Miniature Pomegranate

Got this plant in a tiny 4" pot from Trader Joe's when all the leaves were falling off and it looked moribund. I repotted it into a nursery gallon pot (which is less than a gallon). Carefully loosened the roots which were wround tightly around and around. Put in a cool south-facing spot for a few weeks and voila! Blooming. I wonder if it forms miniature fruits?

The tag that came with it said it can withstand dry conditions -- no kidding seeing as the plant originated from Central Asia: Iran through to India and is grown commercially in the drier parts of California and Arizona, presumeably not in Death Valley or the basin around Phoenix. I read that it is also grown in the South where it's pretty humid and hot. In Europe, it seems to prosper around the Med, including North Africa.

The Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park (which used to be a historic Spanish ranch) has several mature, fecund pomegranate trees. Oh how wonderfully tasty those fruits must be! The ones for grocery stores were probably picked before they were ripe so they have time to be shipped. Tree-ripened fruit are the best.

I wonder what Allied Arts does with its pomegranates, extra large olives and citrus fruits? I would love to buy them. Once, I saw canvas spread under the olive trees with ripe olives all over them so they are collecting them but maybe not for sale? I hope it isn't gardeners cleaning up, throwing them away. They can't be composted.

My doctor friend tells me that pomegranates are excellent anti-oxidants but the commercial juice has too much sugar in it. The fresh fruit tastes so much better! Next season, I'll make pomegranate sorbet!