Okay, so I decided to try my hand at growing an Ariana pomegranate tree. I’ve always loved pomegranates, and the Ariana variety is supposed to be super flavorful and productive. I figured, why not give it a shot?
First, I ordered the tree online. It arrived as a pretty small sapling, maybe two feet tall. I was a little nervous about planting it, but I did some research and found a sunny spot in my backyard that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight a day.
Getting My Hands Dirty
I dug a hole about twice as wide as the root ball and just as deep. I made sure to loosen up the soil at the bottom of the hole to help with drainage. Apparently, pomegranates don’t like wet feet!
Next, I carefully removed the tree from its container and gently teased out the roots. They were a bit tangled, so I wanted to make sure they could spread out easily in their new home. I placed the tree in the hole, making sure the top of the root ball was level with the ground.
Then I filled the hole back in with the soil I had dug out, gently patting it down as I went. I watered it thoroughly, really soaking the soil to help settle it around the roots.
Nurturing the Newbie
In that first, I mulched around the base of the tree with some organic compost. I didn’t pile it up against the trunk though – that can cause problems. I left a little space around the stem.
- I’ve been watering it deeply about once a week, depending on the weather.
- I also gave it some fertilizer a few weeks after planting, just a basic balanced fertilizer.
So that’s the full steps and details of my planting journey. I’ll have to wait and see, crossing my fingers that I’ll be harvesting my own juicy pomegranates in a few years!
