It is so hot at the farm, I can only stand going out in the early morning to water and check out the plants and trees. It is still in the 90's after dark, and did I mention the humidity, which makes it seem much hotter - the heat index they call it on the television. I don't want to know that it feels like 110 degrees outside. It makes it worse.
Nevertheless, my pomegranate shrub/bush is coming along in this heat. First, the beautiful colored flowers.
Then, the petals wither and fall off.
Then the fruit begins to swell.
And here is my adolescent fruit. It's about the size of a golf ball. Last year I only had one fruit and this year many more, though 50% of the fruits failed. I will be gifted with several this year though.
If so inclined, you too can grow pomegranates in a pot (gets too cold here in the winter to plant outside). Just look up Logee's Greenhouse @ www.LOGEES.Com. Be careful though. They have so many things the gardener cannot turn down. Patchouli plant? Vanilla bean orchids? Cinnamon bark plants. A greenhouse full of different citrus trees? It is addicting.
22 comments:
Too cold in the winter, too hot and humid in the summer. There is still some beautiful farm land available here in Oregon….just sayin
How's Ms. Sunshine coming along? (As she has no name as yet.)
That is fantastic Donna ….. we can grow pomegranates in the greenhouse here in the UK but I've never tried. I really should as they are one of my favourite fruits. Hope you get a good crop ! XXXX
How pretty! I would love to grow poms..
Show us when adult:) You know how teens can be:)
How interesting to see pomegranates growing. Atcertain times of the year we can buy them here and it is fashionable to put their seeds on the top of many dishes these days.
Oh Doc, you sound just like my husband. I don't like it too cold nor too hot. Just want it a sunny, perfect 70 degrees, year round. Is it like that in Oregon?
She is coming along Joanne. So far, so good. That is one reason I like oil paints. Your can mess it up, but always paint over it when it dries.
Jacqueline, they really grow themselves. Don't have to do anything. My kind of plant.
I will Monique. They come from Connecticut so you can grow them where you live.
Yes, have seen the seeds for sale in plastic containers at the store. Used to buy them for Birdie, though I think he just liked to get down to the seed.
Dear Donna- sounds like your summer has not been the best. High humidity drains me so I can empathise. Your pomegranates are looking good though. That is something I have never grown. We certainly would have to pot them and bring them in. Our winters would be to harsh. Well take care friend and stay cool. Hugs!
Ooooh Donna, that heat that you describe is the part of summer that really puts me off. Growing up in Virginia's summer heat and humidity (before air conditioning even existed for most of those years) did not endear me to summertime when the living was to be easy.
Up here in New York, our weather is pretty changeable because we are an island and have actual contact with the Atlantic Ocean. All the same, concrete and asphalt really can hold the heat...not to mention those subway platforms.
And so, how lovely to see you show us how beautiful pomegranites grow. At last, I understand where those William Morris designs grew their beautiful lines. It seems strange to be my age and just now being able to make this connection. I am indebted to you. xo
Thank you dear Debbie. Summers here are too hot and usually dry and winters too cold. I am trying to keep busy though. Am going to get a few tomatoes and as for anything else, we'll see.
Francis, you are a delight. Never made the William Morris connection. Love hearing about New York City too, so exotic to me. Summers here are horridly hot and when you walk out the door, sweat starts pouring from the head down. Can't even imagine before air conditioning. How did humanity survive?
So THAT's how those magical Royal fruit grow! My entire knowledge comes from grocery stores, a bit of Biblical verse, and the story of that six-months-a-year Custody Suit involving Persephone. Most of the mythical lore holds that it just happened, she stayed, crops withered, Demeter wept.
Not so. She loved pomegranates so much that when she saw one during her captivity, she gobbled up a big bite, swallowing six seeds. For "stealing" his fruit, the rightful owner claimed one month of her company per seed, and thus Fall and Winter, when things fade and freeze, and then, Spring and Summer, when she returned above ground to her Mother for six months. I know this because that was in one of the first books Miss Kitty across the street let me take home to read when I was four, just after she'd taught me on those long Summer afternoons.
And if that's golf-ball size, the crown must not grow much more. I just love those little coronets, like Frog Prince crowns.
rachel
I had never considered where pomegranates came from before - such an exotic fruit - I used to love them as a kid but can't remember the last time I tasted one. Hope whatever fruit you have left hangs on to the bitter end. Feel sorry for you in the heat I'm not happy in it either.
One of my blog friends is Amanda @ Travels With Persephone. You would enjoy her blog. If it's not on the right side of my blog it's only because I rarely update it. After having my blog messed up for so long, I'm afraid to do anything different so that it won't mess up again. My pomegranate from last year grew so large, it split down the side. Hope this year's crop does the same.
I think all that's left are keepers. It happens with fruit trees for some reason. Apples, peaches, plums... I think they call it a drop, but I know all my citrus does it too. I don't know the percentage, but there is a lot of drop. I wonder if there is a Greek god or goddess that controls the weather. Amanda, where are you?
Hotter than Hades here. To have success with a Pomegranate tree is quite an accomplishment, one I would not even attempt. I can't even get the peach trees to supply me with one lousy peach...they always fall off the branches before they are ripe.
Well, Jeri, I daily watch the deer outside my window, eating my unripe white peaches. They get up on the deck and eat my strawberries and tomatoes. If it's not the heat, rain or dry spell, it's the bugs and animals. I just cannot imagine how the poor farmers fed their families throughout the year. Must have really been feast or famine.
Lovely pomegranate photos - took me right back to our Moroccan days when we had a little pomegranate bush on the roof!
I wish I had a house where I could grow things on the roof. It is very rare in these parts.
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