Collecting Scionwood

I wasn’t really planning on acquiring another pomegranate tree when I spotted a pomegranate cultivar at the O.C. CRFG scion exchange simply labeled ‘Galusha Rosavaya’ pomegranate. It had no description of the variety nor from where in SoCal it was currently growing.  Plus I did not remember reading anything about it in The Incredible Pomegranate. Yes, I AM that big of a plant nerd, that I enjoy reading all sorts of obscure publications about plants. Therefore, I picked up a couple of scions to try propagating it. One scion was grafted into my in ground pomegranate tree and the other was started in a pot. In the meantime, I also did some investigating into it.

Backround of Golusha Rosavaya

At the time, searching the internet, I could not find any U.S. information about it at all, other than a mention in a March 2004 San Diego CRFG newsletter listing it as part of a batch of Australian pomegranate varieties imported by David Silverstein and the SD CRFG chapter.  The cultivar’s name gets spelled a variety of different ways in Australia, depending on the nursery selling it, including Golusha rosavaya, Galusha Rosavaya, and some sources just call it Rosavaya.  I was hoping to find if it was soft or hard seeded, if it was best only in hotter growing conditions, how big the tree and fruit got, and what the fruit looked like. The only thing those Australian websites stressed was that it was the second most widely grown pomegranate there, after Wonderful, and that it was the “best variety for a combination of sweetness and acidity and external appearance”, but not really much else. 

Fruit

Well, the Australians are right, and it IS a great tasting pomegranate. This fall was the first time I got to sample the fruit from Gulosha Rosavaya and it blew me away it was so good! We did have an unusually hot July in 2018. However, I am hoping it is always this delicious regardless of summer temps.  It has an excellent balance of sweet and tangy flavor, plus it has soft bright red seeds that aren’t hard to chew. Most of the Gulosha Rosavaya fruits were about the same size, right around 3 -4 inches in diameter.  Being in a 20 gallon pot, not in the ground, may have affected the fruit size.  I also grafted it on a sucker on my ‘unknown sweet’ tree, but the graft has not yet fruited yet.  I am thinking the fruit size might be a little larger on an in ground tree. 

Description of the Tree

In the pot the Galusha Rosavaya pomegranate was productive but not overly large, maybe 8 ft tall. In the ground, the tree has not been too tall either, but time will tell. After one season it is around 12 feet. The leaves have a slightly ruffled look, in comparison to other varieties I have propagated.

I am looking forward to more Gulosha Rosavaya pomegranates next fall, seeing if the flavor and color are just as amazing as it is this year, and if the size is any larger.  I donated some of the scion wood this past weekend when I attended the Golden Gate CRFG scion exchange.  If you happen to see it at a CRFG scion exchange, I highly recommend trying it.