Dwarf pomegranate: a photo, care for a decorative tree at home, and also how to grow a beautiful bonsai on a windowsill from varieties of Nana, Carthage and others?

Pomegranate bonsai is a real work of art that can be grown at home. This amazing plant not only has useful qualities, but can also become a real decoration of the interior.

But this requires knowing the features of choosing the right variety and properly caring for the plant. The rostya describes in detail how to grow a dwarf tree at home and provide him with the necessary care.

Are all varieties suitable for making bonsai?

To date, there are over 500 varieties of pomegranate, but only indoor (dwarf varieties) are suitable for creating a bonsai. And even though the fruits themselves cannot compete in taste, quality and size with the fruits obtained from garden crops - they are more acidic and small, their appearance still causes joy.

Most varieties grow in height from 0.5 to 1 m, and with proper care for almost 9 months a year, the plant will be decorated with small bright leaves and fruits.

Which ones work best?

Among the most famous dwarf varieties distinguish:

Nana or Punica granatum nana. The plant can bloom and bear fruit during the year - when the height reaches 40 cm, you can wait for the appearance of the first fruits up to 5 cm in size.
Carthage. Height is about 80 cm. Leaf length is up to 2 cm. When grown from a seed, flowering begins in about 5 years. Fruits up to 5 cm in size, sour, edible.
Baby (Punica granatum Baby). Miniature variety up to 0.5 m high. Long and narrow leaves are arranged in groups. Grown from seeds, the first flowering usually occurs 3-4 years after planting, the fruits - after 5-6 years.

Another variety is Rubin, which got its name for the bright color of the flowers. However, it is less known among amateur gardeners.

Photo

Next, you can find a photo of pomegranate at home.

Care for decorative indoor plants

To create a pomegranate bonsai, you must carefully care for the plant, because it is rather capricious and requires careful attention.

Lighting

Pomegranate loves the sun - when it is lacking, it begins to drop leaves.

Gardeners recommend from mid-spring to the end of summer every day to put a pot of pomegranate on the balcony, protecting it from drafts.

And so that the leaves do not burn out, you should gradually “accustom” the plant to the sun: first take it out for a couple of hours, gradually increasing the time.

Rest period

In November (approximately until the end of February), the plant enters a dormant period, dropping leaves. At this time, it is recommended to keep it in the shade and provide minimal watering.

Temperature

In spring and summer, the temperature of the plant should be in the region of +25 degrees, in winter - at least +10 degrees. Truth, during the month in the winter for pomegranate it is necessary to provide a temperature in the region of +6 degrees. These are ideal conditions for flowering and further fruiting of pomegranate.

Watering

During flowering and growth, water the plant abundantly - 1-2 times in 7 days. It is important to ensure that the soil is not too waterlogged, because in this case dark spots may appear on the leaves.

To avoid such a problem, make a drainage layer of expanded clay. In the warm season, you can not do without spraying. To prevent stagnant processes in the soil in winter, watering a room pomegranate is reduced to 1 time per week.

Fertilizer

From the beginning of spring to autumn, pomegranates require top dressing with the help of mineral fertilizers - they are applied about two times a month. During dormancy, any feeding should be stopped before the start of the growing season. You can use organic additives. Mullein infusion diluted with water in a proportion of 1:10 is well suited. Chicken litter is also suitable - it is bred with water in a ratio of 1: 4. Organic matter is introduced into the soil only after watering.

Cropping and shaping

Pomegranate develops quickly and literally 6-8 months after planting it looks like a small tree. To form a bonsai from it, you need to spend a lot of time, effort - a laborious task. You can begin to form a tree when the thickness of the stem reaches 2.5 cm.

Pomegranate pruning instructions next:

All unnecessary shoots are removed from the tree, the trunk is cut at a height of up to 25 cm.
The stalk is bent and fixed in the desired shape using a wire.
They form a bonsai crown with overgrown branches - to give shape you need to use the fishing line.
The crown is trimmed as it grows.

In the future, after pruning, you need to take care of the plant in the usual way: water it, feed it, transplant it, if necessary, into a new container.

Transfer

Young trees up to five years old are replanted once a year, and subsequently about once every three years. The pot should be slightly larger than the previous one, but still small. For an annual plant - about 100 ml in volume, for a three-year plant - no more than 0.5 l. The ratio of diameter and height should be one to one.

