This article explains how to obtain good flowering of pomegranates every year. By applying the appropriate techniques the results will not be long in coming.
Family: Punicaceae Genus: Punica
Species: Punica granatum; Punica Protopunica
The pomegranate (Zakuro, in Japanese) can reach 3-5 m in height; it appears erect and very
branched, with slightly thorny branches. The younger ones have reddish and smooth bark, while in the trunk
and older branches the bark is ashy-grey and cracked. In old subjects, a movement of
the cortex with a twisted pattern is noted. Originally from Persia, it was introduced into the Mediterranean already
in ancient times; in Italy it can be found, growing wild, in the south. It is a plant that is crossed very easily,
therefore there are infinite variations from plant to plant, which however should not be considered as
varieties, unless they present stable characteristics across subsequent generations. It prefers
clayey-sandy and basically calcareous soils. It can hardly tolerate temperatures below
-10°C. The leaves are elliptical, entire, and 5-7 cm long, pale green, shiny, and opposite, obtuse and
subacute; before falling, in late autumn, they take on a golden-yellow colour. The Pomegranate
flowers in June/July in the north and in April/May in the south of our peninsula. This first flowering
produces, on the tops of the branches, from one to five flowers, which very rarely bear fruit. After the first
flowering, the vegetation lengthens and prepares the second flowering, which could bear fruit. The very showy, solitary flowers
(each single flower is hermaphroditic) develop at the top of the branches. They are sessile,
3-4 cm long and have a calyx fused with the lower ovary (located below the calyx), bell-shaped and
fleshy, red-vermilion in colour, with the tube welded to the ovary and the flap divided into five-seven lobes valvate and
persistent. The corolla is composed of five to eight petals, also red-vermilion in colour, soon deciduous
and numerous stamens, with yellow anthers. The fruits (baluste) are globiform and large; initially
greenish, then yellow and, when fully ripe, they take on a red-coral color with shades
scarlet. The peel, when torn, reveals, in the three lodges, the numerous pink and translucent seeds,
irregularly faceted (it is claimed that it has 613 seeds just as the Old Testament contains 613
laws). The fruit, supported by a pseudo-peduncle, is edible, pleasantly sweet-sour. There is
also a dwarf variety of pomegranate, with smaller leaves and fruits. This variety unfortunately
requires more attention. The pomegranate is considered one of the best bonsai materials, it tolerates
drastic pruning and continuous pinching of the buds, is easy to harvest, to root, has
great growth vigor, and adapts very well to the bonsai pot. The pomegranate takes on very
attractive aspects, especially regarding its branching which becomes very fine if
particular attention is paid to pruning the new shoots. Its rather hard wood allows you to produce
jin with a very natural appearance with good results. The flowering and beautiful fruits complete the qualities of
this tree. Its characteristics also make it one of the most suitable species to be treated as
shohin (dwarf variety). However, the pomegranate also has some unfavorable aspects such as its poor
longevity and the tendency to dry out the young branches in winter. It is also subject to sap withdrawals due to the
pruning of large branches.
Propagation
Propagation by seed: the seeds in autumn must be extracted from the fruit, dried and stratified in sand.
They should be sown in the heat, between 16 and 20°C. at the beginning of spring, in a seedbed composed of (1/3
coarse river sand, 1/3 peat and 1/3 akadama) placing it in the sun: within three weeks the seeds
should begin to vegetate.
Propagation by cutting: semi-woody cuttings are taken in June-July, preferably with a foot. The cutting
must be approximately 10/12 cm long and come from a branch that flowered the previous year. From the
harvested cutting, remove the last two leaves and cut the remaining ones in half, to avoid excessive
transpiration. Fill the container with the same soil indicated for the seeds and plant the cuttings
individually at a distance of 5 cm from each other; they should then be thoroughly wetted and placed in a
very bright place, but protected from sun and wind. After a month you will need to start giving them
fertilizer, but during the first year they should not be pruned. The following year, just after the
vegetative awakening, they will be transplanted into single cultivation pots, cutting the roots. Protect the young
seedlings during the winter from too much cold and too much rain.
Propagation by layering: must be carried out in May. Debark the part of the trunk where you want
new roots to grow, cover the cut with wet sphagnum moss and wrap everything with plastic,
tied firmly at the two ends. The pomegranate roots easily: after thirty-forty days
numerous rootlets will have developed, so the new plant can already be divided from the mother plant
to place it in a cultivation pot.
