Question
pomegranate
Hi Ms Melissa,
I've trimmed off the distorted leaves of my Pomegranate and the young leaves are still ill-grown/distorted. I did not find any aphids/thrips on plants except one or two white mite occasionally though. I sprayed some white oil on the plant few days ago and it appears that the condition is aggravated instead. I also notice that some of the leaves are yellowing/discoloring. Is it due to lack of sunlight? Even my gardenia, a supposedly fussier plant is doing much much better than the pomegranate. Your advice please.
AnswerDear Alfredo, What is white oil? What are the ingredients? You mention something in this question that caught my attention. You mention that you have a gardenia. Is is nearby? Two things come to mind. 1. If the plants are nearby, and the gardenia is doing well, but the pomegranate isn't, then the pomegranate is probably getting not enough sun and too much water. Pomegranates prefer to be in very bright sun especially when putting on new foliage, and they especially like to stay pretty dry. We had several pomegranates when I was young. One was in the front yard garden bed, facing east. It was pretty, but had very light colored foliage, and never got enough sun to bloom much, and wouldn't put on fruit. The other was in west Texas on a ranch my grandparents owned. It was very dry, in full sun, and had been ignored for many years, except by the cows that might graze nearby. It was gorgeous, huge, and always put on fruit. So try to get it as sunny and dry as possible. 2. Is the gardenia blooming? If it is, take one bloom off the plant and place it on a sheet of paper for about 30 minutes or an hour. If you have thrips you will observe them crawling around on the paper. Thrips are annoying because they come unnoticed in mass numbers, suck the new juices from the growing tips, and leave just as quickly with usually no stragglers left behind. One or two white mites could be thrips. They are very small, around 1/16th inch. Often the only place to find thrips is roses and gardenias, and there will often be some that remain in the petals. Anyway, try both these suggestions and let me know if it improves. Good luck, Melissa
