How to prune pomegranates (diagram)

Pomegranate pruning time

Pomegranates can be pruned all year round, but the focus of pruning in each season is different. The best time to prune is in spring and autumn. Spring can be done around April, mainly to cut off weak and diseased branches, and appropriately thin out the flower buds.

Summer pruning can be done in June and July, and small fruits, weak fruits and long branches should be cut off. Autumn pruning should be done after the fruits are ripe. In order to reduce nutrient loss, new branches can be thinned out. A major pruning can be done in winter.

How to prune pomegranate

1. Spring pruning

Spring is the season when flower buds and seedlings sprout. You can prune in mid-April, and cut off small and weak branches to reduce nutrient consumption. In the pruning process, you can leave the tubular flowers and gourd-shaped flowers. This kind of flower has a strong flowering ability, allowing it to bloom in the subsequent flowering period.

2. Summer pruning

Summer is the fruit-bearing period of pomegranates. The flowers will slowly wither and the fruits will gradually bulge. The time for pruning is generally chosen between June and July to ensure the quality and yield of the fruit. All small, weak and diseased fruits will be cut off, leaving only healthy large fruits and more first-crop fruits. At the same time, the overgrown branches and leaves will be cut off.

3. Autumn pruning

Pruning in autumn is mainly based on rhizomes and branches. When renovating the soil in autumn, it is necessary to check whether the roots are rotten, wilted, etc. After cleaning the roots, you can cut off unnecessary roots. This will enhance the pomegranate's ability to resist cold after winter.

4. Winter pruning

During the winter dormancy period, major pruning can be done, mainly leaving the mother branches with flower bud growth points and 3 to 5 nutrient branches, cutting off dead branches, messy branches, and thin branches to ensure that there is a certain space between the main branches and side branches. It is a rather foolish approach to prune all of them, so start applying thin fertilizer to revitalize the pomegranate tree after the winter of next year.