Photograph by Shari Kaplan
Although not all pomegranate cultivars bear fruit, those that do are known for their reddish-brown, unusually structured fruits with sweet-tart seeds.
The Guadalupe River Park includes beautiful gardens
By Tony Tomeo
As if we all are not privileged enough to live in the greatest nation in the universe, we happen to be located in the greatest part of that nation, right here in the Santa Clara Valley. In the middle of Santa Clara Valley is San Jose and the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens. Among the various gardens (including the Heritage Rose Garden, which may be the most complete collection of Old World roses in the world), the Arena Green is one of the busiest and most attractive areas of the park.
Within the Arena Green, the Friends of the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens have established a Donor Walkway, which gives those who enjoy the park an opportunity to make a lasting and visible impression in the community. Granite pavers for the walkway may be purchased with a tax-deductible donation, starting at $250, and inscribed in honor of any important individual, family, event, business or anything worthy of being carved in stone.
Not only do the donations help pave the Donor Walkway as well as create a memorial tribute, they also benefit the Friends of the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens. The group is dedicated to providing community leadership and support for the completion of the park and gardens and the development of programs that encourage the public to use the park as a place of relaxation, recreation and education. More information is available at www.grpg.org, or by calling 408.277.8845.
Back in our home gardens, autumn and winter are considerably less demanding than the more active seasons of spring and summer. This would be a good opportunity to attend to some interior garden concerns: houseplants may be groomed, pruned, relocated and repotted.
If the weather is rainy but not too cool, houseplants may be brought outside for a gentle rinse. For reasons that no horticulturist has yet identified, houseplants seem to benefit more from mild rain than from rinsing with a hose or shower. Dust that accumulates in warm and dry home interiors may inhibit the evapotranspiration and respiration that occurs in the stomata of the leaves. Gentle rinsing of foliar surfaces helps cleanse the stomata of such dust; it also exposes more foliar surface, formerly obscured by dust, to sunlight.
While houseplants are outside for a shower, their drainage dishes may be scrubbed to remove unsightly mineral deposits left from irrigation water that has evaporated.
Fruit of the Week: Pomegranate
Like the persimmons discussed recently, the fruit of the pomegranate, Punica granatum, ripens in autumn and hangs on the otherwise bare shrubs into early winter. Although most of the ornamental cultivars do not produce fruit, the most popular cultivar, "Wonderful," produces the familiar, brownish-red, 3- to 4-inch-wide fruit for which the species is known. Incidentally, more Wonderful pomegranates are grown for nursery stock than all of the other cultivars combined.
Most cultivars produce bright reddish-orange flowers in summer. Some produce double flowers. Only two cultivars I am aware of produce creamy yellow flowers. Pomegranates' small, narrow leaves are bronze when they emerge, but later turn bright green. In autumn, they turn bright yellow. Dwarf cultivars may be maintained below 2 or 3 feet, but others are between 6 and 10 feet tall with long, arching limbs originating at the base.
Full sun exposure is necessary for bloom and fruit. Heat, drought and alkalinity are easily tolerated. However, a dry summer followed by early rain prior to complete development of fruit will cause the fruit to split. Periodic irrigation through summer that is discontinued in autumn will improve fruit quality and minimize the risk of splitting. Generous irrigation can cause root rot if soil is not well-drained.
Ornamental, fruitless cultivars may be difficult to locate. As canned nursery stock (grown in a No. 5 or 5-gallon pot or "can"), Wonderful is often found in specialty nurseries, but may otherwise need to be ordered. Wonderful is most easily obtained bare root later in winter, when it is more commonly available at most nurseries that market bare root stock. I recommend bare root stock for many reasons that will be discussed during that season, but bare root pomegranates should not be irrigated as generously as other bare root stock. They must also be installed in a well-drained medium even if the surrounding soil is not as well-drained.
Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be contacted at 408.358.2574 or at LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
