In our article we want to talk about such an exotic fruit as pomegranate. We all know about its beneficial properties since childhood. But many do not even know how it grows and what varieties of pomegranates are the best. Let's discuss this in more detail.
History of the name of the fruit
Pomegranate is a wonderful plant. The history of its name is interesting. This plant has been known since ancient times. Then it was believed that the best trees grow in Carthage. The Romans called the fruits malum punicum, which means "Punic apple". And the thing is that the Phoenicians in the tenth century BC moved from their native land to Africa, founding new settlements there, including the famous Carthage. And for the Romans, the Phoenicians themselves are the Punians, hence the name came from - the Punic apple.
But the pomegranate also had a second name - malum granatum, which means "grainy apple". It was it that later became very widespread. But the botanical name Punica was given to the plant in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus.
Pomegranate
There are different varieties in the worldpomegranates. The homeland of the plant is Persia (the territory of modern Iran). Pomegranates grow in the wild and in the Caucasus, Central Asia, India, Asia Minor and Afghanistan. In these countries, under favorable conditions, trees can reach a height of five meters, but there can be a plant and a bush. At the end of the eighteenth century, thanks to the Spanish conquistadors, the culture began to be grown on the American mainland.
Pomegranates bloom very profusely from May to August. The large red-orange flowers of the plant look like a bell. They are so beautiful that many grow a tree just for the sake of flowering. The fruits are spherical in shape and covered with red-brown or yellow-red skin. A pomegranate can weigh up to 600 grams. Inside it there are many seeds surrounded by juicy pulp. It is she who is edible and makes up only 50 percent of the mass of the entire fruit. Each pomegranate contains from 200 to 1400 seeds between white partitions. The fruits ripen from September to February in the northern hemisphere, and in the southern hemisphere from March to May. Up to 60 kilograms of fruit can be harvested from one tree.
The plant itself looks very decorative. In warm climates, ripe fruits crack, hanging straight from the branches. The peel bursts, but the grains are inside and do not crumble. It's just an amazing sight. In temperate climates, the leaves sometimes fall off before they begin to harvest. The fruits, which are on bare branches, give the plant an exotic look.
Types of pomegranates
Currently, only two types of culture are known. Garnetcommon grows wild in Asia and southern Europe. The second species grows on the island of Socotra, which is located in the Arabian Sea. Hence its name - Socotran pomegranate. But its taste is much lower than that of the common pomegranate, and therefore the plant is not cultivated. In addition, a dwarf form of the plant has recently appeared, which is grown as an ornamental crop on windowsills.
Different varieties of pomegranates, and there are more than 500 of them (cultivars), have different taste qualities, differ in the shape and size of the fruit, the color of the pulp, the color of the juice, the softness or hardness of the seeds. The number of different varieties is increasing due to the constant work of breeders, whose main task is to create a plant that will be resistant to all diseases. In Turkmenistan there is a nature reserve Kara-Kala. It has the largest collection of pomegranates in the world. It has more than 800 forms, species, varieties of pomegranate.
Garnet varieties
We have already mentioned that there are many varieties of pomegranates. All of them are grown for specific purposes. Some are for fresh consumption, others are for processing and obtaining juices. From pomegranates of one variety, a wonderful and he althy drink is obtained, rich in vitamins and trace elements. There are also varieties grown for technical processing. In our article, we want to give the best varieties of pomegranates and their characteristics. Farmed species can be roughly divided into the following groups to showonly a small part of the varieties available:
- Sweet Iranian varieties - Charoli, Halva, Aswad, Akhmar.
- Very sweet Indian - Dholka.
- Sweet and sour varieties - Ulfa, Kyzym, Kok, Wellis.
- Sweet - Lojuar, Kadan, Vedana, Nar Shirin.
- American grade seedless (soft bones) - Wonderful.
- Israeli varieties - Ras el Bahl, Malissi, Red Loufani, Mangulati.
- Indian - Alandi, Bedana.
- Crimean and Transcaucasian varieties ripening in October - Veles, Kaim nar, Krmyzy kabukh, Shah-par, Bala-mursal, Pink Galyusha, Red Galyusha.
- Sweet and sour Central Asian varieties - Kzyl-anar, Achik-Don, Cossack-anar.
- Tart sour variety - Achikanor.
- Early sweet varieties ripening in September - Ulfi, Lod-juar, Ak-Don.
- Japanese dwarf pot cultivar (has numerous small fruits) – Punica granatum var.
- Decorative varieties - Multiplex, Variegata, Chico.
Gyulyusha
It is difficult to single out the best varieties of pomegranate, since each person has his own taste, and different types are grown for completely different purposes. So, for example, sour fruits are cultivated for making sauces, and sweet ones for fresh consumption.
The best Azerbaijani pomegranate varieties (photos are given in the article) are pink and red Gulyusha. The pink variety has fruits weighing 220-250 grams, but sometimes there are much larger round-shaped fruits. Juice output fromthey reach 54%. The beans of this variety are medium in size and have excellent taste.
Gyulyusha red has the shape of a bush (up to three meters in height). The fruits of the plant are quite large - 300-400 grams. They are covered with a pink thin crust. The fruit contains large grains, from which a bright red juice with a sweet and sour taste is obtained. The fruit ripens in October and can be stored for two to three months. The variety is also grown in Georgia and Turkmenistan.
Ak Dona Crimean
Currently, there are varieties of pomegranate (the photo is given by us in the article) that are cultivated in completely unusual regions. So, for example, Crimean Ak Dona is grown in the steppe Crimea. The fruits are oval and large. The variety is easily recognizable by the thinnest creamy peel with reddish spots on one side. The fruit has a thick and short neck. Rose-red grains have a characteristic sweet taste with a barely noticeable sourness. This variety is grown even by amateur gardeners, because it is not too capricious. But in order to truly enjoy a ripe tasty fruit, you need to choose the one that is soaked in the southern sun and fully ripe.
