It is quite possible to grow a date palm from a seed. To become the owner of a decorative leafy plant, you need to know a few simple rules. A palm tree planted in an apartment will never bear fruit, but will delight you with beautiful leaves.
How to plant a date seed at home: expert advice.
How to plant a date from the seed
Free the fruits bought in the store or on the market from the pulp. They must be fresh or dry, but not heat treated. Place them for two days in a glass of water. It must be put in a warm place, and the water must be changed twice during this time. If you end up with pulp on the pit, this process will help remove it completely. This is necessary so that mold does not form on the bone during planting.
The stone is planted vertically in moist soil. Peat or moss is best suited for this. You can also mix them with sand to help the substrate retain moisture better. The volume of the pot should be small: 30-40 ml. Sprouts appear in 1-3 months. At this time, the substrate with the stone needs to be watered, but rather moderately. The temperature for germination should be high enough: about 25-30 degrees.
After the sprout appears, the pot must be moved to a brighter place. When a few arrows grow on the sprout, the plant needs to be transplanted into a large pot with good drainage. Don't forget to feed your palm. For this, bird droppings or potassium nitrate are suitable.
To make the date sprout faster, you can use the advice of experienced gardeners:
- use the seeds for planting as soon as they are removed from the fruit;
- so that the sprouts appear faster, some lovers violate the integrity of the hard shell of the bone. This can be done with sandpaper or a knife;
- before planting, the bone can be pre-placed in well-moistened cotton wool, gauze or hydrogel. A container with moistened cotton wool is placed on the battery. Water is added to the container daily. After the bone swells, it can be planted in the ground;
- seed planting is best done in February-March;
- when soaking, natural biostimulants can be placed in water, for example, sodium humate preparation.
Following these tips will allow you not to wait for sprouts for several months, but to get them within 3-4 weeks.
The fruits of date palms are quite tasty, nutritious and healthy. Them the nutritional value per hundred grams of the product is 227 kilocalories. They contain vitamins:
- A, which plays an important role in the formation of teeth and bones in humans;
- B1, necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins;
- B2, supporting human immunity;
- B3 involved in the metabolism of fats and amino acids;
- B5, capable of stimulating the production of adrenal hormones,
- B6, which is involved in the production of blood cells;
- B9, necessary in the synthesis of amino acids;
- C, involved in the conversion of cholesterol into acids;
- D, providing the absorption of calcium and fluorine;
- K required for protein synthesis.
It turns out that from date seeds you can get beautiful houseplants, which, by the way, are rather unpretentious in their care. The only negative is that such a palm tree will never bear fruit and bloom.
Bone selection
The stone can be taken from any ripe fruit that has not been exposed to high temperatures.
To begin with, it should be washed and cleaned of the sweet shell. It is better to take several blanks for planting at once, as some of them may die. Now you need to take a cloth, wet it well so that it becomes wet, wrap the seeds in it. Before this, it is better to cut the bones slightly with a knife. This is necessary specifically so that the water is better absorbed and the shell opens better.
Put the rag in a container and place it in a warm place. Thanks to this procedure, the ripening time will be reduced by a couple of months. We are waiting for 2 weeks, adding water to the container daily. After the seed swells, it can be planted!
Choosing a soil
In this case, it is better to give preference to peat mixed with sawdust. Soil is poured into the container. The bones are inserted vertically so that they are deepened one centimeter into the ground. Next, you need to arm yourself with patience and constantly ensure that the soil is moist.
palm tree care
In a month, seedlings will reach 10-15 centimeters. The peculiarity of the date palm is that its leaves are sharp, narrow and long and have a slightly corrugated surface.
The plant is best placed in a warm, lit place. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that before the age of five, a palm tree should be transplanted into a new, larger pot. After this age, you can simply observe the state of the roots: if they come out through the holes in the bottom of the pot, then this is a sure sign that it's time to transplant.
Tap water is not recommended for irrigation. It is better to wait for it to stand for some time in the vessel, cool down and become softer. It is recommended to water the plant once a day. You do not need to flood the palm tree, but you should not overdry the soil either.
