Pomegranate cutting

bonsaial1

What could be better, a hot summer Independence Day, a pomegranate in the neighbors yard and the chance to take a cutting. This species seems to love to be played with during the hottest part of the summer like olives.

I spied this area a few days ago on a walk with the dog. Ok, I was spying on the neighbor..but I'm getting off the track.

This bush had an area that had been pruned back over a period of years leaving some large pruning stubs and a swelling in the area that seems to make a good trunk area. I figured that I may be able to use this as a cutting. I was going to try a layer, but thought I may have an easier time explaining that this snag was going to catch a kid while riding their bike down the sidewalk, rather then me coming over to water a bag of soil daily on their tree.

I cut the unsightly area off and took it home for my Frankenstien transformation. In the laborotory I cleaned up the sawed area with a very sharp grafting knife. A very clean cut is essential for good rootage. This is also a good step even when making layers or grafts. SHARP KNIFE!

The business end was covered with gel rooting hormone and planted up in a small plastic pot. The tree was tied in with aluminum wire tied off to a piece around the pot. Finally, the long whips were cut back to cut off the leaf transpiration. Time will tell if my plan will come together. I will keep us posted as to the outcome either way.

Regards, Al

Attached Images

	DSCF0455.JPG (38.1 KB, 232 views)
	DSCF0456.JPG (40.4 KB, 174 views)
	DSCF0457.JPG (38.1 KB, 281 views)

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.

Advertisement

malhomme

I love pomes, they are in my top three favorite species to work with. Getting a shohin pomegranate clump like this is going to be really cool, especially since they grow this way naturally. The one caveat is that it doesn't appear to be a nana. But that just means it'll look extra sweet when it has a fruit that is larger than the clump is!

Cheers,
Jim

moloko

yes I look forward to these updates too. I have 2 poms, one that is a mame that is fruiting now. The other I am using as an experiment to try different things.

bonsaial1

Good News on the Pom! Pictures to follow soon...

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.

emilias_garden

Hello! I am very interrested in the results of this type of cutting you have made. So i will be watching for the updates. I am really curious.

Cheers...
Jorge Joel...
Emilia's Garden

bonsaial1

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

Attached Images

	DSCF0497.JPG (20.9 KB, 77 views)
	DSCF0498.JPG (30.9 KB, 72 views)
	DSCF0499.JPG (30.5 KB, 108 views)
	DSCF0500.JPG (24.3 KB, 128 views)
	DSCF0501.JPG (22.8 KB, 70 views)
	DSCF0502.JPG (23.1 KB, 108 views)

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.

Joanie

Love that pyracantha! I rooted a huge bougie branch that Kenji cut off for Ted Schwartz. It's got to be 3" across at least, maybe more. It took well in just perlite. Your pyracantha is going to be really great!!

Joanie

__________________

emilias_garden

Wow! Thank you for sharing your experice with us. It is indeed encouraging! Now i know i can take some big cuttings like yours.

Congrastulations!
Jorge Joel...
Emilia's Garden

pga7602

bonsaial1,

What type of soil did you use for the cuttings?