CRFG scion exchange - Tulare

[jrin3r]

My wife and I went to the California Rare Fruit Growers Association's annual scion exchange yesterday and picked up quite a few pom scions. We were both surprised at the varieties they had, not only the poms but the stone fruit, pip fruit, grapes, mulberries, etc. We got a couple pom scions of each of most of what they had, including Sirin Nar, Eve, Ambrosia, Ariana, Alk Pust Ghermez, Kunduzski, Palermo, and Kopetdag. This is the first year my wife and I (mostly the wife) are trying our hand at pom scion rooting (I have just done figs for years), so wish us luck!

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[Eykca]

I am growing increasingly self-conscious about my inability to grow pomegranates from cutting. I use root growth hormone, I follow all the directions, and I simply cannot do it. I have plenty of success with bare-root but for the life of me cannot get cuttings to work. From Fresno, I wish you the best of luck, everybody tells me poms are super-easy to grow from cutting, which, again, is really starting to hurt my feelings.

[pombazaar]

Those are some nice varieties you picked up! I personally had extremely poor results attempting to root last year but drastically changed my methods and have had nearly 100% success this year. Clonex defiantly helps but humidity is also a very important factor, especially if your house is cold or dry during the winter months.

This is my current method:

1. Soak 3-4 node cuttings in 2 inches of water for 1 week. Change out the water every day.
2. Scrape the bottom 2-3 inches of cuttings and apply Clonex. Let the cuttings sit for a few minutes before placing in soil.
3. Place cuttings in well packed soil in clear solo cups. I cut two slits at the bottom for drainage.
4. Place the cuttings in a plastic bin or fish tank and mist the inside. Open lid every 2 days to prevent mold.
5. In about 3 weeks you will see roots. By the time rooting starts you will also begin to see top growth. At this point get your cuttings under a light or move them outside.

[Eykca]

I appreciate the advice! I'll definitely pick up some new materials, including the Clonex.

[alanmercieca]

I am growing increasingly self-conscious about my inability to grow pomegranates from cutting. I use root growth hormone, I follow all the directions, and I simply cannot do it. I have plenty of success with bare-root but for the life of me cannot get cuttings to work. From Fresno, I wish you the best of luck, everybody tells me poms are super-easy to grow from cutting, which, again, is really starting to hurt my feelings.

Some varieties are easier to root than others, that is true of pomegranate cuttings and of fig tree cuttings, it is very easy to mess up rooting cuttings. A lot of people mess up, and what might work might stop working with one little change, like I used to root cuttings outside with almost 100% success rate when I first started rooting fig cuttings (outdoors), then our climate changed enough to kill the cuttings using the same exact princess at the same exact time in the spring.

Pomegranate cuttings are very sensitive to wet soil, if the soil is too wet then the roots rot. So the soil is very important, that is why I use only 50 percent soil, or 50 percent coco coir, and I will be experimenting with 25% coarse perlite, and 25% coarse vermiculite, that drains very well, also make sure whatever you are rooting in drains very well. Some people are actually rooting inside of soaked pete pellets the same way that they would seeds, yet I'd imagine that they could be put inside a pot with soil and get water from the soil. I might experiment with that myself this year.

Be careful that whatever soil you use does not have gnats that eat the cutting roots, or white flies that eat the vegetation. Some brands are way less likely to have those things, also some times of the year you are more likely to find those things in the dirt. Using composted cow manure, or bagged chicken manure I have never had pest problems with those any time of the year, fresh made compost also should have no pests in it. One great thing about coco coir is that it never has any pests in it because it has zero moisture in it what so ever. It's dried so much that it reminds me of cork until you wet it.

[pogrmman]

Pomegranate cuttings are very sensitive to wet soil, if the soil is too wet then the roots rot. So the soil is very important, that is why I use only 50 percent soil, or 50 percent coco coir, and I will be experimenting with 25% coarse perlite, and 25% coarse vermiculite, that drains very well, also make sure whatever you are rooting in drains very well. Some people are actually rooting inside of soaked pete pellets the same way that they would seeds, yet I'd imagine that they could be put inside a pot with soil and get water from the soil. I might experiment with that myself this year.

You’re definitely right about that. It can be easy to rot cuttings. It’s important that your mix drains well! I usually do a 50/50 mix of potting soil and perlite, sometimes with a bit of expanded shale thrown in.

Most bagged potting soils don’t drain terribly well — even some of the best ones. It may be worth sitting out fine particles before using it for a rooting medium — that improves drainage a ton.

I’ve had very good success rooting pomegranates, but some are definitely easier than others. My double-flowered ornamental one is so easy to root that you could probably put a dormant stick with no rooting hormone into pure, soaking wet peat and leave it outside in chilly weather and it’d root. My big fruiting one is easy, but somewhat harder, and my Red Silk is a tad harder than that one.

I’ve had better success with greenwood cuttings than dormant cuttings for pomegranates. I’ve quite literally had 100% success on any greenwood cuttings I can manage to keep from wilting or getting fungus. That’s obviously a bit challenging and it seems like greenwood cuttings put out more fragile roots than dormant cuttings do, but it’s probably worth trying to develop a better method for them. It might be easier to root greenwood than dormant wood for some of the trickier cultivars. The plantlets seem a little more fragile, but with some care they grow into healthy plants.

It’s also with noting that cuttings of any plant can have lots of batch to batch variability in rooting success. It’s really more of an art than a science!

[greenfig]

My rooting success is a mixed bag too. The hardest is Angel Red. Out of 20 or so attempts, 0 rooted. Desertnyi on the other hand, roots regardless of what I do, so easy. Parfianka roots well too. Since my climate is mild, I just stick the cuttings in 32 oz yogurt containers, and keep in a semi shade. A hormone helps but little. I have now a bunch of rooted cuttings that need to share with neighbors