Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Forest Hills Garden Clubs Pitch in at Briggs Ave. Community Garden


Members of the Forest Hills Garden Club and Junior Garden Club last weekend gifted five new Russian pomegranates (Punica granatum) and four yards of shredded mulch to the Briggs Avenue Community Garden in Durham.

The garden clubs' annual service day accomplished in less than two hours planting the pomegranates and spreading mulch over the orchard's rows, the garden's front perennial bed and more for the FHGC blueberry bed. Extension Agent Michelle Wallace was ecstatic for the gifts to the garden and shared a bounty of huge radishes for Forest Hill's sweat equity and addition to the orchard.

Russian pomegranate (Punica granatum):
These plants can survive temperatures down to 5 degrees in zones 6-11. Plus they produce an abundance of beautiful bright orange flowers over an extended period of time during the spring. Flowers and fruit are produced at a young age. Pomegranates are both self-pollinated and cross pollinated by insects. Trees grow to about 10 feet in height with and equal spread at maturity. Russian pomegranates prefer full sun for best fruit production but will tolerate some light shade. They are adaptable to almost any type of soil providing the soil is well-drained and quite drought tolerant when established.
 

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