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[Hal Love <lovehd@comcast.net>]

I planted Salavatski and Kazake about 6 years ago here in TN. I am in zone 
6b, but it has not been colder than +2F since these were planted. The 
Salavatski died the first winter. Kazake was killed back to the soil line the 
first three winters, but would grow back. The winter of 2009-2010 was colder 
than normal, without any warm spells, and the Kazake survived without any 
damage, not even to toothpick diameter wood. This past fall, in early 
December it got down to +2F, which is really early for it to get that cold, 
and the winter was once again more consistently cold than normal. Many of my 
kiwis were injured, but Kazake was mostly ok, and is growing really well now. 
It is about 5 ft tall, with 1.5 inch diameter trunks, but no sign of any 
flowers. I suspect it may do ok in a true zone 6b, if the temps stay 
consistently cold, but you will likely need to protect it the first 2-3 
winters. 

BTW, there is a strong genetic linkage between hardiness and hard seeds, so 
all hardy varieties are hard seeded. 

Hal 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott Smith" <scott@cs.jhu.edu> 
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, May 4, 2011 7:40:43 AM 
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] nafex Digest, Vol 100, Issue 3: Hardy Pomegranates 

Steve, I have not gotten fruits yet myself but I have heard good reports on 
taste on all of them. The seeds of pomegranates vary from almost nonexistent 
to hard; the standard Wonderful variety is in the middle somewhere. I believe 
all of the hardy ones except Papershell are hard-seeded so that is probably 
their main downside. 

4x4 is a pretty small area. I would eyeball their yield as about half what an 
apple tree of the same size would be. 

A true 6B winter is below 0F. Significant dieback will occur at those temps. 
Kazake seems to be one level more hardy than all the other ones, both Ashton 
states this and it correlates with reports I have heard. I would get a Kazake 
if you may be experiencing sub-zero temps. If it does die back if it was well 
enough established it will grow back from the roots. I covered my poms for 
their first two years to give them a chance to get well-established. 

If you want to grow pomegranates, it is well worth the $7 for the electronic 
version of Ashton's book -- http://www.3mpub.com/ashton/title1.html 

I'm not sure I will get enough fruits from my trees to make it worthwhile in 
that sense, but I have planted them in a prominent spot in my yard and I 
expect they will be quite the curiosity for passers-by. 

Scott 

On May 4, 2011, at 12:43 AM, Steven Covacci wrote: 

> 
> 
> Scott, 
> Do you think that those three cultivars, well-known for their hardiness, 
> produce good fruit? How much do you think a 4' x 4' shrub-trained specimen 
> would yield? Would they survive a true USDA 6b winter? 
> 
> 
> Thanks, 
> Steve; NJ 6b/7a 
> 
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