Pomegranates Produce Best in Full Sun

Q. I'm not getting a big crop of pomegranates this year. I have one Wonderful and one Utah, each about 6 years old. I had about 4 dozen fruit last year.  We have a large ash tree in the yard which throws some shade but the pomegranates both get morning sun.

Five-year-old pomegranate during winter

A. To produce fruit, pomegranate needs at least six hours of sunlight and does best in full sun. As shade increases, the number of flowers and fruits decrease.

Pomegranates produce flowers on new growth. If you are getting lots of new growth and there is
enough sunlight there is no reason you should not be getting lots of flowers. The key is the number of flowers it's producing. If the tree is not producing flowers it can't produce fruit.

If you have lots of flowers but few fruit then the problem may be insect related, e.g., leaf footed plant bug.Check the plant for the presence of this insect on the leaves.

To stimulate flower production it needs quite a bit of water to push new growth. The amount of water depends on plant size. A six-year-old pomegranate should be at least 6 feet tall and 4 or 5 feet across.

Pomegranate requires as much light as possible for good flower and fruit production.
Reduced light causes a reduction in flowers and fruit.

Another indicator of water is leaf density. The plant canopy should be so dense you can't see through it. If it is not dense, it's not getting enough water. Annual fertilizer application is important in quality production.

Pruning comes into play but if pomegranate is not pruned correctly it still produces lots of fruit but the fruit will be smaller in size.

Give the pomegranate as much light as possible. Remove lower limbs on the ash tree for better production, apply a fertilizer in early spring to push growth and make sure it gets plenty of water.