Which Is the Best Pomegranate Variety?

Q. Which varieties of pomegranate are good to grow in the Las Vegas area?

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.

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.

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.

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.