The pomegranate is a fruit plant of some ornamental value, thanks to its beautiful orange-red flowers and bright pink nuts that brighten up the fall. For this reason, the size also plays an aesthetic role in order to keep the plant in order, guarantee it a harmonious shape and, of course, make it grow healthy and productive .
You can choose between plant management like a bush or like a small tree , depending on this, of course, will change some pruning choices. When cutting pomegranate branches, as with any other fruit-bearing plant, care should be taken, working with clean tools, this is important to prevent the plant from getting sick.
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When pruning the pomegranate
production size that is, the pruning of adult and already productive pomegranate seedlings is carried out towards the end of winter . One of the most important operations for this species is the disposal of discards. , since the pomegranate, by its natural characteristic, emits abundantly. Suckers tend to drain energy from the plant, weakening its vigor and productivity, so it is important that the tree has a sapling conformation and is managed like a bush. However, the suckers withdrawn are useful for extending the cultivation of this species, as they serve for the propagation new specimens . One of the most used methods for the propagation of pomegranate, in fact, in addition to cutting, suckering and layering, is to root the suckers to obtain new plants. plant. For this it is better to choose young shoots, endowed with greater aptitude for rooting, and these should be placed in a pot with soil for some time. In this way, new pomegranates are obtained with the same characteristics as the mother plant. Suction cups can be removed also during the growing season as well as any suckers that grow from the branches and have an upright posture.
breeding group
The pomegranate plant can be grown as a bush or as a seedling and one or the other solution must be decided at the time of planting. In the first case, yes. follows the natural tendency of the plant and therefore handling is easy. You have to choose the 3 or 4 main branches, and plant them about 20 cm from the ground, eliminating the others. From them, the main stems of the bush are generated, which must be opened and bent. During the breeding phase, it is important to guarantee this inclination at branches , possibly using braces so that they open about 30 degrees outward. This trick allows good penetration of light into the foliage, an important condition for the ripening of the fruit and useful for preventing scale insect attacks. Subsequently, the branches will be renewed periodically to ensure good production.
In the second case, that is to say if you opt for the shape of a small tree it is necessary to maintain a low stem from where the departure main branches by opening them in the shape of a jar and any branches that will grow below the main branches along the stem and at the base of the plant as suckers should be removed.
How to prune: Criteria and care
The pruning of the pomegranate tree does not require particularly intensive interventions, the important thing is to properly guide the development of the branches to obtain balanced foliage over time.
The best fruit are those that develop in external growth branches foliage, so inward-facing branches should be removed. Alternatively, when they are still tender, they can be steered using straps, always with the necessary delicacy.
The grenade bears fruit on two-year-old branches and the branches that bore fruit the previous year should be renewed regularly with slimming cuts . The fruits are produced at the top of the branches , so branch cuts prevent fruit set and are not recommended. However, it makes sense if you are looking at an area of bare foliage, to encourage vegetation there.
Besides very dense branches should be thinned out like dry branches and those affected by diseases must always be eliminated . In the latter case, it is important to disinfect the tools used for pruning by moving from diseased or probably diseased plants to unequivocally healthy plants.
As with other fruit species, advice to you must not exaggerate : cut too much, the production will be very bad without any other benefit. However, you should not be too economical either, because too little pruning leads to abundant fruiting with the risk that the plant will tire excessively and that some branches will break under the weight of the fruits.
Tools used for cutting must be well maintained over time, so that the blades are always in good condition to ensure clean, clean cuts, avoiding chipping of the wood. Cuts should always be inclined promote the drainage of water drops that fall with rain and dew and thus prevent putrefaction at the cutting point.