Perennial Fruit Tree · zones 8–10 · 24 varieties
Pomegranate
Punica granatum
Lythraceae — the only crop in its plant family here.
Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a perennial fruit tree for USDA zones 8–10. It wants full sun and pH 5.5–7.2 soil, with about 0.5–1 in of water weekly. First real harvest comes in 2–3 yr on a plant grown from a cutting. Watch for whiteflies and leaf spot. Below: its full sourced profile from 4 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 8–10
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.2
- Soil texture
- Loam, Sandy, Clay, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Half hardy
The plant
- Mature height
- 10–20 ft
- Mature spread
- 8–10 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderateest
- Spacing in row
- 216 in
- Between rows
- 216 in
- Planting depth
- At soil levelest
- Container size
- 5–15 gal — start at the low end, pot up as it growsest
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Cutting, Transplant
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Low
- Water per week
- 0.5–1 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Establishment, Fruit setest
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Years to first harvest
- 2–3 yr
- That is a plant on its own roots, struck from a cutting rather than grafted — which is how this one is normally sold.
- Chill hours
- 150–200 hrs
- Pollination
- Partially self fertile
- Harvest cues
- Fruit coloring
- Takes winter cold down to
- 12 °F
- Winter kill below
- 10 °F
Edible parts per source: fruit.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | Size | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Sirin-Nar Heirloom | Hard Seed | — | Red | Large | Bob Wells Nursery describes this asgives a heavy crop | |
| Ambrosia | — | Pink | Very Large | |||
| Angel Red | Soft Seed | — | Red | Large | Monrovia describes this asdraws bees and butterflies | |
| Christina Heirloom | Hard Seed | — | White | Medium | ||
| Desertnyi Heirloom | Soft Seed | — | Red | Small | ||
| Early Wonderful | — | Red | Large | Planting Justice describes this asgets by on less water · draws bees and butterflies | ||
| Eversweet | Soft Seed | — | White | Large | ||
| Golden Globe | — | Bicolor | Very Large | |||
| Granada | Hard Seed | — | White | |||
| Kashmir Blend | Spreading | — | Red | Medium | ||
| Kazake Heirloom | Soft Seed | — | Bicolor | Small | Bob Wells Nursery describes this astakes the cold | |
| Nana Dwarf Heirloom | Ornamental | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | Small | Bob Wells Nursery describes this assmall enough for a pot · happy in a pot · grown to look at |
| Parfianka Heirloom | Soft Seed | — | Red | Large | ||
| Pink Satin | — | Red | Medium | |||
| Purple Heart | — | Purple | Large | |||
| Red Silk | Hard Seed | Dwarf | — | Red | Medium | |
| Salavatski Heirloom | — | Bicolor | ||||
| Sirenevyi Heirloom | Soft Seed | — | Purple | Medium | ||
| Sumbar Heirloom | Soft Seed | — | Red | One Green World describes this astakes the cold | ||
| Sweet Heirloom | — | Pink | Large | |||
| Texas Pink | Soft Seed | — | Pink | Bob Wells Nursery describes this asgets by on less water | ||
| Utah Sweet Heirloom | Soft Seed | — | Pink | Medium | ||
| Vkusnyi Heirloom | Soft Seed | — | Red | Large | University of Florida (Bill Castle, prepared for growables.org) records this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Wonderful Heirloom | — | Red | Large |
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
- NC State Extension
- University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR)
- University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 18 of the 24 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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