Exposure
Prefers warm places with lots of sun; the ideal is that it can also receive good ventilation. Furthermore,
good brightness is essential to ensure considerable fruiting. However, it must be considered
that, while it is very resistant to the most intense summer heat, it will hardly tolerate temperatures
below -10°C and especially winter frosts: for this reason, in the north, at the first drops in
temperature the plant must be protected by sheltering it in a cold greenhouse .
Watering
It is important that the soil has time to dry between one watering and the next. Good drainage
is essential for rapid water absorption. However, both
excess and insufficient watering must be absolutely avoided . From spring onwards it must be watered abundantly,
before and after flowering to encourage the ripening of the fruits. Sometimes the lack of water during the
formation of flowers and fruits causes their abortion; never water the flowers. In winter, even for pots stored
in temperate places, the soil must be kept moist but not soaked.
Pruning and Clamping
Formative pruning, including cuts of important branches, is carried out exclusively before
vegetative growth, avoiding cutting short and thorny twigs. The secret to obtaining fruit from a
pomegranate bonsai is to do the pinching immediately after the first flowering. Although it is possible to try to
pollinate it artificially, it is possible to obtain the fruit naturally by pinching at the right time and
placing the specimen in full sun, in the open air. Since the Pomegranate always flowers on the tops of the
branches, the objective is get short branches. The pinching must be set in such a way that, after the second
vegetation (end of June, beginning of July in the south, August/September in the north), it blooms from the new shoots. Even
if each tree is different, when the vegetation reaches 15-20 cm in length (end of June) the
Pomegranate bonsai is pruned, leaving two nodes. You can also pinch the tree normally whenever a
branch has seven or eight pairs of leaves leaving two pairs, (even if the bottom two are not really
leaves) at the end of June.
This procedure causes the subsequent vegetation to arise directly from the base of the branch, smaller and with
significantly reduced leaves. From this moment it can be left to grow freely.
Flower buds will begin to form on the tips of the branches; then you choose the ones that interest you and cut the others. From this last
flowering you can be almost certain of obtaining fruit. Since Pomegranate leaves always appear in pairs, every
time you prune the branches they always appear two by two. If you shorten it a lot after the first flowering, the shoots will not
elongate excessively before flowering again. Therefore, for the success of flowering, it is necessary to keep
in mind: 1) flowering occurs in two moments, May-June and August; 2) only the short and
thorny twigs flower; 3) flower buds are present only on the ends of new shoots; 4) the fruit appears during the
second flowering; 5) two blooms do not always occur. Furthermore, it must be remembered that countless factors contribute to the success of
pomegranate flowering, all of which are essential: fertilization, repotting, watering, pinching.
Application of the wire
Pruning is mainly used to form the branching. Furthermore, being a rather delicate species
, winding must be carried out with the utmost care, it is therefore advisable to
use copper-plated aluminum wire covered with crepe paper or raffia to protect the bark of the
more fragile branches. The most appropriate time to apply the wire is in May-June (moments of lower
vegetative vigor) because the new growth is not yet entirely lignified, and therefore the branches can be
shaped more easily, avoiding the risk of breakage. As for the shoots, it is possible to slow down their
growth even with just the wire: they wrap them downwards. If you plan to wrap a
large branch, it is best not to water the plant in the days before work.
Repotting and substrates
Being an essence that produces a vigorous root system, it needs frequent repotting (at most every 2/3
years), even for old specimens. It is important to carry out this operation in late spring, when the buds
they begin to activate. The non-acid substrate must be very draining (an excellent mixture is made up of 70%
akadama, 15% coarse sand and 15% universal soil previously sieved to eliminate soil particles
smaller than 1 mm. or 85% akadama with 15% leaf mold) in order to avoid
water stagnation, which would be very dangerous for the pomegranate. When repotting, carefully check that
there is no asphyxiation of the root system and, before shortening the primary root, make sure that there are sufficient rootlets upstream
of it capable of ensuring the survival of the root and the branch linked to
it . The pomegranate tolerates transplants poorly, as it has a tendency to develop capillaries at the apex of the roots,
therefore cutting them must be done very carefully and moderately so that the plant produces flowers and
fruit.
Fertilization
Punica granatum needs abundant fertilization, especially in the periods preceding flowering
: April-May and July. Even in September, when the fruits will appear,
fertilization is necessary. To obtain good fruiting it is necessary to administer fertilizer rich in phosphorus
and potassium, but with low nitrogen content. The ideal are organic fertilizers for bonsai in tablet form, based
on rapeseed, fish meal and bone meal (hanagokoro). The period in which
fertilization must be carried out is rather long as it goes from spring (fertilize moderately) to autumn.
