"It's good where we're not." You can paraphrase this saying for plants as well. While Russians are looking for American varieties, such as “ninth ball” and the like, Americans are getting Russian varieties like “Parfianka” from somewhere.
I considered myself very familiar with rare pomegranate varieties and had never heard of "ninth ball".
I imagine it might perhaps be the same with the variety "Parfianka" in Russia (the limited parts of Russia where hardy pomegranate varieties can grow).
I think the variety "Parfianka" originated from former Soviet botanist Gregory Levin's surveys in Turkmenistan. I do not really know for sure if it has more hardiness (that is only what I heard) but do know that it has survived for me, seems to be doing very well, whereas I know of a regular pomegranate variety that was planted in a park (not too far away from here) that died, apparently unable to survive the winter, and was only able to live 2 or 3 years.
I live in Cincinnati and I can't grow grapes either
It is possible to grow grapes in Ohio but only certain special hardy varieties can be grown easily. I suspect it has as much to do with the summer humidity as the winter cold.
There are several vineyards not too far from Cincinnati.
"American and French hybrid types are better suited to Ohio growing conditions because they tend to be more winter-hardy."
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-1423(Though I personally prefer the more pure flavor of "European"
vinifera grapes. Concord is representative of flavor of the American family)