Pomegranate Season Is Here! Check Out This Year’s Harvest

At first, I’m not quite sure what I’m looking at. It’s 2010, and I’m in Lodi, California, standing on a dirt path. A wire trellis runs along the path with a plant climbing about halfway up. The plant has green, almond-shaped leaves, and small, bulbous red orbs hang off its thin branches. I walk closer, and it hits me: These are young pomegranates!

How Pomegranates Grow

That was my first time seeing a pomegranate tree growing in real life. I’ll admit, I imagined it would look more like an apple or pear tree, with a thick trunk and large canopy. But pomegranate “trees” are actually shrubs, although they can be trained into more traditional tree shapes.

I got another surprise when I inspected the bushes more closely. The “crown” at the top of the pomegranate fruit isn’t where it attaches to the tree, like you might think. Instead, the crowns dangle toward the ground. That’s because they’re remnants of the flower that became the fruit.

When Are Pomegranates in Season?

Pomegranates are in season from September through December here in California (which grows 99% of America’s pomegranates), and they’re such a fun fall treat. Inside, they’re full of juicy, gem-like arils with a blood-red color and a sweet but slightly bitter taste that just screams fall—but they aren’t the easiest things to peel.

How to Eat a Pomegranate Mess-Free

We have a handy video to help you deseed a pomegranate. I’ve also been trying a new method: First, cut off the top, then use your knife to score along the ridge lines of the pomegranate. Finally, pull it apart at those seams, exposing the arils without a lot of the white pith. If you don’t want to walk away with red hands, wear gloves (and skip the white shirt when peeling).

This is the first step to a snack or a festive recipe like our Spiced Pears and Pomegranates.  I like to prep my pomegranates in the sink, then snack on the arils by themselves or add them to salads. Our Sliced Persimmon and Winter Squash Salad is a great recipe to try if you’re new to pomegranates as a salad topping.

The 2026 Pomegranate Crop

The 2026 pomegranate season is well underway and off to a great start! We’re sourcing some of our juicy, sweet-tart pomegranates from King Fresh Produce in the San Joaquin Valley this year, and they’ll pop up in many of our seasonal fruit boxes nationwide through December. Our farmer friends at King Fresh started harvesting the Early Wonderful® variety in the last week of August, followed by Wonderful® pomegranates (the most popular) in mid-September. You can find them in our Southern California and Midwest fruit mixes this week.

Tips for Picking a Ripe and Juicy Pomegranate

The FruitGuys’ buyers are experts at picking the very best fruit, so of course I have some tips for pomegranates. First, when picking a pomegranate, you want to look for one that isn’t perfectly round. Look for a fruit with angular sides, because that means the arils on the inside are big and juicy enough to push the skin outward. Second, a good, ripe pomegranate should have some weight to it. If it feels light, then it may not be ripe, or it may be dehydrated. 

Want to Buy Pomegranates Online for Your Office?

If you want to celebrate pomegranate season with a pom party in your office, keep an eye on our by the case page for bulk pomegranates. They should be available starting in November.

Happy pomegranate season! I’m looking forward to months of beautiful fruit with excellent flavor. Considering all of this good news, I can’t resist celebrating with a froem (fruit poem):

Pomegranate treat

A fall spectacular fruit

Red juice stains fingers