pombazaar.com

Hello all, I have gone down the rabbit hole of cold hardy pomegranates. I am looking for different opinions on which cultivars would be suitable to plant in Central Kentucky. I am hoping to experiment with different varieties, and would love everyone's input on this.

Welcome! What zone are you exactly? What we're finding is that cold hardiness isn't the only critical factor to success. Some varieties are very cold hardy but very late and do not ripen in time. How long is your grow season? Does your property have a micro climate? Does your area go through periods of drought or humidity during it's peak?

Have you read the Cold Hardy thread? viewtopic.php?t=6

According to the new USDA hardiness map, I am in zone 7a but used to be in 6b. I have definitely noticed we are getting more milder winters than we used to. Growing season lasts from about May to November. I have some wetter areas in the back of the yard but in the front there are dry areas on a bit of a slope. We get pretty hot and humid summers and cool winters. I haven't tested my soil but I'm willing to guess it's probably mostly clay. I have read the cold hardy thread. I am curious if any soft seeded cultivars would do well here, I know most cold hardy poms have harder seeds. I have read that Utah Sweet can withstand temperatures to below 0°F, although I'm not sure how true that is. Same for A. C. Sweet. I am also interested in the Sumbar, Lubimi, Agat, Sirenevyi, and Sverkhranniy varieties.

Sudden changes in spring where the lows dip back to freezing for several days or sudden frost after bud break will kill trees even in warm zones. Wind is also another factor.

Sirenevyi is too late even in California and should be avoided. It will not ripen in your zone.

Sverkhranniy is something I'd highly consider for your zone due to it being cold hardy and early. Keep in mind, early for you may still mean October or November.

Sumbar, Lubimi, Agat are also good options worth trying out. Belbek is another one you may really want to consider. It's cold hardy and ranks pretty high on the flavor profile scales.

I ended up getting a Sumbar, a mystery Russian variety from Walmart (Possibly Salavatski? Taking a bit of a gamble with this one.), and a Utah Sweet. I may eventually try out some more varieties in the future. I am hoping I didn't make a mistake getting the Utah Sweet, do you have any experience with that particular variety? I have planted the trees in the ground and mulched them. Will I need to protect them during the winter until they are mature? Thank you, I appreciate the help and recommendations!

I had a cutting of Utah Sweet a few years ago but either gave it away or it died, I don't remember. Mine never grew to fruit bearing size. As a rule of thumb we typically recommenced protecting for at least the first 3 winters. Burlap helps but burlap + a trash can staked into the ground is a safer bet.

Sumbar is a good choice. Look closer at the tag on the "Russian" one. A lot of these are tagged as R8 which are Salavatski. R26 is another common tag which is Afganski which also commonly falls under the generic "Russian" name. There are 20 known tagged Russian varieties with matching synonyms so it could technically be any of them.

Okay, I think I may have figured out what that mystery Russian pomegranate was. On the Walmart website, it lists the brand as Expert Gardener, but the actual tree comes from Simpson Nurseries. Upon looking up Simpson Nurseries, I found that they only wholesale their plants. However, if you take a look at their catalog, it says you can shop their online store Plant Me Green. The only pomegranate variety on Plant Me Green labeled Russian is the Russian #26. It also uses the same photo as the one on Walmart. So, mystery solved!

Awesome detective work! Please keep us updated how they do, it's always exciting to see more folks interested in growing pomegranates.

lilyb wrote: Tue Nov 18, 2025 5:32 am So, mystery solved!

That's some genuine sleuthing!

pombazaar wrote: Thu Oct 30, 2025 3:47 pm Sudden changes in spring where the lows dip back to freezing for several days or sudden frost after bud break will kill trees even in warm zones. Wind is also another factor.

Sirenevyi is too late even in California and should be avoided. It will not ripen in your zone.

Sverkhranniy is something I'd highly consider for your zone due to it being cold hardy and early. Keep in mind, early for you may still mean October or November.

Sumbar, Lubimi, Agat are also good options worth trying out. Belbek is another one you may really want to consider. It's cold hardy and ranks pretty high on the flavor profile scales.

I am guessing that you meant 'Lyubimyi (Favorite)'