Author Topic: Pomegranate Propagation Questions  (Read 5325 times)

starch

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Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« on: August 21, 2015, 04:57:38 PM »
I have a few pomegranate propagation questions that I wanted to pose

I have been doing a little research (google searches) and I am not finding a lot of specific information on pomegranate propagation, mostly a lot of general info. Specifically, what is the best time of year for both harvesting scions / cuttings from donor plants and when the the best time to perform grafting / rooting?

1) Grafting onto a mature plant / rootstock, Grafting in this case is to perform a canopy change or to make a 'cocktail' pomegranate (does anyone do this?)

Questions:
- Pomegranate grafting is done with either a cleft graft or a whip and tongue graft, does this sound right? Who has experience with this, and what are the approx success rates.
- What size scion is used (e.g. pencil thickness x 6 in" long)? Are the leaves cut on the scion as usual, do you need swelling buds?
- When can grafting be done? Any time there is active growth or do you have to wait until it is dormant? When is the best time of year for a successful graft?

2) Grafting onto a seedling. Assume that the seeds have been sown after harvest (fall) and seedling has overwintered.

- Same set of questions as above

3) Rooting cuttings

It seems like pomegranate cuttings root similarly to fig cuttings. When is the best time of year to take the cuttings from the mother plant? What is the best practice to preparing a cutting on the mother plant (remove leaves, small side branches and wait for swelling buds like with mango or avocado, or is it not sensitive to that?).

All feedback is welcome. My Wonderful pomegranate is doing wonderfully (yuk, yuk) and I would like to increase my varieties slowly and inexpensively (I don't mind experimenting too). So I am open to grafting onto my mature Wonderful pomegranate, or grafting onto seedlings, or starting new plants from cuttings. I am looking for input for the relative success I can expect from each approach.
- Mark

fyliu

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2015, 05:31:16 PM »
Do everything like you would with other deciduous trees.

Cutting/scions - best taken during dormancy. No leaves. No need for swelling buds. That's for tropicals.

People buy wonderful as rootstocks for grafting other varieties because of its vigor. Cleft works well. Not sure about whip and tongue since this is hard wood.

Grafting is best when the scion is dormant and rootstock is active.

Rooting cuttings is best during cool weather like winter. You can do it in the summer but it's harder and you'll need a misting setup.

starch

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2015, 06:21:26 PM »
Thanks for the feedback fyliu, much appreciated!

You mention that cleft grafting works well. I will definitely give that a shot.  Do you have any advice for grafting onto a mature plant? Here is what I am thinking about doing as an experiment, please point out any flaws or things you would do differently:

- This late winter / early spring I will try to obtain a couple of scions of another pomegranate (I would like to try parfianka or angel red next)
- I will keep these in the bottom of my fridge wrapped loosely in a slightly moist paper towel inside a ziplock for grafting, I will try rooting one of the scions in coco coir (which seems good for figs, probably good for pomegranates?)
- In the spring when my wonderful starts pushing new growth I will cleft graft the remaining scions (wrapped with parafilm to prevent drying out?)
- I will trim back all lateral branches on the branch where the graft is to send the energy up to the newly grafted tip
- Will the pomegranate buds push through parafilm? Or should I cover loosely with a plastic bag to retain moisture while waiting for buds to push out?

Thanks!
- Mark

fyliu

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2015, 04:23:28 AM »
Parafilm is good. Buds will push through it.

I root fig and pomegranate cuttings the same way. You should do fine with it.

starch

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2015, 09:50:27 AM »
Right on, thanks!
- Mark

Delvi83

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2015, 04:49:27 AM »
It's easy to propagate...you can take one of the branch growing from the roots, take also part of roots and plant in a Pot....with this you'll get your result for sure.

Lory

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2015, 07:54:00 AM »
Exactly! Every pomegranate tree tends to have many root suckers growing wild around the main plant.
Just take some of them, (the gibber onew)  dig a bit around in order to take some roots and plant them straight in a pot after you pruned them a little.
After a couple of months for sure they will begin to make new leaves and they are ready to be transferred  :)
Lorenzo

starch

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2015, 08:51:31 AM »
Delvi and Lory,

Thanks, those are both great suggestions, I will definitely give that a shot!

For this approach it seems like to the best time to try it would be spring after it is breaking dormancy when everything is starting to wake up. (Also my bush is pretty big now and it will be a lot easier to get and the roots near the center of the plant when it is not covered with fruit and leaves). What do you think?

- Mark

Lory

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2015, 09:15:14 AM »
You guessed it right  ;)
According to my experience this is the easiest and best way to get an identical copy of your pomegranate (it works perfectly with fig tree as well).
Goodluck!
Lorenzo

Delvi83

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #9 on: August 27, 2015, 07:39:53 AM »
I took the root-sucker in June and know the "new" plant is still growing....I think you can do it more o less always, if dormant you'll have to wait to see the result, but I think it's possible.

starch

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #10 on: August 27, 2015, 08:22:50 AM »
Delvi and Lory,

Again, thank you for the feedback!
- Mark

Lory

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2015, 10:10:33 AM »
You're welcome  ;)
This is the spirit of the forum, exchanging experiences and information!  :)
Lorenzo

Delvi83

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2015, 02:46:58 PM »
Thanks to you....sharing information is a pleasure for me and i think for all people of the Forum :)

BajaJohn

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2017, 07:26:44 PM »
Another novice on both grafting and pomegranates. I bought a pomegranate which turned out to have inedible fruit but is very vigorous. It grew from 3 to 8 feet in 4 years so I'm trying to use it for rootstock for other pomegranates. A friend has one with good tasting fruit that I plan to use. I've also managed a bush from seed of a tasty store-bought pomegranate that I have used for possibly successful grafts (my first attempt!).
A challenge for me is living in Baja California Sur, Mexico which has a poor selection of nurseries and seems challenging to import trees from the U.S. Hence my struggle to find good trees.
The first question I have is if the large calluses at the graft site are a problem. They were a whip graft without a tongue. The scions were wrapped in cling wrap and I used electrical tape to secure the graft. The grafts are about 4 weeks old and the rootstock and scion donor were starting to flush at the time I did the grafts. Here are pictures of the grafts. The sections are 3-4mms diameter.







Leaves flushed a week or two after grafting.

A second question is if I even need to think about grafting pomegranates. The seedling I used for scions had a flower within a year of germinating suggesting that pomegranate seedlings may produce when very young. The seedling also appears to be very vigorous. Other posts suggest that pomegranates can be easily propagated by various methods of rooting more mature plants. Am I wasting my time - other than learning more about gardening?

« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 07:33:20 PM by BajaJohn »

Lory

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Re: Pomegranate Propagation Questions
« Reply #14 on: September 13, 2017, 09:36:06 PM »
Grafting is not so commonly practiced with pomegranate since there are several other easier method of vegetative propagation like marcotting or root suckers
Lorenzo