Achik-anor
Achik-anor is a very small tree that, when fruiting, produces fruits of uneven sizes. They are round in shape, but imperceptibly narrow at the base. This variety is interesting in that it has a completely unusual skin color: dark green with a carmine cover. The skin is very thick. Even in ripe fruits, it has a carmine hue from the inside. Pomegranate grains are very large dark cherrycolors with a bright sweet and sour taste.
Cossack improved
Pomegranate tree has a fairly medium size and round fruits. Fruits have a greenish-cream skin with spots and stripes around the entire circumference. Quite often, a carmine integumentary color appears. The peel of the fruit is not at all thick, from the inside it has a creamy yellow tint. Pink-red grains of large sizes have a characteristic sweet, pleasant taste with sourness.
Ahmar
It is believed that the most wonderful and delicious pomegranates are grown in Iran. One of the best sweet varieties is Ahmar. The plant grows up to four meters in height and blooms with bright red-orange flowers. The tree blooms from June to the very end of August. The fruits are covered with a thick green-pink peel and are of medium size. The fruit of this variety is characterized by pink light grains. The lighter the kernels, the sweeter they taste. According to experts, the sugar content in Ahmar pomegranate is so high that the variety occupies a leading position in this indicator.
Nar Sharin
Nar-sharin is similar in taste and description to Akhmar. But this variety is characterized by a light skin color even in ripe fruits. From the outside, the skin is beige with pink patches, and inside it is almost white. Pomegranate seeds are quite small, but very sweet. Their color gradually changes from a light pink tone to a very dark one. An interesting fact is that Iranian pomegranates grow in the wild, and they began to be cultivated not so long ago and only in the central region. loc althe population uses fruits plucked from wild plantings for food.
Dholka
The sweetest pomegranate in the world is Dholka. The plant grows in India in the wild. The fruits of the culture are very light, but with a slight pink tint. Oddly enough, but the fruit has a modest size and weighs only 180-220 grams. Pomegranate seeds in different fruits may vary in color. Their color range varies from white to pale pink. In nature, the shrub grows to a height of no more than two meters.
In India, pomegranate is widely used in traditional medicine, as the standard of living of the population is low. From the roots of the plant, a remedy is prepared that relieves pain in case of bruises and fractures. And decoctions are used to treat dysentery.
Frost-resistant varieties
Many amateur gardeners are attracted by the stunning flowering of pomegranate trees, and therefore there is a desire to grow an exotic crop on the site. But are there frost-resistant pomegranate varieties that can withstand winter in the middle lane? This question is asked by a large number of gardeners. Yes, there really are such varieties.
Average frost resistance requires plants to be sheltered for the winter, otherwise the pomegranate simply may not withstand low temperatures. But with proper care, nothing is impossible. The previously described varieties of Gulyusha pink and red, Ak Dona Crimean belong specifically to frost-resistant species, and therefore their cultivation can be safely tested in the countryplot.
White pomegranate variety
Very often people have a question about the existence of white pomegranate. Is this a myth or reality? In fact, pomegranate varieties with white grains exist and are successfully cultivated in southern countries and even in southern Italy and Spain. An example of such a miracle plant is Thuya tish, the name is translated only as "camel's tooth". The fruits of this variety are characterized by large grains, but still they are not quite white, as many people imagine. At first glance, it may seem that the pomegranate is simply not ripe. But in fact, the nucleoli are very sweet and incredibly tasty. Similar fruits can be purchased in Spain and Egypt. The so-called white pomegranate is endowed with absolutely the same useful properties as ordinary red varieties.
Indoor Grenades
Fans of domestic exotic plants have probably heard that there are varieties of indoor pomegranate. Such small plants can be successfully grown at home, enjoy the beauty of flowering and even get small fruits with proper care. It is worth noting that such pomegranate varieties (described below) belong to dwarf forms, and therefore they can be considered as house plants. One of the varieties grown by housewives is Punica Granatum Nana. The culture blooms and bears fruit throughout the year. When the plant reaches forty centimeter growth, you can already count on the first harvest. As a rule, from seven to ten fruits are tied on a bush, in the future there will be more of them. They are quite edible and reach five in diameter.centimeters.
Baby
Baby is probably the smallest pomegranate you can grow at home. The plant is in the form of a bush. In height, it does not grow more than fifty centimeters. This variety is ornamental and blooms amazingly beautifully. The bush during the dormant period (autumn) partially loses foliage.
The plant requires constant care, annual thinning and shearing. If he doesn’t like something, then it immediately reacts (leaves fall), and therefore the grenade must be created as comfortable as possible. The plant blooms profusely and beautifully, giving single or group inflorescences. Each flower pleases for two or three days, after which it fades. Fruits are formed quite rarely. For a hundred flowers, for example, three or four fruits can be tied.
Dwarf Carthage
Dwarf Carthage is for home cultivation only. The plant is a small tree that needs to be cut regularly, preventing it from growing more than seventy centimeters. If the pomegranate is not cut, then the branches will become thinner and the crown will lose its decorative appearance. In such a situation, the plant not only looks ugly, but also begins to bloom less often. The tree blooms amazingly beautifully.
Instead of afterword
In our article we tried to tell all the most interesting about such a wonderful plant as pomegranate. Of course, in our stores you can hardly find the fruits of all the varieties we have described, but we still hope that the information we have proposed will be useful. And maybe you decide to buy a seedlinghomemade exotic plant that will delight you with beautiful flowers.
