Pomegranate Bonsai in the Works

[arborrelli]

With the litany of outdoor trees that I have collected, I decided that I wanted to obtain a tree that I could focus on practically all year round. So, I purchased a Dwarf Pomegranate (nana).

It went from looking like this when it arrived:
[img]https://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs150.snc1/5572_111216232063_655797063_2774814_336239_n.jpg[/img]

To now this two months later:
[img]https://demonarts.borrellizone.com/Bonsai/100_2011%202.JPG[/img]

It's still got a lot of work to go for it to look how I want .

Also, after reading a bunch of stuff on indoor bonsai, I decided to rig up a grow light (65 watt):
[img]https://demonarts.borrellizone.com/Bonsai/100_2013.JPG[/img]

So I ask of you, am I doing alright for a beginner? I read on some websites that a pomegranate needs a chilling/resting period, so would it be wise to leave it out next season and find a different tropical tree to work on indoors?

[Gnome]

arborrelli,

I'm not terribly experienced with Pomegranates. I do have four smaller ones I started from fresh seed though. Here's how I've been handling mine.

I am lucky enough to have an attached but unheated garage that has a gravel floor. As late fall progresses I bring them into the garage. Last winter it got pretty cold so I brought them into a cool cellar, after the coldest weather passed they went back to the garage until spring.

So I guess what it boils down to is that I allow them a full dormancy but a fairly sheltered one. Whether or not the dormancy is strictly required I can't say from experience. If you have a cool room I think I would give it a rest period if you can.

I like that it is in a fairly large pot, a common mistake is to rush young material into small pots too soon, this slows growth when you really need to encourage it.

I assume that the bulb in your light is an incandescent. A compact fluorescent is a better choice. You can get it much closer without the concern of overheating.

Norm

[arborrelli]

So I should put it into the garage for a rest sometime around Thanksgiving?

I would say that my room is "cool" (the room that it is currently in), though that will change once my dad turns the heat on and I close the windows (though it still remains fairly cool because of how old our windows are. I don't think the periods when the heat is on will be all that great for the tree).

[Gnome]

arborrelli,

So I should put it into the garage for a rest sometime around Thanksgiving?

Dormancy isn't a switch that you can turn on and off at will, dormancy is a process that begins after the summer solstice and is triggered largely by the gradual shortening of days as well as cooler temperatures. If you intend to treat this as a temperate tree, as I described, then it should have been outside and allowed to experience the process.

None of this addresses the real question though which is how necessary is a rest period to this species. Since I only handle mine one way I can't say. Mine are outside now and are showing yellowing of the leaves and a few have already fallen.

Paul Lesniewicz, in his book 'Bonsai in Your Home' states:

"If the plant is not allowed to rest and is kept too warm, it's new shoots will be thin and weak"

He suggests a rather cool 43-50 F, that not many of us can manage in our homes. Alternatively, it can be managed as some do Chinese Elm, that is outside all summer, allowed to naturally shed its leaves and then brought inside to begin growth again. BTW, I have had mine significantly colder than 43 F and they do OK.

Does something like that sound manageable for you? Do have a spot where it can go outside for the next six to eight weeks? Perhaps not in full sun, due to its being indoors now, but a filtered sun situation. It still may not be too late to pull this off.

Norm

[arborrelli]

Well I stuck it outside maybe Friday afternoon. It's close to the house, so it only really gets sun during up until maybe 11 or so.

[Gnome]

arborrelli,

OK, make sure to keep a close eye on watering as its needs may change. Please let us know how things go.

Norm

[bonsaiboy]

I would leave it outside until the leafs fall off in mid/late fall. One all the leafs are gone, store it in a cool place, like the garage.

[arborrelli]

The tree was quite stubborn, and kept many of it's green leaves until maybe the third or fourth frost (then, they became shriveled and crunchy). The day after Thanksgiving I brought it into the garage along with some of my other smaller plants.

I think I brought it into the basement maybe two weeks after that. The basement wasn't as cool as I thought...

It is starting to push out leaves.
[img]https://imgur.com/5Q8XIl.jpg[/img]