Bush or Tree

[Hillbillyhort]

Most poms I have seen growing are a bush form with multiple trunks. That is the way they seam to want to grow. But I have seen photos of very old tree forms with a single trunk. Would a single trunk form be a advantage?

Focusing the energy of growth into a smaller area. Would they be more resilient of cold as a tree form ?

[greenfig]

I train mine as a tree. It simplifies many things for me: keeps the base clean and looks nicer. When the fruit starts ripening, I wrap the trees with a bird netting, easier to do with a single trunk.
I have not noticed any issues so far but would be curious about this.
Here are 2 as an example:

[bopcrane]

Interesting topic! Most all of mine are bush form right now, it's just less work to grow them the way they want to behave like this otherwise I think all of mine would be trained as standards.
I have a Sumbar in ground in my greenhouse I've trained as a standard tree form, I love the way the bark looks when they get bigger like that and I believe they have a beautiful form when trained this way (same with crepe myrtles!). I'd imagine the wood would be able to take lower temps where it would be more lignified and of a larger caliper than when grown as bush form

[pombazaar]

Beautiful trees! I'm currently testing this out for myself. I have one that has a single trunk and the rest are bush form. The one that is a single trunk is much thicker at the base and grew about a foot taller. Next season I'll be able to tell if there's a significant difference in growth.

[7seas]

I am curious as well.
Would a single trunk have more stress from the weight of the fruits vs bush?

[crademan]

Pomegranates growing in colder growing Zones may benefit from the multi-trunk pruning approach. A Georgia Cooperative Extension publication says,

"The single-trunk approach has the advantages of easier orchard floor maintenance and reduced costs associated with pruning suckers. Though this approach is popular in California, it has not been readily adopted by other pomegranate-producing regions of the world.

One major advantage of the multi-trunk approach is that if a freeze event occurs and damages a portion of branches, you can simply remove them and train a vigorous sucker to take their place without a significant loss in production. In the single-trunk system, you would have to replace the entire tree."

It adds, "The weight of the fruit on a branch can be substantial. Support these branches to ensure that fruit does not come into contact with the orchard floor, remains clear of farm equipment and is away from ground-level critters." https://extension.uga.edu/publications/ ... Production