Plant No. 22

Description:
The pomegranate is a shrub, usually with multiple stems, that commonly grows 6-15 ft (1.8-4.6 m) tall. The slender branches start out upright then droop gracefully. Unpruned shrubs have a decidedly weeping or fountain shaped habit. The deciduous leaves are shiny and about 3 in (7.6 cm) long. Pomegranates have beautiful orange-red trumpet shaped flowers with ruffled petals. The flowers are about 2 in (5 cm) long, often double, and are produced over a long period in summer. The pomegranate fruit is globose, 2-3 in (5-7.6 cm) in diameter, and shiny reddish or yellowish green when mature. It has a persistent calyx opposite the stem end that looks like a little crown. The fruit is technically a berry. It is filled with crunchy seeds each of which is encased in a juicy, somewhat acidic pulp that is itself enclosed in a membranous skin. The seeds, juice and pulp are eaten, but the yellowish membrane is too astringent.

There are several cultivars selected just for the showy flowers. 'Chico' (dwarf carnation pomegranate) can be kept under 2 ft (0.6 m) tall and produces double flowers over an extended season, but no fruit. 'Legrellei' is a dense shrub, 6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m) tall, with double creamy white flowers with pink stripes and no fruit. 'Nochi Shibari' has double dark red flowers. 'Nana' (dwarf pomegranate) is 1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m) tall with orange-red single flowers. 'Tayosho' has light apricot colored flowers. 'Alba Plena' has double white flowers. Popular cultivars selected for fruit are 'Wonderful' which has double orange-red flowers and large, 5 in (13 cm) fruits; 'Paper Shell', which has a very thin outer skin; 'Fleishman' which is said to have the sweetest fruits; and 'King', with double red flowers and large, sweet fruits. It is said that there are seedless varieties, sweeter varieties and larger varieties in cultivation in the Middle East and India, but for some reason these are not available in the West.