Punica Granatum Nana - Am I on the right track?

joakimlinden

I've had this little baby since summer, bought as a "mediterranean plant". When I got it, it was almost dead - and there's still a bit of cleaning up to do where the dead wood was...

The only shape I could imagine for this one was some type of broom style. Where the trunk forks out there where initially a LOT of branches, probably about ten of them, shooting straight up. Since then, I've managed to thin it out considerably and bend the branches outwards. I also put it in a soil mix containing only a specific brand of kitty litter made of some type of fired clay/volcanic material.

The plant grows like it's on steroids. After heavy prunings, new shoots pops out all over the place in a week or even less...

Now, having introduced my tree, I would love to hear if I've gone too far with the trimming and bending or if this might indeed take on a broom style eventually...

The problem is that I've taken away most of the up and down-growing shoots, causing the branches to fork horizontally. You might see what I mean from the photos... This, I'm afraid, could make it hard to form the tree into a broom-style, right?


Any points, advice or ideas are welcome! Oh, please note that this tree has only been "trained" (if you can call my abuse training) for about 6 months.

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Best regards, Joakim

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ozzerbon

G'day Joakim,

Very nice Punica granatum nana, perhaps you might think of the interesting South African 'Flat-top' style?

Do you have your tree indoors? And has it flowered yet, remember that the flowers are usually set on the far ends of the new branches, so take care not to prune them off.

Styling [pruning] is best done after the flowering period, I do mine around December when the trees are bare.

Regards,
Nigel

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Jerry Meislik

Looks like you are well on the way with your broom style. Flat top would work as well. Its your tree so decide on the look you want.
Nice work so far.
Jerry

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Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/

joakimlinden

Thanks for the input guys! I'll keep refining the branching this year, possibly repotting, no hurry. It's a fun plant to work with, since it's such a vigorous grower.

I have one worry about this one though... I live in an apartment Sweden and these trees are impossible to keep outside right now, so I've been forced to keep the tree indoors during the winter. I have a storage room adjacent to my apartment where I keep some trees under cool white flourecent lights, but the temperature is about 25C/77F. Will this harm the tree? It should probably have around 5-15C/41-59F...

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Best regards, Joakim

Jerry Meislik

Joakim,
They do like to have a cool rest period. Perhaps in early spring you can move it outside when its still cool but not freezing and allow it to chill down for several weeks and then allow it to warm and grow.
Or you can try keeping it going indoors but my experience is that after a year or two of constant indoor growth the plant will decline.
Jerry

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Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/

joakimlinden

Thanks, that's somewhat reassuring. Next winter I might be able to keep the tree inside a friends garage, with flourescent lighting.

The company that I rent my apartment from are offering to install glass paneling of the balconys, a model that you can slide open or even take apart on warmer days. Perhaps that will make it easier to protect some of my trees... The future will tell. Thanks again!

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Best regards, Joakim