This is my Pomegrante clump that I started from seed. I am trying to grow this small group of trees together so they fuse and become one bonsai clump. I will be going through its progression below.
It is still has a lot of development, but I still think it’s coming along nicely.
If you want to watch it in video format, you can watch the YouTube playlist below. The videos show the progression every month throughout the year, sort of like a time lapse.
Just be aware some of my earlier videos are not the best quality, but just like my trees, the quality slowly improves over time, so stick with them and they both get a little better towards the end.
Pomegranates are small deciduous fruit tree that can make an excellent bonsai, but you can read more about its suitability in Is Pomegranate A Good Tree For Bonsai?
Page Contents
2016
In late 2016 I bought a pomegranate from the supermarket. It was 69 pence. I ate half of it and used the other half to get some seeds. (These are the same seeds I used for my other Pomegranate Bonsai Progression.)
I started the seeds towards the end of the year, thinking nothing would happen until spring. However, they grew very fast and had germinated with a month.
I just left alone as it was basically the end of the year.
2017
In spring 2017 I removed them from the germinating tray and potted them up. I actually had too many to plant up individually so I potted a group of seedlings together into small pot, in a clump style.
I actually planted them all through the top of a coke bottle. I just cut off the top of the bottle, so it’s basically the part that you would put to your mouth. The idea is that as the trees grow they will not be able to expand out as the bottle stops them. This will cause the trees to swell inside and fuse together, making it a clump. My hope is that then the tree will swell over the bottle and sort of air layer its self, like if the bottle was a tourniquet.
They were they left to grow out, and then in midsummer I give them a prune. After this where allowed to grow for the rest of the year.
2018
I didn’t do anything in 2018. They were left alone all year to grow freely.
2019
At the start of the year I pruned the tree back in late winter.
Then repotted the tree in spring when the buds started to swell, but really I just pulled the root ball out and trimmed the bottom most roots. I did not remove all the soil and I did not touch the coke bottle ring as I didn’t want to disturb any fusion. I also just repotted back into the same pot.
It was then left to grow out. It was pruned back in midsummer and it bounced back like crazy after this, but it was left for the rest of the year.
2020
2020 began in the usual way with a hard prune in late winter.
Once the buds started to swell in spring it was repotted again.
I did a pretty similar technique to last time. Most of the root ball was left untouched. I just raked out the bottom and trimmed them back a little before potting the tree up into a bigger pot.
I actually scraped away the soil on the top of the tree to expose the bottle top. Just to see what was happening. It looked like it hadn’t fused yet.
When I potted the tree back up, I built almost a little pot around the tree, which I filled with soil in the hope the tree would air layer itself soon and grow into this area I had built.
After this the tree was then left to grow for the rest of the year
2021
In 2021 I pruned the tree back in late winter.
I did not repot it this year and instead left to just grow freely all year.
2022
I pruned the tree back in late winter and again did not repot it in spring. The roots are going to be filling that pot soon, so I will need to address that next year.
The tree was just left to grow for the rest of the year.
This tree is actually a very slow starter. In spring no real leaves until about May. It prefers the warmth of the Mediterranean so is not used to my cooler climate and it takes it a while to wake up after winter.
2023
2023 started with a pruning in late winter to get everything cleaned up and ready for the spring growth.
I took the tree out of the pot to see how the roots where doing, but they actually had enough space for some more growth, so I did repot and I just cleaned top layer of moss off the soil.
After this the tree was just left alone and allowed to grow freely all season long again.
2024
and this is where we are with this tree. The plan going forward is pretty much more of the same. I will just letting it keep grow out and pruning it back and hopefully the trunks finally fuse, then I can move on building the rest of the tree.
I think it will need repotted this year though, so we should be able to see what the bottle neck has done to the trunks and if it has helped it fuse or not.
If you also have a Pomegranate and are wondering how I look after it, you can read my Pomegranate Bonsai Care Guide.
Hi, I’m Ian. I have been doing bonsai since 2014. I created this site to spread all the knowledge I have acquired over the years. Don’t forget to check out my Youtube videos where I show the progress of my own Bonsai each week or connect with me on social media.
You can read more about me and how I got into Bonsai on the About Page
