Pomegranate Looks, Tastes Good : Fruit: In addition to its beauty in the garden, plant can be used in salads, jellies and marinade.

I am frequently asked about plant selections for an edible landscape. The first plant that always comes to mind is the pomegranate. It is a most attractive plant for any landscape situation and its fruit provides a delightful addition to salads and makes marvelous jellies and marinades.

In terms of beauty, few shrubs or trees surpass the pomegranate. It has beautiful, shiny foliage that turns a brilliant yellow in the autumn. During the spring it is loaded with showy scarlet-orange blossoms that become striking red fruit in the fall.

If you are from a region of the country where deciduous trees provide a fall spectacle of yellow and gold, and you miss this in the Southland, the gorgeous fall foliage of the pomegranate will help satisfy your longing for days gone by.

The pomegranate may be grown either as a shrub or trained to become a small multibranch tree. It’s amenable to radical pruning and makes an attractive espalier against a fence or wall. It also may be grown in a large container on a sunny patio or deck.

The foliage starts as a bronze color in late winter or early spring, changes to bright green as the weather warms and ends in brilliant yellow in autumn. To complement the foliage, the 2-inch orange-red blossoms provide a four- to eight-week display, then culminate in burnished red fruit that averages 4 inches in diameter.

The fruit has a hard rind, is full of seeds and the edible portion is the ruby-colored flesh that surrounds each seed.

It takes a patient eater to separate the seeds from the flesh. However, the flesh may be pureed in a blender and used as a base for a refreshing drink or jelly. Commercial uses include grenadine syrup, the base for many exotic drinks.

The pomegranate is a good bet for most climatic zones of Southern California. It does especially well in the warm interior valleys, but even in coastal areas it forms an attractive plant; however, the fruiting is limited and the fruit is less sweet than in warmer regions. It will tolerate intense heat and temperatures down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

There are a number of strictly ornamental varieties of pomegranates that either don’t bear fruit or have inedible fruit. If you want a fruiting variety, choose Wonderful, a popular variety available at most nurseries. In addition, Utah Sweet, a recent introduction with marvelous fruiting characteristics, is now available at some nurseries.

The pomegranate requires a sunny location. It is not picky in regard to soil, although like any plant, it prefers a loose soil with good drainage. The plant should be set in the soil at the same level it was at in the growing container. Water the young plant two times a week until it becomes established, then every week or 10 days if there is no rain.

The pomegranate has amazing drought tolerance. However, if grown for fruit, it should be irrigated on a regular basis. It does not require heavy fertilization. Slow-release fertilizer tablets or spikes designed for fruit trees will suffice. These should be added to the soil at the time of planting and then again each spring. Follow label directions to determine the amount.

The pomegranate will reach the fruiting stage in about three years and will live for 75 years or more. If grown as a tree it will reach a height of about 12 feet and spread 6 or 8 feet. It can be easily controlled by pruning.

The fruit is ready for harvest in the fall when it obtains a full red color. If left on the tree at maturity, the fruit tends to split. This does affect the storage life. If harvested before splitting, the fruit will store for several months if kept in a dry cool area.