The palm loves fertilizer very much. Therefore, when transplanting, it is advisable to think about drainage. For example, you can put expanded clay on the bottom and add charcoal. For adult plants, you can use a mixture of leaves, peat and sand.
Diseases
Unfortunately, even at home, plants can carry diseases.
- First of all, you should pay attention to the condition of the leaves. If brown spots appear on them, then this is a sure sign that hard water is being used or there is excess watering.
- Cold and dry air can cause the tips of the leaves to dry out and change color. In this case, it is worth starting to spray the leaves of the plant with water and transfer it to another, warmer place.
- It will be much worse if the entire palm tree turns completely brown. As a rule, this means the death of the plant.
- However, do not be afraid if the lower leaves suddenly dry up. The palm tree stretches up and out. You just need to remove the extra leaves with a knife so that they do not spoil the picture.
Looking at the oblong bones inside dates loved by kids and adults, many lovers indoor plants wondered: “How does a real date palm grow from such a crumb, and what will happen if you plant a seed at home?”
Sweet dates sold in stores are the fruits of the Phoenix dactylifera palm. In nature, a powerful tree grows to a gigantic size, producing huge bunches of fruits famous throughout the world.
For indoor cultivation, more miniature, indoor-adapted species are offered. Such palms can be seen and purchased in flower shops. If you want to independently engage in the cultivation of date palm from the stone, there is a high probability of success.
Of course, waiting until the tree reaches its true height of 30 meters and gives the first harvest of dates will not work. But watching the growth and development of an unusual plant will appeal to both parents and children.
How to grow a date palm from seed?
For planting, you need seeds that have just been extracted from ripe fruits. The bones from store-bought dates are quite suitable. The main thing is that they are healthy, not damaged by insects or mold and do not have time to dry, otherwise the probability of getting seedlings is sharply reduced:
Before the seeds are sunk into the ground, it is sometimes advised to scratch them gently to facilitate germination. It is much healthier and safer to germinate them in moist vermiculite. The seed container is placed in heat and observed so that the substrate does not turn out to be completely dry. In this case, after 10–14 days, as soon as the grower notices the first roots, the seeds are transferred to the soil and the pots are exposed to heat in a well-lit place.
If the sprout did not appear in due time, there is no need to despair. Perhaps the bone dried out before planting and it will take more time to “revive” it. Sometimes date palm seedlings were found even six months after the seeds were planted in the ground.
The date palm that has emerged from the seed is afraid of damage to the roots, so it is important to carry out all transplantation manipulations very carefully and carefully. Otherwise, a small seedling takes an extremely long time to acclimatize or may die altogether.
How to take care of palm trees at home? Unlike ordinary houseplants, for a date palm, even the first pot needs a very impressive size. A seedling with a single, still closed "baby" leaf is transferred to containers of 0.3-0.5 liters. The next transplant is carried out until the moment when the long tap root of the plant penetrates the drainage hole.
Seedlings need a bright place where the plant will not be in the dark, but it will not be disturbed by the midday sun. for date palm from the stone and after germination should be stingy. Waterlogging threatens with the development of rot and the death of a fragile plant, but it is not worth overdrying an earthen ball.
How to care for a palm tree at home?
The date palm, like other tree crops, does not grow quickly. But the plant reacts immediately to discomfort and insufficient care for the palm tree at home. This is especially true for young specimens.
What conditions are needed for a palm tree to make the plant feel “at home” and respond well to care?
Whether it's a home-grown date palm from a stone or a plant brought from a flower shop, the culture needs to find a place with the right lighting. In nature, large trees easily tolerate the scorching sun, but light-loving indoor palm It's best not to be tested like this. The optimal location is in the back of a south-facing room, as well as on the east or west windows.
Since May, when the average daily temperature exceeds 12 ° C, nothing threatens the date palm. Therefore, plants are boldly transferred to the open air under the protection of larger crops, to a loggia or balcony.
If the grower does not have the opportunity to take the palm tree out into the air, the plant develops well at normal room temperature. But in winter time the optimal content will be in cooler air, warmed up to only 16–18 ° C. Cooling down to 12 ° C is considered critical for the date palm. In this case, growth stops, the palm tree stops eating and may suffer from root rot if watering is not stopped in time.
