posted 5 years ago
I've trained my pomegranate tree to be a single trunk. It took years and it still requires that I cut the suckers off the base 2 or 3 times a year. The key is to not let it get too tall too soon. You've got to play the long game and not be worried about fruit yield until the tree is sufficiently strong enough to support the weight of those heavy fruit.
I had to put ropes on it to pull it back straight, as it kept wanting to lean one way or the other. They tend to get top-heavy and you've got to take a lot of the biomass out of the top of the tree to keep it from bending. It's not perfectly straight but at this point, the base of the trunk is about 8 inches across and the upper limbs are strong enough for me to climb up into the tree to prune and thin fruit. Every year it gets a bit stronger, but now I keep it at about 12 feet tall. It's taken close to 15 years at this point, but we get a lot of fruit from it.
I'm glad I did it that way. Again, it's a LOT of extra work, but in my opinion, worth it.
"The rule of no realm is mine. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, these are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task if anything that passes through this night can still grow fairer or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I too am a steward. Did you not know?" Gandolf