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch over the roots, and ease the watering down slowly toward harvest rather than cutting it all at once.
Fix:
- Maintain consistent, even soil moisture through late summer and fall
- Apply a 2 to 3 in organic mulch layer to buffer moisture
- Reduce irrigation gradually as fruit matures rather than abruptly
Bare branches with little bloom and falling fruit
Thin flowering and dropping fruit point to shade or youth. In partial shade the red-orange blooms come few and far between, and a plant under three years old cannot hold a full set yet. Move it into full sun with 6+ hours of light, spare the fruiting wood from heavy pruning, and wait until about year three to judge the crop.
Fix:
- Site in full sun (6+ hours direct light)
- Be patient; better fruiting typically begins around year three
- Avoid heavy pruning that removes fruiting wood
A dense thicket of suckers at the base
The base of the plant fills with suckers thrown up from the roots and crown, slim shoots that crowd the trunks into a thicket if left. Cut them flush at the base as they rise. Settle early on the shape you want, a few clean trunks or a full multi-stem shrub, and prune the new growth to hold it.
Fix:
- Remove suckers regularly at the base
- Train to a few main trunks or allow as a multi-stem shrub
Toxicity
The glistening arils and their juice are the wholesome part, sweet and safe for people. It is the leathery rind, the pale bitter pith, the bark, and the roots that hold the tannins, and those can upset a cat or dog that gnaws the peel or eats a lot of fruit. Keep the peels and spare fruit away from pets and grazing animals.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
A few ruby arils do a cat no harm, but the leathery rind and the tannin-heavy pith can turn its stomach. Watch for vomiting or loose stools if it chews the peel or eats a lot of fruit.
Dogs Mild
A dog takes the sweet arils fine, though the tannins packed in the rind bring on vomiting or diarrhea when it eats a lot. The hard seeds and tough peel can also choke a small dog or lodge in the gut.
Horses Caution
No record ties a pomegranate to poisoning a horse, but the bitter, tannin-rich rind and bark are best kept away, since a large mouthful could turn the stomach.
Rabbits Caution
The fruit is not poisonous, yet the tannins and sugar sit poorly in a rabbit's gut. Keep the rind off entirely and let the arils be a rare nibble at most.
Livestock Caution
Goats, sheep, and cattle are not truly poisoned by pomegranate, but the astringent rind and bark can loosen the stools or dull the appetite where they browse it heavily.
Birds Caution
Many birds pick the ripe arils clean without harm. The rind is where the tannins sit, so offer only clean fruit and hold back the peel.
People Fruit safe
For people the juicy, jewel-like arils and their juice are a healthy treat, fresh or pressed. The rind and bark stay bitter and astringent and are not for eating.
Keep peels and large amounts of fruit away from cats and dogs; a few arils are not toxic but the rind and tannins are the irritating parts.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Pomegranates take many forms, from a shrub topping 20 feet down to a 2-foot dwarf, and their fruit ranges from large and deep red to notably smaller. These are the ones you are most likely to see.
Wonderful
The leading commercial pomegranate, grown for large, deep red fruit crowded with juicy arils, and the look every other variety gets held up against.
Nana
A true dwarf that stops at just 2 to 3 feet, a scaled-down shrub built for a container or a small corner of the garden.
Salavatski (Russian series)
A cold-hardy selection said to survive to about Zone 6, carrying its fruit into colder ground than most pomegranates can stand.
State Fair
A compact cultivar of around 5 feet that sets reliable crops of smaller fruit on a tidy frame, a fit for tight space.
How to propagate
Pomegranates multiply readily, and the method decides whether the new plant carries the parent's exact look or turns out its own way.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Winter (dormant season, January to February) · Roots in one growing season; 1 to 2 years in nursery rows before transplanting
Cuttings copy the parent down to the fruit. In the dormant season, cut pencil-thick hardwood pieces about 8 to 10 inches long, dust the cut ends with rooting hormone, and press them halfway into a moist soilless mix. They root over one growing season, then stand in nursery rows for a year or two before they are lifted and moved.
SeedModerate
Spring · Germinates in a few weeks; several years to first fruit
Seed sprouts easily but scatters in its looks. Sown in spring, the seeds break within a few weeks, yet the seedlings come up mixed, rarely repeat the parent's fruit, and hold off several years before the first pomegranate forms.
LayeringModerate
Spring to summer · One growing season to root before separating
Layering roots a branch where it lies. Draw a low, supple branch down and pin it against the soil from spring through summer, and it forms roots at the buried point over one growing season. Once rooted, cut it from the parent and lift the new plant.
Myths
Pomegranates are poisonous to dogs and cats.
The bright fruit looks more dangerous than it is. Pomegranate stays off the ASPCA's toxic list, and Pet Poison Helpline calls it a mild irritant rather than a true poison. The upset comes from the tannin-rich rind and from overeating, which brings vomiting or loose stools. The ruby arils are harmless in small amounts; the rind is the part to keep from pets.
Two pomegranate plants are needed to set fruit.
One shrub does it all. Pomegranate flowers are self-pollinating, so a single plant fruits on its own with no partner nearby. A second plant might swell the yield a little, but it is never needed.