Pomegranate Tree

The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is one of the few fruit trees that earns its place even in a year you pick nothing. It grows to about 4m tall and 3m wide, flowers in vivid orange red trumpets through the warm months, then holds glossy red fruit as the leaves turn yellow and fall. Frost hardy, drought tolerant and happy in poor soil, it suits gardens from Mediterranean coastal areas to dry inland towns.

Why you'll love it

• Three seasons of interest. Orange red flowers in spring and summer, fruit through autumn, then yellow autumn colour before the branches go bare.
• It genuinely tolerates dry heat. Drought and heat tolerant once established, so it holds up through the sort of summer that stresses most fruit trees.
• Small enough for a suburban block. At 4m by 3m it fits a courtyard or a back corner, and it can be held smaller with pruning.
• Fruit worth growing yourself. Home grown pomegranates are picked ripe rather than shipped hard, and a mature tree carries a serious crop.

Where it works best

The home orchard or a single feature. One tree is enough for most households, and it looks good enough for an ornamental bed rather than the back corner.

An informal fruiting hedge. Plant 1.5m apart in a row for a productive boundary that flowers in summer. It is deciduous, so the row opens up in winter.

Hot, dry and Mediterranean gardens. Long hot summers ripen and sweeten the fruit. In the humid tropics the tree grows but fruiting is unreliable, so treat it as ornamental there.

Growing pomegranate in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day is not negotiable for fruit. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, and being frost hardy and deciduous it takes a cold winter without trouble.

Soil. Any reasonably drained soil, including poor and stony ground. Work compost through the bed and mulch 75mm deep, kept clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Water deeply once or twice a week for the first two summers. After that, keep watering steady while the fruit swells, because an erratic cycle as fruit ripens is the main cause of splitting. A balanced fruit tree fertiliser in early spring and again after harvest is plenty.

Pruning. Prune in late winter while the tree is bare. Choose three to five main trunks and remove basal suckers, or let it grow as a multi stemmed shrub. Fruit forms on short spurs on older wood, so avoid shearing the whole canopy.

Patience with fruit. A young tree usually flowers before it fruits properly, and it is normal for the first season or two of flowers to drop. Full crops generally arrive from about the third year.

What to expect when it arrives

Pomegranates are supplied in 140mm and 200mm packs, single 400mm pots and 5L stock. The smaller sizes are the value option for a hedge row and establish quickly. The 400mm and 5L plants are a season or more ahead, which suits a single garden tree.

Depending on the season, plants may arrive bare or thinly leafed, because pomegranates drop their foliage over winter. That is not a fault. They are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full fruit tree range
• Compare drought tolerant plants
• How to prepare a garden bed before planting

Common questions

How long until it fruits?

Expect a few flowers in the first year or two and a worthwhile crop from around the third year. Full sun, steady water while fruit is swelling and light annual pruning all bring that forward.

Do I need two trees to get fruit?

No. Pomegranates are self fertile, so a single tree will set fruit on its own. Bees still help, so avoid spraying while it is flowering.

Can I keep one in a pot?

Yes. Use a 400mm pot or larger with free draining mix in full sun, feed in spring, and prune each winter to keep the framework compact.