Pomegranate tree

A pomegranate tree is evergreen or deciduous. His homeland is the Mediterranean region. The height of the plant is from 5 to 10 meters. Leaves - opposite, lanceolate, sessile or oval. Branching erect shoots, as a rule, end with spines and have a gray-brown bark. Large red flowers give fruits with long and short stems. In general, fruiting and flowering are distinctive features of the plant. For most of the season, the tree is covered with large bright flowers, which in autumn turn into spherical fruits. The resulting berry-shaped fruit is called "garnet". Fruits that develop from small flowers are small in size and are not used for food.

The shape and color of the flowers differ depending on the variety. Due to the decorative properties of this plant, it is often used in the art of bonsai.

As for the location, the pomegranate tree is taken out in the summer to fresh air and placed in a semi-shadowed or bright place. However, you can grow the plant and indoors. However, if you keep a pomegranate tree at home, it will not bloom as much as it is on the street. In winter, it is better to transfer the plant to a cool place with an air temperature above zero.

The soil for the tree also has its own characteristics. Usually, clay granulate, pike ground and sand (2: 1: 1 ratio) are mixed for its cultivation. Other substrates are often used. Several times a year the young pomegranate trees completely change the soil. Old plants are transplanted much less often.

The pomegranate tree should be watered abundantly in summer, in winter - more moderately, as the tree sheds foliage. If the plant hibernates in a heated room, it requires even more abundant watering. As for water, ordinary tap water will do.

Garnet requires a lot of additional fertilizing with organic fertilizer for bonsai. Mineral fertilizers are also used, but less frequently and with greater caution. In winter, the plant does not fertilize.

Over time, the tree becomes more beautiful and more beautiful. The appearance of the trunk is different, formed as a result of careful work on its development. So, a separate issue for discussion is the formation of a tree. The natural growth of the plant allows you to receive various Japanese styles of bonsai. Sometimes a wire is used to form one-year or two-year-old shoots (this is done very carefully so as not to damage the plant). For older branches, special tensioning devices are used. To develop new shoots, it is necessary to cut off those that appeared below. Depending on how the shortened branch is located, several pairs of leaves are left in the tree crown during trimming of shoots, which reached a length of 15 cm. If the pomegranate tree develops normally, you can cut it early. In spring, it is necessary to remove most of the flower buds (along with the first shoot). If you want to get an abundantly flowering plant, you need to cut the plant more carefully and scrupulously in the summer.

This plant reproduces with the help of seeds. They are put in water and remain there until fermentation for several days. After that the fruit pulp is removed, and the seeds are sown in the prepared soil.

The plant can be affected by whiteflies, but this is only possible if the tree is kept indoors. To cope with this pest, you need to contact a specialist who will assess the situation and give good advice. In a natural habitat on a pomegranate tree can be planted aphids. This problem should be eradicated in early spring, as it is at this time that the lice and aphids appear around the kidneys. Powdery mildew may also spread (as a result of poor warming of the environment and excess moisture in it). In this case, the tree moves to another place, a special fungicide is used to kill the disease.