AUSTIN POMEGRANATE HISTORY
The Austin Pomegranate came from central Texas. Richard Ashton, owner of Oak Creek Orchards in Brownwood, Texas contacted us about this fruit. Richard is a collector of pomegranates and wrote a book on pomegranates. This pomegranate came from Austin (hence the name) by way of a Syrian immigrant who brought this pomegranate from Syria.
Ron Ludekens arranged for cuttings in 2007. We had limited production starting in 2009 with efforts to increase volume to match sales demand in 2014 and beyond.
The fruit is large with pink skin and red blush, red to dark red extremely large arils contrasting to the skin color. The arils are very easy to remove, normally falling out when cutting the fruit. The juice content is high, 1.5 times that of Wonderful. The juice is sweet with just a bare hint of tartness, and superior taste compared to most sweet varieties. The plant is a vigorous grower and the fruit resists cracking. A large established plant will produce about 200 pounds of fruit, many times others. The fruit ripens in October, and has some cold hardiness.
Bob Ludekens