When planting, you need to fill the pot with drainage and soil for 25% with a neutral reaction. It is best to make the substrate yourself, using in equal proportions humus, sod, leaf and peat soil.

True, pomegranate is not so demanding on the soil, so you can buy ready-made soil. Transplant roots should be protected from damage as much as possible.

If you couldn’t avoid this, to avoid infection, carefully trim the roots and sprinkle them with charcoal. For an adult plant - older than 5-6 years, instead of replanting, the topsoil is replaced with fresh soil mix.

How to grow a beautiful tree?

You can either buy pomegranate at the store or try to grow it yourself.

Cuttings

Pomegranate cuttings can be carried out either in the middle of summer or in February. In the first case, semi-lignified cuttings are used, in the second - lignified. Each stalk should have four internodes. It is worth noting that the cuttings take root very poorly. To provide a more reliable result, the sections are treated with Epin or another growth stimulator.

You can root parts of plants either directly in water or in a substrate of peat and mixture in a 1: 1 ratio. Peat tablets may also be used.

Before planting, cuttings must be thoroughly moistened. After that, they are placed in the ground at an angle of 45 degrees, deepening by 2-3 kidneys. The container is covered with a film on top and placed on a lighted window sill.

To cuttings took root, roots appeared on them faster, the temperature in the room should not be below +23 degrees. The first roots will appear in 1.5 weeks, it takes at least a month to fully root a plant. In this case, young buds form on the plant, after which it is necessary to remove the film. The first grown shoot should be shortened by cutting it by 25-30%. Due to this, the tree will begin to branch.

From seed

The instructions for growing a decorative plant from seeds on the windowsill are as follows:

Seeds are sown in soil, plunged to a depth of 1 cm.
After planting, carefully monitor the soil - it should not dry out, because in this case the guarantor will not be able to grow.
After about a few weeks, seedlings will begin to appear, it is time to transfer them to a light windowsill.
Two months later, you need to transplant in separate pots.

Propagation by air layering

Data propagation method is not so popular when transplanting indoor plants, since it is quite complex. Most suitable for the "representatives" of the tropics, in which the roots usually form on the stem. In this case, the chances of success when propagating by layering increase.

Having chosen this method, carefully consider the place of formation of the new roots - this will reduce the risk of plant deformity after removing cuttings from it. It is advisable to carry out work from the end of March to June. Layering instructions are simple:

Select the bare part of the stem or peel it off the leaves.
For layering, you need to select a site of internode.
Using a clean knife, make an incision, moving from the bottom up, a little diagonally (try not to zeal, because too deep a "wound" can cause the stem to break).
Carefully push the “skin” and apply any growth stimulator to the cut.
Put a match into the cut - this will not allow the tissues to tighten.
Fix the “sleeve” from the film 1-2 cm below the notch.
Fill it with sphagnum or peat, moisten.
Two months later, the roots begin to appear. So that they do not dry, dip them in the "sleeve" with the soil mixture.
When the roots get stronger, you need to trim the stem under the root and plant the plant in a new place.
If necessary, strengthen the young grenade on a support - a wire or a pencil.
Cut the stem of the mother plant over the node so that the plant begins to branch.

Pests and diseases: causes and methods of control

Unlike many other indoor plants, pomegranate is practically not sick.

But there are some diseases and pests that may appear due to poor-quality care:

Powdery mildew. It manifests itself as a white coating on the plant, the presence of dark spots on the leaves. The most common reason is poor-quality care, poor ventilation, and sharp temperature fluctuations. You can use a soda solution by mixing 5 g of soda in 1 liter of water. When powdery mildew is launched, it will be necessary to carry out treatment with chemical preparations, for example, Skor or Hom.
Shoot cancer. The main symptom is the appearance of cracks in the branches, and swelling usually appears on the chips. The main reason is frostbite or damage to the plant. Cut damaged shoots with sharp scissors. "Wounds" on the branches need to be treated with garden var.
Brown spots on the leaves. Most often appear due to waterlogging of the soil. Transplanting into new ground is required.
Whitefly and aphideating leaves of a tree, which quickly weakens the plant. If there are few insects, they should be removed manually. Also, for convenience, the leaves of the plant can be washed with a solution of laundry soap. Such drugs as Fitoverm, Karbofos, Spark will help get rid of pests.

In most cases, diseases and pests appear due to poor-quality and untimely care, therefore it is so important to comply with all the principles discussed in our material. And remember that you can get a bonsai from a plant only by the correct formation of its crown.