North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Scott Smith <scott@cs.jhu.edu>]

On May 2, 2011, at 11:10 PM, Jonathan Storvick wrote:

> I'm looking for some region-specific info -
> 
> First - pruning figs for commercial production - in temperate climates (ie.
> the mid-Atlantic, northern VA in particular) figs tend to grow as multi-stem
> shrubs rather than single-trunk trees, what would be the best way to prune
> these?
> 
Thin back enough so that light is getting to all leaves.  This means many 
shoots need removing.  A very rough guide is 1/2" shoots should be a foot 
from the nearest other shoot that size, 1" shoots should be 2' from nearest, 
etc.   Also I top at 8' for easier harvest.  I don't like pruning in winter 
or early spring since that seems to dry out and kill limbs, I do pruning in 
April when I can see what survived the winter, or in the summer.

> Second - given adequate microclimate and frost protection, what might be the
> best pomegranate cultivars or varieties to grow here?  We're in zone 6/7
> (depending on who's hardiness map you're looking at).  Also looking for
> possible sources of scion wood for research purposes.

Ashton's Pomegranates book has a good list of the hardiest ones.  The most 
popular ones seem to be Kazake (most hardy), Salavatski, and Nikitski Ranni.  
Edible Landscaping also sells a "Russian Hardy" which is probably one of the 
hardy ones listed in Ashton since it came from the USDA ARS, but has not been 
positively ID'd.  The ARS makes cuttings available in winter, and several 
people here including myself may have cuttings in winter as well.  My 
personal experience so far is everything I tried has been hardy in Maryland.  
In fact my Angel Red, which is not supposed to be hardy at all, got no damage 
at all last winter.  It got down to 7F at the lowest.  Along with hardiness 
you don't want late ripening since our season is short for pomegranates.

Scott z7 MD