Adding two new early poms - any advice?

[tarnado]

I have a problem. I can't help myself. I managed to hold myself back to getting just two new pomegranate varieties, both sourced from Planting Justice in Oakland.

First is Sverkhranniy, a pom that many folks suggest might be the earliest ripening pom around. The second is Medovyi Vasha (<<Your Honey,>>?). Does anyone have experience with the latter?

[alanmercieca]

I got those in 2023, for a project taking place in NYC, I don't have them myself here. And the plants are very young still, too young to tell anything yet.

[pombazaar]

As we say here locally, "It's a disease" lol.

I have both but are extremely small. Medovyi Vasha, I recall being the smaller of the two when I was pulling tags for inventory during late fall. My issue is that I just haven't had the time to up-pot. Every source I've found suggests that MV is also early. What specifically were you wanting to know about it?

[tarnado]

As we say here locally, "It's a disease" lol.

Ha ha ha not feeling attacked at all LOL

I suppose I really want to know how it compares to Sverkhranniy regarding need for heat to ripen (or both to Sumbar if anyone knows), to prioritize which one in at which place in our little microclimate.

[pombazaar]

Not sure how much this will help but was one of the few articles I could find online that didn't come from a generic site trying to sell you a MV pomegranate: https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com ... sweet.html

I found this quote to be interesting:

Very sweet, soft-seeded, large dark arils. Not much complexity in flavor, and some people detect the straw flavor in it. It seems to be better flavored when picked earlier in the season. The fruits picked mid-October 2016 were good. My husband actually likes this variety, and I can live without it.

If you want to get the most out of your trees, allow your pomegranates to have full sun. Just watch for wilting or harsh sun damage and adjust accordingly. Without full sun you're going to have a real challenge getting ripe fruit. Our season is short here and even my earliest pomegranates aren't red until the beginning of October and even then they still need 45 additional days to have quality arils with a depth of flavor. Sverkhranniy should be prioritized in my opinion because we have the most info on it and you have the highest chance of getting early quality fruit from it. I'd then prioritize Sumbar and lastly Medovyi Vasha but that's me. So many factors change the quality, color, and size of fruit from season to season. The author of the blog I posted seems to rank MV rather low, but this alone shouldn't deter you from trying it out. You may be pleasantly surprised.

[tarnado]

Thanks for the sleuthing and the advice!

[greenfig]

I have both in ground. Hopefully, they will flower this year since they have been growing for 3 years.
Sverhranniy is a very vigorous grower, Medovyi Vahsha is growing nicely too but a bit less vigorous.
My trees were started from UCD cuttings.

[tarnado]

Good luck, and thanks for the intel! My 'Sumbar' tree in Seattle flowered and set fruit on its second summer, so I will have to remember to be patient That tree had already been rooted and started, though. So. I may already be out of room!