If you’re looking to grow fruit in the desert, pomegranate should be a top choice. As a Middle Eastern native, it thrives in hot, dry desert gardens. And it also happens to be a stunning landscape plant that adds vibrant color year round.
When you think of growing fruit in the desert, your first thoughts may be citrus – and that is where many gardeners begin. But unlike many fruit trees that only tolerate desert conditions, pomegranate (Punica granatum) thrives in the desert. It loves our heat, sun, aridity, and even our desert soil.
And it’s more than a source of fruit — it’s a gorgeous landscape plant that offers visual interest all year.
In the spring, pomegranate pushes out light green leaves and vivid orange-red flowers with ruffled petals. In the summer, glossy leaves turn deep green and large, red, apple-like fruits appear.
As the cooler days of fall approach, the leaves of this deciduous shrub turn golden yellow. Any fruit that hasn’t been harvested in the fall persists, hanging on trees like Christmas ornaments during the winter.
Pomegranate is self-pollinating, so you only need one tree to get fruit. Its trumpet-shaped flowers attract bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.
Why I Like This Plant
- Glossy green leaves turn gold in fall
- Eye-catching orange-red flowers
- Exotic, delicious fruit
- Thrives in desert conditions
- Attracts pollinators
Things to Watch Out For
Pomegranate naturally grows as a large shrub. If you want a plant that looks more tree-like than shrub-like, you’ll need to train it to grow that way.
Pomegranate branches have spines. If this is a concern, the ‘Wonderful’ variety has relatively small spines.
Optimal Growing Conditions
If you’re thinking of adding a pomegranate to your garden, you need to find a suitable place that will keep your plant healthy and looking good… while minimizing maintenance for you.
Here are the key factors to keep in mind.
Temperature
Pomegranate should be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 7 – 11. It thrives in extreme heat, even in hot places like Phoenix, and is cold hardy down to 10℉.
Sun Exposure
This plant loves full sun and doesn’t mind the reflected heat off a hot wall. While you can plant it in partial shade, it needs at least 6 to 8 hours of full sun to look and perform its best.
Size and Growth Rate
Pomegranate is a moderately fast grower. Its ultimate size will depend on which cultivar you are growing. ‘Wonderful’, the most popular cultivar in the US, typically grows to be 6 to 10 feet wide and 10 to 15 feet tall.
Soil
Pomegranate grows well in any native soil — rocky, sandy, or clay — provided it’s well-draining. Unlike most fruit trees, which prefer acidic or neutral soil, it prefers alkaline soil.
Pomegranate:
The Essentials
| Common Name | Pomegranate |
| Scientific Name | Punica granatum |
| Origin | Greater Middle East |
| Plant Type | Deciduous shrub |
| USDA Zones | Zones 7 – 11 |
| Cold Hardy | To 10℉ |
| Flower Color | Orange-red |
| Flower Season | Spring |
| Fruit Season | Fall |
| Mature Size | 10-15’ high x 6-10’ wide |
| Growth Rate | Fast |
| Sun Tolerance | Full, part, reflected sun |
| Water Needs | Moderate |
| Pests & Diseases | Leaf-footed bug |
| Wildlife | Birds Deer, rabbit resistant |
How to Plant
The rule of thumb when planting any shrub in the desert is to dig a hole three times as wide as the root ball but no deeper. Amending the soil is not recommended. Counterintuitively, backfilling with the same native soil you just dug up helps your plant develop a stronger root system.
When to Plant
The best time to plant pomegranate is in the fall. This gives your shrub three seasons to grow roots and get established before the following summer.
The second best time is in spring, as soon as the risk of frost is over. This still gives your plant time to get established before the intense heat of June arrives.
How to Care for Pomegranate
Whether you’ve recently planted a pomegranate or have an existing one in your yard, here’s how to take care of it to keep it healthy and looking its best.
How to Water New Plants
Once you’ve got your shrub in the ground, watering is your most immediate concern. Here is the recommended watering schedule for new shrubs planted in the spring or fall.
| Weeks 1 & 2 | Every 3 – 4 days |
| Weeks 3 & 4 | Every 5 – 7 days |
| Weeks 5 & 6 | Every 7 – 10 days |
| Weeks 7 & 8 | Every 10 – 14 days |
How to Water Established Plants
As your shrub gets established, there are two watering factors to consider.
- First is how often to water. This will vary with the seasons.
- Second is how much water to give your shrub with each watering. This depends on its current size.
To determine the ideal watering schedule for your pomegranate, you’ll find everything you need to know, including easy-to-use charts, at How to Water Desert Shrubs: How Often? How Much?
While plants are fairly drought-resistant once established, consistent watering is important. The main problem that gardeners experience with the fruit is that it splits. This is caused by inconsistent watering.
Should You Fertilize?
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum recommends fertilizing pomegranates two to three times per year. Additionally, you can top dress with compost or organic mulch to further increase soil fertility.
How to Prune
If you are hoping for a crop of fruit, prune pomegranate as little as possible, since pruning removes future fruit. If you do need to remove any dead or damaged branches, do so in the late winter while the plant is dormant or after it’s done flowering.
This plant naturally grows as a multi-trunk shrub. While you can prune it to grow as a small tree, it will require more work for you and your plant won’t be any happier. You’ll need to regularly remove suckers and low-growing stems and branches as they appear.
If branches are laden with fruit, you can thin excess fruit at any time.
Pests & Diseases
One pest to watch out for is leaf-footed bug (Leptoglossus spp.). This largish insect feeds on the fruit of pomegranates, as well as tomatoes, almonds, and pistachios. You can learn how to identify these bugs and treat them here.
Pomegranate Cultivars
There are over 1,200 pomegranate cultivars grown throughout the world. ‘Wonderful’, is the best known variety in the US. It is most commonly grown by growers and is what you’ll usually find at grocery stores. You should have no trouble finding this cultivar at nurseries. Its fruit is better for juicing than eating.
If you plan to eat rather than juice your fruit, consider ‘Parfianka’ which is widely considered to have the most delicious fruit of all cultivars. Fruits are exceptionally sweet and have distinctive pinkish-red skin.
If you don’t care about eating the fruit or have limited space, checkout ‘Nana’ dwarf pomegranate. This eye-catching shrub stays around four feet tall and wide. It has small fruits which are edible but not very tasty when eaten raw but can be used in cooking.
Plant Lover Facts
Pomegranate is native to the Greater Middle East, from Turkey to Pakistan. It has naturalized on every inhabited continent except Australia.
Spanish settlers introduced it to what now is California in the 1700s, and it has now naturalized there. Thomas Jefferson’s records reveal that he had a row of pomegranates planted at Monticello in 1769.
Pomegranate’s scientific name Punica granatum is Latin for “seeded apple”.
Pomegranate has been cultivated throughout India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean for over 3,000 years. It was used medicinally to treat a wide variety of ailments — everything from tapeworms and syphilis to colds and fevers.
It also has symbolic religious and cultural significance in many cultures, representing fertility, health, and abundance.
Plants are long-lived, surviving up to 200 years, but decline in productivity after about 15 years.
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Author Bio
Deane Alban is the creator of Southwest Gardener. She is a science writer with a bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of South Florida. Gardening is her lifelong passion. She’s been gardening in Tucson for over 15 years.
Photo Credit
Marija Gajić, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons