Texas Pink Pomegranate

When looking for an ornamental tree, a fruit tree is probably not going to be the first thing you think of. But think again. For charm and rugged good looks, the Texas Pink Pomegranate is hard to beat. This small tree soon develops real character, with a rugged trunk, attractive glossy foliage, beautiful red blossoms, and best of all, huge pink pomegranate fruits in the fall. It has an exceptional and unique ‘look’ that is perfect for any sunny garden, and it’s incredibly drought tolerant too. If you haven’t discovered the joys of pomegranates in the kitchen, this is your chance to join everyone who loves them – and has done for thousands of years. It’s never too late to learn to enjoy their unique sweet and tart flavor and their bonus of powerful antioxidants for good health. Probably the most cold-resistant variety available, you can enjoy the Texas Pink Pomegranate where other pomegranate varieties will fail. This is your chance to grow a tree that fits into today’s gardens, with none of the complex care and pruning most fruit trees need. Within a couple of years you will be piling your basket high with these beautiful fruits, to eat fresh, scatter over salads, or turn into wonderful juice.

Growing the Texas Pink Pomegranate

Size and Appearance

Few trees are as handsome as the Texas Pink Pomegranate. It forms a multi-stem tree growing no more than 15 feet tall, and often less, with a spread of less than 10 feet. It is easy to keep it smaller with trimming, or let it grow freely and perhaps become larger in time. The trunks soon thicken and develop a wonderful gnarled, rugged look, with a rough, peeling, gray-brown bark. The leaves are 1 to 3 inches long, and about ½ inch wide, with a smooth, glossy surface and a dark-green color. In warm zones the leaves are more or less evergreen, but in most areas this tree is deciduous, revealing in winter its attractive branching structure.

Flowers are mostly produced in May and June, but scattered later blooms are common, especially in hot areas. The unique flowers are very attractive, bright red and about 1¼ inches across. The small fruit is already visible at the base of the flower, and it soon begins to develop after the petals fall. This tree is self-pollinating, and a single tree will produce a full crop. It takes about 6 months for the fruit to ripen, so most of the crop is ready in October, but they can be harvested from September right up to Christmas. Fruits continue to ripen after they are picked, and stored fruit is usually sweeter after several weeks. The fruits of the Texas Pink Pomegranate are large, up to 4 inches in diameter, and they look very attractive on and off the tree. The fruit is designed by nature so that the leathery skin splits open when ripe, to reveal the juicy seeds to eager birds, so harvest your crop before they begin to split. The skin is a wonderful deep pink color, and inside it is packed with dark-red juice sacks called ‘arils’, each one a cluster of sweet flesh surrounding the seed. You can eat them fresh, separate the arils and scatter them over many different dishes, or juice them for a delicious sweet, tangy juice.

Using the Texas Pink Pomegranate in Your Garden

This is such a lovely tree it deserves a place on your lawn, or in the center of a paved terrace. It can also be grown at the corners of your yard, or along a boundary. It can be trained against a sunny wall, and this is a great way in cooler zones to be sure of a good crop. You can grow it in a large pot, and also turn it into a beautiful bonsai tree, which will continue to carry full-sized fruits, making an amazing display.

Hardiness

The Texas Pink Pomegranate is one of the hardiest varieties available, and it certainly grows easily in zone 7, and all warmer zones as well. Trained against a south-facing wall of your house it will probably grow in zone 6 as well.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Plant your Texas Pink Pomegranate in full sun, as it really doesn’t like any shade at all. It will grow in any well-drained soil, including rocky and dry ground, and alkaline soils. Established trees are very drought resistant and grow in the toughest places.

Maintenance and Pruning

You can train your tree to a single trunk, but it is best to develop 2 or 3 main trunks, and it looks more attractive that way. Remove suckers from around the base of the tree if they develop. Trim back the ends of new shoots so that you build up rounded crowns on each trunk, but no complex pruning is really needed. This tree is rarely bothered by any pests or diseases, and deer usually leave them alone. Water young trees regularly until they are well-established.

History and Origin of the Texas Pink Pomegranate

Pomegranate trees, Punica granatum, have been grown for many centuries throughout the Middle East and central Asia, as well as in China and southern Europe. In both Arabic and Hebrew it is called the ‘fruit of paradise’. Spanish settlers brought it to the Caribbean, Florida, Texas and California, which remain the main parts of America where it is grown commercially. We don’t know the origin of the variety called ‘Texas Pink’, but we can guess which state it probably originated in. . .

Buying the Texas Pink Pomegranate at the Tree Center

For something very different in your yard, plant the Texas Pink Pomegranate. You will love growing this very different tree, but order now, while our limited stock remains available.