The plant has no special requirements for the humidity of the surrounding air. But in the hot season, as well as in winter, when the room is heated, regular care of the palm tree at home includes spraying the crown and wiping the foliage with a damp cloth.
The plant does not tolerate stagnant water. Therefore, when leaving at home, the date palm is watered so that the soil does not dry out, but is not constantly wet. In summer, watering is carried out more often; in winter, the intervals between procedures increase and focus on drying out 2-3 cm of the surface layer of the substrate. If irrigation water penetrates from the pot into the pan, it is immediately removed and the bottom of the container is wiped. Do not forget about the powerful drainage layer. The larger the date palm and the pot intended for it, the thicker the layer of expanded clay or brick chips at the bottom.
The date palm willingly accepts spring-summer dressings, for which they use liquid for large decorative and deciduous crops. If a palm tree is taken out into the garden for the summer, the plant can be fed with bird droppings at intervals of 7–10 days using a granular form or infusion.
The frequency of transplanting the date palm shown in the photo when caring for at home depends on the age and size of the plant. Young seedlings are transferred to a larger pot approximately once a year, and adult specimens try not to bother in vain. If transshipment is necessary, it is carried out after shedding the earthen ball well and trying not to damage the sensitive roots of the plant. Date palm transplantation is carried out in ready-made soil offered by specialized stores.
For arranging drainage, you can take brick chips or expanded clay according to the size of the drainage holes. If the roots of the date palm are still visible at the bottom of the pot, in the spring you can get by with replacing the topsoil. The old substrate is carefully removed, and fresh nutrient soil is poured in its place. After that, the palm tree is watered.
The experience of growing dates at home - video
Today, there are two ways to decorate a house or office with a tall spreading date palm. by the most simple option it will be easy to buy a plant of the right size and appearance, but more economical and interesting - to grow it yourself. But how to do it in a far from tropical climate?
Any work on growing plants always begins with the selection of seeds and the creation of the necessary conditions for life. How to grow a date from a seed? You need to choose a variety suitable for home growing palm trees. It is very simple to do this - just find any dates that have not undergone heat treatment.
It is best to take fresh dates for this, but dry fruits, which are freely sold in the markets, can also be used.
But before you buy dried dates for seedlings, you should ask the seller if they were subjected to additional cooking in sugar syrup. If such a heat treatment was, then the seeds will no longer germinate.
Preparing seeds for planting:
- After the dates are selected, the bones must be freed from the pulp, washed and slightly dried. How many bones to take? At least 6-10 pieces. Many of them will not sprout at all, and some of those sprouts that still please the gardener will die in the first few years.
- Now clean bones must be placed in warm water for a couple of days and kept in the sun. Experienced gardeners advise doing this in the winter season, when the plant still does not need as much sunlight as in the further stages of cultivation. And so that all the time the dates are soaked, there is no rot or infection, the water should be changed 1-2 times a day.
- Once the seeds have settled a little, you can pierce or rub their outer shell with sandpaper. The bones are very hard, and in order for water to penetrate inside, it is better to intentionally violate their integrity. But you do not need to erase the entire layer - one is enough small area. After that, the grains are again sent to a jar of water, where they must ripen for another 2-4 days.
You can also speed up the process of their ripening in another way: for a few minutes, place the bones ready for planting in hot water temperature around 80 degrees. How to understand that the seeds are ready for planting in the soil? They will swell slightly.
Before planting the prepared date seeds, you need to make a few simple preparations:
- Find indoors the best place for date palm
- Choose the right size pot
- Pick up the soil
All palm trees are tropical plants. They are accustomed to sunlight and a certain amount of humidity. Of course, this does not mean that a swamp should be planted in a tub near a plant. But frequent watering, as well as direct sunlight for at least 3-4 hours a day, he needs to provide. It is best to grow dates on the south side.