And it is very important not to interrupt the administration, especially in September-October.
However, keep in mind that neither before nor during the flowering period is it necessary to fertilize. The best sign of
the plant's health are new shoots: if they are reddish in colour, the care given the previous year was
correct; if they are yellowish something is wrong.
Appropriate Styles
The styles for the pomegranate are unlimited. It can be inclined trunk, random erect, (Moyogi),
multi-trunk, group of plants, raft, cascade or Bunjin (abstract or free), etc., because it has all the
necessary characteristics. Small, medium and large Bonsai can be created.
Diseases
During flowering, trees are more exposed to attacks by parasites, but
caution must be exercised when administering insecticidal products, otherwise there is a risk of preventing
natural pollination. It is therefore preferable to apply preventive winter treatments (for
example when the tree is bare, apply jin liquid diluted in water (1: 20) in order to eliminate
any aphid and scale insect eggs) rather than having to intervene when the plant it is in the
flowering phase. This species is mainly subject to whitefly, red spider mite and aphids.
Animal parasites
Green aphid
The lesions are visible on the leaves and the existence of this parasite is noted with the presence of
honeydew droplets that the aphid expels. After a short time the plant, thus smeared and ruined by the stings, ends up
losing vitality and the leaves, in the case of strong attacks, dry up and fall prematurely. Intervention:
spray with a violent jet of water to detach them from the leaf, once they fall to the ground they are no
longer able to climb onto the plant. Chemical intervention: to be carried out in April-May and in summer with:
• Dimethoate g 3 x liter of water
• Ethiofencarb g 4 x liter of water, or pyrethrum and pyrethroids 1 g x liter of water.
Red spiders
They are very small arachnids and not small insects as many call them: they have 4 pairs of legs and a
single body that is not divided like that of insects. The ones we are interested in live at the expense of
plants, sucking their sap. The affected plants take on a greyish-yellow or rusty colour,
visibly deteriorate and can die if we do not help them fight these annoying parasites. The
first intervention is to violently spray the leaves or rather the entire plant with water, because if the
parasite detaches itself from the leaf and falls, it is no longer able to climb back up. With this system the
presence of adults is limited , but after a short time others will be born from the eggs laid on the lower side
individuals, who will suck more blood to live. The operation must be repeated if the presence of individuals has
become numerous. Chemical intervention: from May to summer, every 15-20 days. treat the plants with
• Amitraz 2-.5 g per liter of water or
• Propargite 1.5-2 g per liter of water.
Defoliators
It is necessary to analyze which type of defoliators have affected the plant and if they are caterpillars such as
rose sawflies, it is sufficient to spray water violently to detach them from the leaf. Chemical intervention: treat the
plants with
• Carbaryl g 2 x liter of water or
• Phosalone g 2-2.5 x liter of water.
Plant parasites
Rusts
The damage occurs on the leaves where yellow-orange pustules can be seen on the lower surface, which
coincide with chlorotic spots on the upper surface which tend to necrotise, causing the
leaves to fall. The plant is no longer able to complete chlorophyll photosynthesis, which is why it weakens, will be
attacked by other parasites and will then die. A valid means to oppose rust does not exist. In any case,
you can try products that can provide some satisfaction if the disease is in the very early
stage of activity. We recommend:
• Benomyl g 1 x liter of water or
• Mancozeb g 3 x liter of water.
Powdery mildew or white disease
The fungus is evident with felty white spots on the leaves, stems and flowers, interruption
of development up to withering and drying.
Chemical intervention treat plants with:
colloidal sulfur g. 0.8-1 x liter
Scab
The most striking signs are on the leaves, where they consist of rounded spots of an
olive-brown color and a velvety appearance due to the existence of conidia. During the spring and summer months the parasites
spread by means of their conidial forms. In spring, these organs will be mature so there
will be an expulsion of ascospores which will start the first infections.
Chemical intervention treat plants with:
• Mancozeb 3 g x liter of water or
• copper oxychloride 4.5 g x liter of water
• copper hydroxide 2.5 g x liter of water
SOME ADVICE
The branches that bear fruit remain very weak the following year; avoid the same branch bearing fruit for two
years in a row. For the same reason, do not leave more than one fruit on each branch. The fruit does not fall spontaneously
until it has reached a dark color, now in the middle of winter, but it is better to remove it from the tree when
the peel begins to streak, or when it splits revealing the seeds inside. If the pomegranate has a
hollow trunk, (sabamiki) the jin liquid must be applied to avoid rot.
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