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ernie85017

Pomegrante question

My Wonderful pomegranate has produced big red fruit this year, but when opened, the fruit is only mildly pink. Someone at work brought in some poms this week from their tree and the kernels were dark red and the flavor great.
Have I neglected some type of fert?
It gets deep watered weekly throughout our ugly summers. The tree is over 5 years old.
Thanks!

Comments (15)

  • v8vega
    10 years ago

    I've been having the same problem with mine ever since I planted it. I grew them in Ca. as a kid & never had this problem.

  • tomatofreak
    10 years ago

    I'm not sure anything is 'wrong'; I sometimes find ruby red and pink seeds in the same piece of fruit. I prefer the red ones, but the pink tastes good, too. Maybe a shade tarter than red, but still good.

  • AJBB
    10 years ago

    It really has a lot to do with sun exposure and the temperatures that the ripening fruit is exposed to. Hot environments with lots of direct sunlight seem to result in pale kernels.

  • v8vega
    10 years ago

    What's odd is I get several little ones that split with mature seeds, but the full size fruit doesn't get juicy.

  • AJBB
    10 years ago

    That's a water issue. Pomegranates may be pretty drought tolerant, but that doesn't mean that the fruit won't suffer.

  • aztreelvr
    10 years ago

    Here's a bit of information that might be helpful.
    If soil moisture fluctuates, fruits split prematurely. Most growers water deeply twice a month from April through early September. For a tree with a canopy width of 6 feet, use about 25 gallons each time. Some folks stop watering in late September through November until all fruit is harvested, because changes in soil moisture seem to promote fruit split. In winter, water monthly, or not at all if rain is sufficient. Water should soak 3 feet deep with each application for mature trees.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pomegranate info from Purdue Univ.

  • v8vega
    10 years ago

    I've tried all these things & It changes nothing.

  • newtoucan
    10 years ago

    I was just going to post the same thing. This is the first year those darn stink bugs didn't spoil all the poms. I harvested one and very pale seeds. Of course it gets our full AZ sun. I was thinking maybe the nursery mislabeled the fruit as "wonderful."

    The seeds tasted ok/ good but not red and not as juicy as I had hoped. Some kernels were also grayish and I didn't eat those. Maybe the stink bug did get to some of the fruit after all.

    For those that are growing. "Wonderful," and get the dark red kernels, what growing conditions (sun, water, fertilizer, etc) do you have.

  • kevininphx
    10 years ago

    I have this same issue with a Pom Wonderful I purchased from Berridge in the spring of 2012.

    It was labeled Wonderful but I am not so certain - both years our fruit has not been very red but grew large and taste like a pom should!

    We water about twice a month - deep water - but could probably keep better cultural practices as far as keeping more precise track of when we did the watering!

    We also had those nasty leaf-footed bugs that suck the juice from the fruit - don't know what to do to get rid of them!

  • frozenjoe
    10 years ago

    I have a couple of Pomegranates growing. I think that here in AZ we have a very long growing season. Even though in other parts of the country people are harvesting poms in September and October, here the plants seem to push the ripening process later into the year. Pink interior on a pom that is supposed to be red usually means it is not fully ripe yet. Try waiting until December to harvest. It will be blood red and much sweeter.

    Joe

  • tomatofreak
    10 years ago

    Maybe my poms are an accident of fate! I just opened this one. I picked it and a few others yesterday. I have to confess I pay very little attention to this tree. It gets flood irrigation every 2 weeks spring through October and every month (usually) Nov. - Jan., then none till spring. As fate would have it, the fig tree to the west and the chaste tree to the east do provide some shade to the pom. Birds do peck holes sometimes and I've been guilty of leaving fruit on the tree too long, but on the whole, it's been a great producer of terrific fruit!

  • ernie85017, zn 9, phx
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks all for contributing. I will wait to pick any more for a month or so. The reference to the article was great: harvest when the skin has a metallic sound when tapped. Sounds like much drier rind than I have been picking.

  • v8vega
    10 years ago

    Nice job T-Freak!

  • fabaceae_native
    10 years ago

    When in doubt, leave them on the plant longer with pomegranates!

    Split fruit are perfectly ripe fruit (that won't keep like whole fruit), so the trick is figuring out when they are ripe and picking them before they split. Size and color are pretty useless in gauging this. The best indicators I have found are the angular shape instead of round, and the calyx on the blossom end starts to turn in on itself. Supposedly commercial growers listen for a metallic sound when tapped.

  • tomatofreak
    10 years ago

    If I had to rely on a "metallic sound" before picking a pom, I might never pick one. I do think the angular shape and the calyx color, dryness and shape are good clues. I hadn't thought about that, but it seems that's what the ones I picked looked like.

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