I got the cuttings from a reputable source as Desertnyi 4 years ago but the fruit photos and the taste description don't match. It seems they should have orange hint in taste and the rind be orange as well.
It produced about 8 beautiful poms. Large, soft seeded , and sweet with a hint of acidity. I like them a lot.
You see my photos attached, the color is dark red outside and the arils are large and dark red as well (not pictured).
Is yours the same dark red outside or it is orange like the online photos?
I LOVE Desertnyi and mine looks like yours. I have many dozens of varieties and find that a few might be mis-labeled due to a nursery switching names a while back but I never suspected that my Desertnyi were in the group I'm not sure about (mostly Parfianca). Colors and pictures online don't match up well for me. I go to the tastings and tours at the USDA site and consider them to be most correct on labels. I have gotten Desertnyi scion from USDA and plants from Dave Wilson Nursery and I think mine are correct. I'd describe mine as very red (not orange) unless it is in the shade and then it doesn't alway get full color. I'd call the juice very red and I'd say the arils are medium in hardness and it has a balance of sour and sweet. I am having my first ones ripening now so I'll check again off several different plants.
Awesome! Please post your photos.
Your description is very close to my (although still not fully ripe) poms.
So unless proven otherwise, I will keep sharing it as Desertnyi (my neighbors love it too !)
I have loved Desertnyi for many years and also think plain old Wonderful is pretty darn Wonderful. I haven't had ripe Ariana for very many years and resist having a new favorite but I think I remember it being milder and a softer seed. Greenfig, did you get both of yours from a local SoCal nursery? I looked at what I had written about both of them and I must have copied an online description for Desertnyi and indeed it said orangish rind. It also said when very ripe the juice was like orange juice. I've never thought of orange juice when tasting it but I will try this year. Usually I juice up from mixed buckets and don't really taste the juice from one variety. I'm having trouble attaching an image.
I have a number of different varieties obtained from different sources. My Sirenevyi, Vkusnyi, and Desertnyi came from Harvey as cuttings, Parfianka was purchased as a tree from Huntington Gardens (it is true to the variety), Ariana, Miatadzhy, Sverhranniy, Eversweet came from UCD , and Angel Red purchased. Some of those are standalone trees, and some are grafts either on other poms or Crape Myrtles.
Let me post the Myrtle graft photos, I just came from outside.
Nice collection you have! My Vkusnyi is still years from getting good fruit. What do you think of it? This forum is the first I've heard of grafting to Crepe Myrtle! I am going to have to look into that. There are so many of those around town and it would be fun to see some poms hanging from them!
We have Desertnyi, Parfianka, Gissarski Rosovyi, and Ariana pomegranate bushes. Desertnyi is my favorite soft seeded pomegranate. Unfortunately, it is also the favorite pomegranate of Waddell's roof rat population, so we need to harvest them all soon after we spot the first hollowed out pomegranate on the Desertnyi bush.
Ariana arils are deep red in color, soft seeded, and their rich flavor is more tart than Desertnyi. It's a good soft seeded pomegranate, but not as sweet as Desertnyi arils for eating as snack while watching football games.
crademan wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 4:59 pm
We have Desertnyi, Parfianka, Gissarski Rosovyi, and Ariana pomegranate bushes. Desertnyi is my favorite soft seeded pomegranate. Unfortunately, it is also the favorite pomegranate of Waddell's roof rat population, so we need to harvest them all soon after we spot the first hollowed out pomegranate on the Desertnyi bush.
Ariana arils are deep red in color, soft seeded, and their rich flavor is more tart than Desertnyi. It's a good soft seeded pomegranate, but not as sweet as Desertnyi arils for eating as snack while watching football games.
I may have potentially a rat problem as well but I don’t let them taste the fruit. I wrap the trees with bird netting before it gets ripe. So far, it has been working .
JWheel wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 3:38 pm
Nice collection you have! My Vkusnyi is still years from getting good fruit. What do you think of it? This forum is the first I've heard of grafting to Crepe Myrtle! I am going to have to look into that. There are so many of those around town and it would be fun to see some poms hanging from them!
I tried Vkusnyi at a tasting, mine will have some next year.
A word of caution: make sure the tree is on the dry side when it is flowering. Our past Spring had a lot of rain and two of my trees that were planted in fresh soil lost all the flowers . It was too wet for them. Plant a new tree on a hill, it will do better there.
I think the Myrtle grafting has a potential in the colder areas since Myrtle are much more cold hardy.
