Q. Which varieties of pomegranate are good to grow in the
Las Vegas area?
Las Vegas area?
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| Wonderful pomegranate grown in Las Vegas |
A. Southern Nevada is a good pomegranate climate, similar to the
climates where pomegranates originated in south central Asia, Persia, Pakistan,
Afghanistan and India.In areas: or than this pomegranates can freeze back. In warm but humid climates pomegranates have disease problems that we never see.
climates where pomegranates originated in south central Asia, Persia, Pakistan,
Afghanistan and India.In areas: or than this pomegranates can freeze back. In warm but humid climates pomegranates have disease problems that we never see.
In the United States we have a
wide selection of pomegranates available to us that have been collected from
throughout the world. Some of the newer selections may be cold sensitive in
parts of our Valley. I would stay away from unknown varieties unless you want
to experiment.
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| Beautiful yellow pomegranate with red arils grown in Tajikistan |
For the most part, all of the
pomegranates available commercially do well. Of course the flagship pomegranate
variety is ‘Wonderful’ with its beautiful outer and inner ruby red color. In
actuality pomegranates come in a wide range of colors from dark purple to
nearly black all the way to lemon yellow and off-white.
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| Pomegranates come in a wide range of colors on the outside but the inside of the fruit can vary from dark red to pink to white and from seeded to nearly seedless (soft seeds) |
You will not go wrong with
varieties such as ‘Sweet’ or ‘Eversweet’. A local favorite, sometimes referred
to as seedless is ‘Utah Sweet’, a selection from ‘Sweet’. A variety from the
former Soviet Union receiving rave reviews is ‘Parfianka’.
Other varieties I have liked
include ‘Sharps Velvet’, ‘Red Silk’, ‘Pink Satin’ and ‘Grenada’. One variety I
have been less than thrilled about is ‘Ambrosia’, and early producer but no
flavor. I have seen no winter damage on any of the varieties I mentioned above.
include ‘Sharps Velvet’, ‘Red Silk’, ‘Pink Satin’ and ‘Grenada’. One variety I
have been less than thrilled about is ‘Ambrosia’, and early producer but no
flavor. I have seen no winter damage on any of the varieties I mentioned above.
I have a Wonderful, which has done great, here, in Spring Valley. But the Eversweet failed–not sure why. I've ordered a Parfianka this season
(a Dave Wilson bare-root tree from Bay Laurel Nursery), which I'm looking forward to trying out….
Just bought some parfianka and salavatski varieties, let's see how they do this winter.