And here the main difficulty lies in the fact that the date palm is a tree up to 30 meters tall. Of course, in indoor growing conditions, it will never be above the 2-3 meter mark, and even up to this value it will grow for more than 5 years. But so that nothing harms the development of the tree, sunlight in the right amount it must receive throughout its life. And if at the very beginning young sprouts can be kept in a pot on the windowsill, then later for the date palm you will have to find your own sunny corner in the house.
As for the pots, there are no special recommendations for their choice. The main thing to consider here is that at the very beginning the palm tree grows to the root, and only then throws out the leaves. On the early stage all date seeds are planted in one large bed, and only then everyone will need their own tub.
The soil for planting seeds can be bought. It is sold in flower shops marked "for palm trees", but it is better to make it yourself.
To do this, mix raw sawdust, peat and sand in equal proportions 1:1:1.
You can use other types of soil looseners, such as perlite. There should always be drainage at the bottom of the pots. Further, as the palm tree grows during transplantation, the composition of the soil will also have to be changed several times.
Transplant stages: from seed to palm
Despite the fact that without proper preparation seeds for planting, the date tree will not sprout at all, you can ruin it at each of the important stages. Therefore, you need to do everything right throughout the life of a palm tree:
- Ripe seeds are planted vertically in one large tub in the prepared soil. At the same time, they do not need to be deeply buried and strongly crushed, it is enough just to lightly sprinkle with earth.
- From above you need to cover with sphagnum moss, or you can make a mini-greenhouse from a plastic or glass jar. However, moss will help not only create a suitable temperature regime, but also protect the bone from pests.
- At this stage, the bones must be constantly kept warm at a temperature of about 30 degrees and high humidity.
- The first shoots will appear only after one and a half to two months. However, if after three months there are no results, the bone should be dug up and checked. Perhaps she turned sour or turned out to be unviable.
- Only after the young date palms have grown to a height of more than 10 cm, they can be seated. Each tree needs to be transplanted into a pot with a diameter of 9-12 cm, while changing the composition of the soil for the tree. Now it is 4 parts, 2 parts of sand, 1 part of peat and 2 parts of sod and leafy soil. Requirements for drainage and watering are the same.
Until the tree reaches 5 years of age, it will have to be replanted once a year, and later only as it grows, which will be indicated by roots sticking out of the ground.
When transplanting, the felt layer formed by the roots will always need to be trimmed.
Only in this way will it be possible to obtain maximum survival among young date-stone palms.
In order for the palm tree to please the eye all the time, it should be properly looked after. What does the date palm love? Like any tropical tree, it simply adores:
- sunlight
- moderate humidity
- Soft loose soil
- Periodic shower or wiping the leaves with a damp cloth
- high air temperature
- Space: the plant needs a lot of space, and nothing should block the light.
Anything that goes beyond these recommendations can harm the palm. How to understand that the tree does not feel comfortable? Its leaves have begun to turn black. Most often this happens due to lack of sunlight or low watering. But a draft from the window can also lead to plant disease. Therefore, it is impossible to allow a sharp change in temperature in a room with a date tree.
As soon as the first symptoms of an uncomfortable life for the plant appear, mistakes in caring for it should be corrected.
Sometimes all you need to do is increase the humidity in the air by spraying the tree with just water from a spray bottle. In some cases, you will need a little top dressing in the soil, it is best to buy it in specialized stores. With proper care, the date palm will delight the eye for many years.
More information can be found in the video.
To date, it has become popular to decorate houses, offices and administrative institutions with exotic plants. Most often, palm trees are preferred, as the plant is quite decorative and without flowering. In this article, we will talk about the date palm, whether it is possible to grow a palm tree from a date seed and how to do it.
Soil for planting
For seed germination, experienced growers advise using a mixture of peat and sand. After transplanting a sprouted plant, the substrate must be replaced with a more suitable one. There are soils for palm plants on sale, but it is better to prepare the soil yourself by adding all the substances necessary for the development of the plant.
So, we prepare the soil for the date palm from the following components:
- A mixture of clay-turf land - two parts;
- A mixture of humus with leafy soil - two parts;
- Sand, peat - one part each;
- A good pinch of charcoal.
