Testing Wonderful Seedling in Ground Zone 6B

[pombazaar]

The very first pomegranate I ever had was a seedling that was given to me back in the spring of 2019. It was planted by a well known fig collector in our community who first introduced the Breva Noral fig. He lost interest in pomegranates and gave it to me. The seedling came from a Wonderful at our local grocery store and was left in a container it's first full year. In September of 2019, I decided I didn't really care if it survived or not because 1) it was a Wonderful and 2) it came from seed. So I planted it in ground. The root system at this point was pretty dried up and weak. The following spring it died to ground but grew about 3 feet during the 2020 season. I decided to cover it with a trash can pegged into the ground to see if survival was possible. To my surprise, this spring there was zero dieback despite reaching lows of 0F in February.

This is the tree now. I'm going to chance it this year with no protection and see if it makes it.

IMG_2995.JPG (2.37 MiB) Viewed 987 times

IMG_2996.JPG (2.94 MiB) Viewed 987 times

IMG_2997.JPG (1.91 MiB) Viewed 987 times

[greenfig]

Cool! I love seedlings. In the past few years, I've germinated seeds from the largest fruits/arils of Parfianka, Angel Red, Yazd, Desertnyi. They grow faster than any cuttings but have not flowered yet. I am mainly curious to find out if the seedlings would be similar to the mother trees.

[pombazaar]

You and @alanmercieca both got me interested in seedlings actually. You just never really know what you're gonna get. I was recently given a packet of pomegranate seeds from the National Arboretum that were sourced from the Shamakhi district of Azerbaijan. I'm really excited to grow these and see how the fruit quality is.

[pombazaar]

7/3/2022 update.

The Wondeful seedling was left uncovered this past winter and completely and died back to the root. It has recovered again and is growing well. I'll cover it the next few years and see how it does.

IMG_0314.JPG (3.95 MiB) Viewed 747 times

[pombazaar]

Update 5/14/23:

The Wonderful seedling died to root again over the winter, this came at no surprise. Of course this variety is not suited for 6B in ground but it does show the resiliency of a Wonderful seedling. It has been thought that Wonderful is considered to be a very mildly cold hardy cultivar. My observations confirm this. Also, with proper winter protection they have the possibility of no die back. Since this is a seedling that has not fruited yet there's no way of determining fruit quality or production. If anyone would like cuttings to give this a try, let me know and I can arrange something.

[pombazaar]

Update 8/31/2023:

Back to life!

[pombazaar]

Update 10/28/2023:

[greenfig]

I germinated a seed from a humongous Wonderful from Costco. The seedling is quite vigorous and is 3 feet now. I think it’s the most vigorous I’ve had.
I will keep it in a larger pot, just curious if it ever produces

[greenfig]

I germinated a seed from a humongous Wonderful from Costco. The seedling is quite vigorous and is 3 feet now. I think it’s the most vigorous I’ve had.
I will keep it in a larger pot, just curious if it ever produces