Pomegranate, Punica granatum L., Buah Delima, 石榴. Part 2

I tried germinating Pomegranate from seeds from the fruits that we ate last December. Click here for link. I waited for days, weeks & months, non germinated. I dare not weed the raised bed as I've not see baby pomegranate plants before. Afraid that I may pulled off the baby Pomegranate.

Brought in just before Christmas 2013.

Lucky for me I brought back a Israeli Pomegranate plant (propagated via marcotting). This plant had been growing very slowly. Had been toying with it, hoping to propagate more from it. Trying to ID this plant and I think it could be Israeli Ruby.

Initially I tried shoring up the earth and this managed to induce rooting on the smaller lower branches. Managed to get 4 small plants. Unfortunately 1 didn't survived. At least I got 3 new plants.

Shoring up to earth to make the smaller branches root.

I then tried propagating via cuttings. It failed as the stem taken may be too young & small. I shall try cuttings again when I have mature stems of sufficient size.

2 of the new Pomegranate.

Am trying marcotting at the moment. Did a couple on the Mother plant. I think it is rooting. I damaged 1 as I was taking it out for inspection. I potted it anyway, hopefully it shall survive. Another 1 has a tiny little root. Hopefully shall have 2 more plants.

Another marcotting under way on the new Pomegranate plant.

Have 2 more air layering which I think should root early October. 1 from the mother plant & 1 from the new plant.

Another marcotting under way on the mother Pomegranate plant.

We now have 4 plants & am targeting 10 plants before I transfer them to field planting. Pomegranate also falls in line with one of our objective of planting health beneficial fruits, but most importantly, my wife loves it.


Pomegranate

A compound found only in pomegranates called punicalagin is shown to benefit the heart and blood vessels. Punicalagin is the major component responsible for pomegranate's antioxidant and health benefits. It not only lowers cholesterol, but also lowers blood pressure and increases the speed at which heart blockages (atherosclerosis) melt away.

Health Benefits of the Pomegranate

• Most powerful anti-oxidant of all fruits
• Potent anti-cancer and immune supporting effects
• Inhibits abnormal platelet aggregation that could cause heart attacks, strokes and embolic disease
• Lowers cholesterol and other cardiac risk factors
• Lowers blood pressure
• Shown to promote reversal of atherosclerotic plaque in human studies
• May have benefits to relieve or protect against depression and osteoporosis

Many studies show that the pomegranate is one of the most powerful, nutrient dense foods for overall good health. These clinical findings clearly show a correlation between pomegranate compounds and their positive effect on both human and animal cardiovascular, nervous, and skeletal health. This is one fruit that you can't afford to exclude from your diet! So, let's plant more Pomegranate.