Description
Azadi is a rare, soft-seeded pomegranate from Turkmenistan, prized for its unusual creamy yellow skin brushed with pink and its tender, translucent pink arils. The flavor is what sets it apart: exceptionally sweet with very low acidity and only a hint of astringency, and the soft seeds mean you can eat the whole aril without picking around a hard pip.
It is a productive, early-ripening variety that begins bearing young, often within a year or two of planting, and crops consistently once established. The fruit ripens in late fall on a naturally shrubby plant that can be grown as a large multi-stem shrub or trained to a small tree.
Azadi is also one of the more cold-hardy pomegranates, taking cold to about 5°F, which stretches its range beyond the warm-winter zones most pomegranates need. It is self-fertile, so a single plant will fruit, and it is naturally pest-resistant and easy to grow in a sunny, well-drained spot or a large container that can move under cover where winters run colder.
Overview
- Rare soft-seeded pomegranate from Turkmenistan with creamy yellow, pink-blushed skin.
- Tender, translucent pink arils that are exceptionally sweet and very low in acid.
- Self-fertile and productive, bearing 1 to 2 years after planting.
- One of the more cold-hardy pomegranates, to about 5°F.
- Naturally pest-resistant and easy to grow in the ground or a large pot.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Punica granatum ‘Azadi’
Site and Soil: Full sun for the sweetest fruit; deep, well-drained soil; tolerant of a range of soils once established
Hardiness: USDA Zone 7-10; hardy to about 5°F
Propagation: Grown on its own roots from cuttings
Size at Maturity: A large shrub or small tree, roughly 10 to 12 ft, easily kept smaller with pruning or in a container
Bloom Time: Late spring into summer; showy orange-red flowers
Ripening Time: Late fall
Fruit: Creamy yellow, pink-blushed skin with tender, translucent pink, soft-seeded arils, sweet and very low in acid
Pollination: Self-fertile; a single plant will fruit
Bearing Age: Usually begins fruiting 1 to 2 years after planting
Uses: Fresh eating out of hand, juice, and arils for the table
Pests & Diseases: Naturally pest-resistant and low-maintenance
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Soft seeds and very low acid make Azadi one of the easiest pomegranates to eat straight from the fruit, and its cold-hardiness lets it crop in gardens too cool for most varieties; give it the hottest, sunniest spot you have for the best ripening.
- Regional Insight: Azadi suits the warm-summer parts of the West and South where pomegranates thrive, and its extra hardiness stretches it into cooler zone 7 gardens, where a container that moves under cover for the coldest weeks is the surest path to a crop.
- Explore more in our collection: Pomegranate
