Vietnamese Pomegranate
punica granatum

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: is a butterfly host plant, not edible 
harvest notes: 
perennial

The pomegranate is native to a region from modern-day Iran to northern India. Pomegranates have been cultivated throughout the Middle East, South Asia, and Mediterranean region for several millennia, and it is also cultivated in the California and Arizona. Pomegranates may have been domesticated as early as the fifth millennium BC, as they were one of the first fruit trees to be domesticated in the eastern Mediterranean region. While many varieties of Pomegranate need dry Mediterranean conditions to grow and make fruit, this Vietnamese cultivar tolerates our humid tropical climate. It grows to be a small tree, staying about 12 feet tall at its max, making it a great understory canopy option for your food forest. 

Vietnamese Pomegranate fruits are smaller than the ones at the grocery store but they’re delicious and incredibly satisfying to grow at home. Pomegranate tree leaves are also used medicinally to promote good sleep and soothe stomach issues. Leaves can also be used to make a poultice to help relieve eczema.