Testing Belbek in Ground Zone 6A

[alanmercieca]

3F actual temperature was the coldest I have actually seen here, and twice, I doubt that the wind chill was as high as it got for you, and only one pomegranate was in the ground then a 'Salavatski', I don't recall it getting any winter damage either of those years, I don't think that I protected it either. 'Salavatski' can be late frost sensitive here though.

[alanmercieca]

Has any other severe cold weather hit this bush this winter?

[pombazaar]

We've been having really odd weather patterns lately, especially for February. Several days reaching around 70F then going down to the 30s days later. I did a scratch test earlier this week and saw green so I'm remaining hopeful. It's not unusual to see frost in Michigan during April...so we still have ways to go. Fingers crossed.

[tarnado]

Fingers crossed. This tree has SEEN THINGS. I really hope it pulls through
.

[pombazaar]

Update 4/6/2024: Other trees and plants are starting to break bud all around the house. So far nothing on this Belbek though. I inspected it today and can't tell how far down the loss goes. Hoping for the best but preparing for major loss.

[alanmercieca]

Update 4/6/2024: Other trees and plants are starting to break bud all around the house. So far nothing on this Belbek though. I inspected it today and can't tell how far down the loss goes. Hoping for the best but preparing for major loss.

Well if everything else had winter protection, then there should be a growth delay in comparison for the in ground one. Hopefully you will know by mid April. Sometimes when our in ground pomegranates get die back here, they may seem dead until about September, and then they are back to normal within a few years.

[pombazaar]

Thanks for the info! I'll hold off on cutting it back in the event it doesn't start to break bud immediately. Will post another update soon.

[alanmercieca]

One thing that I have learned about pomegranate bushes planted in the ground, if the roots are developed enough, even if the bush perishes the variety could come back literately from the roots themselves. That happened to one of my pomegranate bushes, several other pomegranate bushes are propagating from the roots as well, although none of those ones have perished, even the slightly cold sensitive one didn't die, it almost did, yet when the original plant is stressing out, the roots send up a new bush or two or 3. The slightly cold sensitive one 3 new ones came up from the roots, as well as the original one just barley survived.

[pombazaar]

Update 4/15/2024:

Top growth appears to be completely dead. I also did a scratch test at the very bottom and that too didn't show any signs of life. So the whole tree is likely dead at least to root. Unfortunately this means that Belbek is not a suitable in ground option for Michigan. I was hopeful after hearing about the cold hardiness of this cultivar. Sigh...this is really sad.

[alanmercieca]

The cold hardiness is most likely for a European winter, which the cold stays for way less time than where you live, also I think that the wind chill where you live is also much worst. Pomegranates take at least 3 or 4 years in ground to gain their full hardiness as well. Also in Europe a lot of people plant their fruit bearing plants in a sheltered area, to not only protect them, to also get a crop earlier in the season.