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harveyc · 09-27-2008, 01:06 PM

Richard, Ashton's book has information on the use of rooting hormone, fungicides, rooting techniques, etc. so your statement is a discredit to a man that has spent many years working extensively with pomegranates. Richard Ashton has, by the way, bred a variety which he believes to have potential as a superior commercial cultivar, naming it 'Austin'. He did not patent it as he is not looking for financial gains. So I still stand by my comment and suggest The Incredible Pomegranate highly for anyone wanting some general information on growing pomegranates.

You referred people to the USDA pages partly in place of The Incredible Pomegranate, but it has no information at all on growing pomegranates. It is an ideal source for requesting cuttings to root, however.

I said that growing pomegranates by seed was a satisfactory method, not that it would produce plants producing satisfactory fruit. As I mentioned originally, the use of late season small fruits generally produce plants that are true to type. People have done this for thousands of years and Richard Ashton has done it a great deal also. He provided me seeds to some varieties which are not available in the USA at the present tie so this is the preferred method for propagating these. I have some Mridula blooming at the present time from seeds planted about 18 months ago.

I started a pomegranate discussion group last year which is not very active but Joe, myself, and David Silverstein posted our tasting thoughts in that group. Anyone can see the information but people must register before posting. Here are the posts with the tasting comments:
Yahoo! Groups
Yahoo! Groups
Yahoo! Groups

This year's tasting at the USDA Wolfskill Expermimental Farm is tentatively scheduled for November 8th. If you happen to be coming to northern California around that time, it is well worth the price of admission (it's free!).

I took some photos last year of some Turkmenistan varieties that Dr. Levin was interested in getting seeds of. The photos can be viewed at Purely Pomegranates. These were late season small fruits so not very indicative what the fruits harvested at the main season are like, but it will give you a general idea. Also, please note that the plants at Wolfskill are not maintained for fruit propagation so most don't look great. They let suckers grow freely because they find these are ideal sources of new young wood for distribution of cuttings.

I can probably also distribute cuttings in two winters from now for a very modest fee. My plants are still to small to take cuttings, though.

Barbara Baer sent this Youtube video to me and you might want to view it, especially since it seems to document the case that the collection in Garagala, Turkmenistan is still intact. (Pomegranate Roads indicates it had been bulldozed.)

09-27-2008, 01:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
harveyc Been nuts, gone bananas harveyc's Photo Gallery Location: Isleton, Calif Find me on the map! Zone: 9b Name: Harvey Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 5,119 BananaBucks : 309,944 Feedback: 5 / 100% Said "Thanks" 6,025 Times Was Thanked 4,460 Times in 1,896 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,785 Times	Re: POMEGRANATES - anyone? Richard, Ashton's book has information on the use of rooting hormone, fungicides, rooting techniques, etc. so your statement is a discredit to a man that has spent many years working extensively with pomegranates. Richard Ashton has, by the way, bred a variety which he believes to have potential as a superior commercial cultivar, naming it 'Austin'. He did not patent it as he is not looking for financial gains. So I still stand by my comment and suggest The Incredible Pomegranate highly for anyone wanting some general information on growing pomegranates. You referred people to the USDA pages partly in place of The Incredible Pomegranate, but it has no information at all on growing pomegranates. It is an ideal source for requesting cuttings to root, however. I said that growing pomegranates by seed was a satisfactory method, not that it would produce plants producing satisfactory fruit. As I mentioned originally, the use of late season small fruits generally produce plants that are true to type. People have done this for thousands of years and Richard Ashton has done it a great deal also. He provided me seeds to some varieties which are not available in the USA at the present tie so this is the preferred method for propagating these. I have some Mridula blooming at the present time from seeds planted about 18 months ago. I started a pomegranate discussion group last year which is not very active but Joe, myself, and David Silverstein posted our tasting thoughts in that group. Anyone can see the information but people must register before posting. Here are the posts with the tasting comments: Yahoo! Groups Yahoo! Groups Yahoo! Groups This year's tasting at the USDA Wolfskill Expermimental Farm is tentatively scheduled for November 8th. If you happen to be coming to northern California around that time, it is well worth the price of admission (it's free!). I took some photos last year of some Turkmenistan varieties that Dr. Levin was interested in getting seeds of. The photos can be viewed at Purely Pomegranates. These were late season small fruits so not very indicative what the fruits harvested at the main season are like, but it will give you a general idea. Also, please note that the plants at Wolfskill are not maintained for fruit propagation so most don't look great. They let suckers grow freely because they find these are ideal sources of new young wood for distribution of cuttings. I can probably also distribute cuttings in two winters from now for a very modest fee. My plants are still to small to take cuttings, though. Barbara Baer sent this Youtube video to me and you might want to view it, especially since it seems to document the case that the collection in Garagala, Turkmenistan is still intact. (Pomegranate Roads indicates it had been bulldozed.) __________________ Last edited by harveyc : 09-27-2008 at 01:29 PM.