There's an art to getting the growing environment right for your fruit trees so they can produce plenty of juicy fruit.

The Tree of the Month for August is the Punica granatum, commonly known as the pomegranate tree. A member of the Punicaceae family, this small semi-deciduous tree is steeped in history and romance.

I live 1.5 miles from the ocean in Costa Mesa and have three pomegranate trees producing about 50 to 70 fruit per year. They are 12 feet tall, 12 feet wide and have been in the ground about 20 years.