We got a small pomegranate tree this last week. It was planned originally to be purchased in February, but I could not pass saving $37 in S&H...so I went for it.
Judging by its size it might be old enough to give us some fruit next year & its red tubular flowers will make a nice addition to the hummingbird buffet. Pomegranates are very nutritious and the tree itself is low maintenance, has high landscape value, excellent wind tolerance, drought, cold & even flood tolerance.
The actual cultivar of this tree was not listed in my Florida Fruiting plants book...but if you are looking to buy one, the best cultivars for Central Florida are 'Vietnam,' 'Plantation Sweet,' & 'Big Red.' The book also lists 'Fleishman,' Purpleseed,' 'Spanish Ruby,' & 'Christine' as promising newer cultivars for our area.
The only catch of growing this tree in Florida is that it does not love wet summers...so if you plant one, be sure to remember not to water it during that time as our regular summer rains should really be plenty for it. Oh the other thing that I find a bit of a negative (but really, not too bad) is that from the time flowers bloom, it may take up to 7 months for the fruit to be ripe...which, for impatient gardeners like me, is not a great thing.
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