Synonyms: NA
Origin: Was gifted to Victor's dad as a small tree by a family friend that travels. They have lost touch with the friend.
Plant ID: NA
USDA ID: NA
Fruit Size: Usually medium to large, 4-5 inches in diameter, yet some of the fruit reaches an extra large size of about 6 inches in diameter.
Hull color: Purple almost black
Aril size: Medium
Aril color: Translucent white, with a touch of pink
Seed hardness: Hard
Flavor profile: Very sweet, but a little tart!
Hardiness: Dies back to the ground at 24 degrees Fahrenheit outdoors, totally dies at 21 degrees Fahrenheit outdoors, indoors it can handle colder, not sure how much colder yet.
Notes:
'Melgar 1' is the Melgar cultivator with the bigger and sweeter fruit. Bark is somewhat purplish.
The original tree grew very slow. It grew like a dwarf, and the original tree is in sandy soil. it originally took about 13 years to produce, it's 7-8 feet tall and grew a little more than half a foot per year. The original 'Melgar 1' is in Victor's backyard 'in the Riverside, CA area', and was planted in about 2002. 2020 was about 18 years after it was planted.
Considering how it's rooted I don't think that the cultivator itself is a dwarf, I think that it might be the sandy soil that it's planted in that caused the dwarfing and the slow growth. After all nutrients wash away very fast in sandy soil, and so does water, especially the tree being in such a dry climate that all together could cause dwarfing.
In a warm enough climate on a warmer year it starts to bloom by late February and then again in early November.
Fruit is usually medium to large 4-5 inches in diameter, yet some of the fruit reaches an extra large size about 6 inches in diameter. The ripe fruit appears mid to end of October, beginning of November and the November blooms drops because of the cold. By the end of October some of the fruit may reach about 6 inches in diameter. Some years the ripe fruit can appear as early as late September.
Fruit skin color changes from bright darkish purple to an almost dull purple that is almost black as it ripens. Peel zest can be taken from 1 week old pomegranate fruit, not ripe yet. Of course that means that the fruit will stop ripening and you'd not be able to consume the inside.
Within two weeks after blooming you see the fruit start to develop and develop rapidly. Apparently it takes about 34 weeks (about 8 months) for it's fruit to ripen, which is months longer than most pomegranate cultivators take to go from flower to ripe fruit.
Fruit flesh and juice are very sweet, but a little tart. This cultivator starts blooming the flowers 4 weeks sooner than most cultivators, flowers look like the average pomegranate flowers and the fruit shape changes fast as the fruit ripens. It's Arils are translucent white, with a touch of pink, and arils are medium sized!
None of these fruit photos are mine, they are Victor's.
- Melgar_1_A.jpg (560.79 KiB) Viewed 804 times
- Melgar_1_B.jpg (652.79 KiB) Viewed 804 times
- Melgar_1_C.jpg (578.38 KiB) Viewed 804 times
- Melgar_1_D.jpg (136.78 KiB) Viewed 804 times
- Melgar_1_E.jpg (309.08 KiB) Viewed 804 times
- Melgar_1_F.jpg (343.58 KiB) Viewed 804 times
- Melgar_1_G.jpg (85.03 KiB) Viewed 804 times
- Melgar_1_H.jpg (68.56 KiB) Viewed 804 times
- Melgar_1_I.jpg (74.14 KiB) Viewed 804 times