Important! A prerequisite for growing is good layer drainage. You can use expanded clay or pebbles, any other material.
How to prepare dates for planting
We will figure out which seeds are suitable for planting and how to prepare in order to successfully germinate a date seed. A stone for planting is best taken from a fresh fruit, but it can also be from a dry one - in this case, ask if the dates have been heat treated. If not, the bones are suitable; if so, such a bone will not rise.
Prepare about eight seeds, flesh aside, wash and dry the seeds. It is better to plant a date palm from a seed at home in winter period- at this time, the plant does not need as much sunlight as in a further period of development.
The bones should be soaked in warm water for several days and put in a warm place (you can attach it to or near the heater), change the water daily. Option two: wrap the bone in several layers of moistened cotton wool or gauze.
Then, in one or two areas of the surface of the seed, make punctures (according to some recommendations, cuts are made on the bone) so that water gets inside and stimulates germination. Leave it in the water for another three to four days. Seeds are ready to plant when they are slightly swollen.
Planting date seeds in the ground
Next, we will consider in detail how to plant a date seed. To germinate the seeds, we take a common container, plant six to eight seeds at some distance from each other in the prepared soil. The substrate described above is prepared for an already sprouted plant, the bone can be germinated in a mixture of earth and sawdust.
Planting depth should be equal to the length of the seed plus half. Landing is carried out in moist soil, watering is not carried out from above. The container with crops must be placed in a warm place.
How to plant a date palm from seeds - figured it out, now you need to create all the conditions for the plant.
Did you know? Date palms are masculine and feminine. "Men" differ in the type and shape of flowers. The ancient people knew big harvest one male copy is needed for a couple of dozen female ones, while one palm tree gives up to 250 kg of dates.
Conditions for germination and care of crops
If the substrate is moist, the first shoots will appear in one to three months. The substrate must be precisely moistened, so it is better to moisten it by spraying, and not by watering, like an adult plant.
Sprouts that have grown a strong leaf of four centimeters, it's time to transplant into separate pots. The pots should be tall, designed for the long roots of the plant, the width does not play a role. Drainage is necessarily placed at the bottom: small pebbles, pebbles, expanded clay.
It is not difficult to grow a date palm into an adult lush plant: provide it with proper care from small, from seedlings. The date is photophilous, the lighting should be bright and constant. Choose a room with windows facing west, south, east.
A sharp change in temperature, excessive moisture in the soil is detrimental to date palm seedlings.
Did you know? In countries with a dry, hot climate, dates have long been called "bread of the desert." Going on long trips, be sure to take a few bags of these fruits with you. Eating dates alone can saturate the body with moisture, and all the necessary nutrients and vitamins.
How to care for seedlings
In nature, date palms grow in conditions of tropical heat and often drought, but how do dates grow at home? A palm tree needs light, all its leaves are drawn to the light, so the pot with seedlings must be regularly turned towards the sun with each side of it, otherwise the foliage will stretch unevenly.
Dry air is contraindicated for the plant, which means that in winter we remove the plant away from batteries and other heating devices. In the summer, the plant must be taken out to fresh air, gradually hardening.
When weather permits, ventilate the room where the palm tree is growing. In extreme heat, spray the foliage and airspace around the palm tree. Warm shower procedures once a week are not prohibited, the only condition is well-covered ground.
Important! When watering, observe the measure - you need to water when the top layer of soil dries. In case of overflow, the plant will hurt, its roots do not tolerate excess moisture. Water for irrigation should be free from chlorine and other hard impurities.
Date palm for successful cultivation at home twice a month in warm seasons must be fed, in the winter season - once a month. For this, they use mineral fertilizers, and organic.
In gardening stores you can buy ready-made complex dressings balanced for palm plants. For dates, it is desirable to use water-soluble preparations.
Mature plants for proper growth and giving them decorative look will need to be trimmed regularly. There are a few simple rules here: remove the number of leaves equal to what has grown in a year, no more; remove damaged and lower drooping leaves.
At the beginning of palm formation, all side shoots are removed - the plant should have one strong central stem. You can not cut the top of the palm tree - this will lead to death.
