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UPDATE:

The pomegranate has finally sprouted new growth. This is very encourageing since this was taken as a cutting. The leaves were cut in half and stayed green for the first three weeks. As the leaves started to yellow and some turned brown I thought I may be doomed.

The hot house I built for them was from a plastic nail keg. The kind of plastic that is sort of milky in color. The keg was about 13 inches square giving ample room for the two cuttings (more on the second cutting later) there to try to stay alive. The top from the nail keg had a raised lip of about half an inch, making a great base which provided for additional moisture during the stay. I was able to rotate the top just off center to allow for air circulation against rot. I did not spray any fungus prevention on the cuttings. I did not baby them in any way. The greenhouse was watered only once per week, or just when the top granules of akadama started to lighten up.

At about 40 days I saw the first green buds starting to develope along some of the smaller stems. These have been the first to open allthough there are buds popping along some of the older wood. In fact one stub about 3/8 across has a few buds that should open fully this week. In all the Pom has a total of 9 buds and I expect more in the coming weeks. As all these bud open fully they will encourage root growth with jet speed.

The second cutting in the hot house is a pyracantha cutting I took while in a workshop with Kenji Miyata. During the course of pruning the pyracantha one of the limbs cut from the tree was wonderfull. It is about 5/8 across at the base and has wonderfull movement and lots of character in the small branches that are there. I am encouraged at the bark up to this time. The Pom cutting was taken on July 4th and the pyracantha was taken on July 22nd, nearly three weeks apart. The bark of the firethorn has not wrinkled and today with a 4x magnifying glass I was able to see very small buds swelling along the outer tips of this years wood. I feel this means that the business end has sprouted its first root tips this last week. I should start to see green in swelling buds by the end of the week.

This pyracantha will be sewn into a bonsai pot straight away in the spring as it already has great shape and great branching. It will only need to be pruned for shape in the next year or two. The Pom will require many carving sessions to look like anything resembling a bonsai. I do feel confident that a miniature bonsai made from a full size pomegranate will be a challange. A sole fruit may hide the entire tree!

more updates as the two progress...ak