Pomegranate Trial - Washington State, USDA zone 8a (Updated September 2022)

Note: The early months of 2022 have produced the most erratic winter weather I've seen since I began growing pomegranates.  I've already confirmed a number of plants in my garden which normally overwinter fine have died (including at least one native species).

 We're in need of some first hand data for what pomegranates will both grow reliably here as well as produce worthwhile crops of fruit.  While it's easy to find nurseries selling pomegranates of various cultivars with claims that they will be fine in our area, it is NOT easy to find people who are actually growing and fruiting those same cultivars around here.  

Now, I'm not willing to simply trial any and every pomegranate I can get my hands on.  Because we don't have long hot summers it's best to stick with trialing cultivars which already have a reputation for being early ripening as this intuitively seems like a good approach.  However, because there is very little information available about many of the available cultivars, I have been willing to accept vague references to ripening time while considering which to trial.  A second factor is seed hardness or softness.  While I don't know why references online tend to state hard seeded varieties are more cold hardy than soft seeded varieties, what I do know is that people growing pomegranates in borderline climates typically aren't going to be growing them for juice alone.  Therefore, I'm primarily sticking to trialing soft seeded pomegranates as they are the category best suited for eating as fresh fruit.

While we do not have the coldest of winters here, what we do have is lots of wet weather with repeated cycles of freeze-thaw, freeze-thaw.  This can sometimes kill off plants which would normally survive colder winters in other parts of the country.  Fortunately pomegranates (despite the many references to their drought tolerance) actually seem to enjoy lots of water.  Early in my trial I had tried keeping a couple varieties in my unheated greenhouse the first winter when they were very young, while leaving another young tree outside.  I had been careful to minimally water the greenhouse overwintered pomegranates thinking that being too wet while dormant might be a bad thing.  Surprisingly, when spring arrived the outdoor pomegranate getting lots of rain broke dormancy well before the lightly watered pomegranates being protected in the greenhouse.  As it turns out they absolutely love water, and I've found that if I keep potted pomegranates sitting in trays of water they will grow much better than potted specimens just being watered regularly.  For this reason I've elected to plant my in-ground pomegranate trial in loose soil along a ditch that stays wet for most of the year.  The trees themselves are well above the high water line, but their roots should easily be able to reach the wet layer within a couple of years after establishment.

The following Pomegranate (Punica granatum) cultivars are continuing to be be trialed:

**Note: So far, none have flowered or fruited in my garden**

'Desertnyi' - So far I have found it relatively hardy with no major winter damage most years.  The severe weather in early 2022, did cause some die back of thinner branches, but the shrub did not die back fully.

'Salavatski' - This one initially showed promise, but has suffered more die back than I'd like the last couple winters.  It has been growing in a large pot whereas most of the others I'm trialing are in ground, so I can not yet fully rule it out as worth growing here.

'Al-Sirin-Nar' - I can't recall specifically why I decided to trial this hard seeded juice variety, but so far I only have young potted specimens and can not yet make any notes about hardiness. 

The following have not been adequately hardy for my location:

'Eversweet' - Most winters this one has come through with flying colors and only minimal die back.  This last winter it died to the ground though and as of late May 2023 I have not seen any regrowth.

'Sumbar' - Most winters this one has come through with minimal die back.  This last winter it died to the ground though and as of late May 2023 I have not seen any regrowth. 

'Parfianka' - I have found that it does not always get through winter in good shape.  While it did not suffer major die back the first couple winters, it did die back to the ground in the winter of 2020/2021.  This did not kill the roots which resprouted new growth the following summer.  However, I also have a friend who had grown 'Parfianka' in nearby Puyallup and he also found that some winters it would die to the ground even after it had grown large enough to fruit.  For this reason, I can not recommend 'Parfianka' as hardy for zone 8a.

'Sverkhranniy' - This has suffered heavy winter die back after a couple years in ground so I can't recommend it for this area.

'Kazaki' - I can't find this tree so I'm assuming it has died.

'Surh-Anor' - This died its first winter.

'Kaj-Acik-Anor' - This one had originally overwintered well, but in our harsh 2021/2022 winter it died back to the soil line and when it did resprout from the roots it only put on a itty bitty teensy weensy sprout.  Not great.