All date lovers have probably thought more than once about whether it is possible to grow this plant at home. And if this works, will the date look like a tree growing in wild conditions? Let's say right away that it is possible to grow a palm tree, but you should not expect dates from it, since this plant does not bear fruit indoors. In this article we will tell you how plant dates from pits and what it will take.
Date palm
How to plant dates from pits: where to start?
First of all, we need good sedimentary material. Where can I find it? At the market or in the supermarket. It’s just important to choose a date that has not been processed. An excellent option would be sun-dried dates.
Dried date It is better to take several seeds to be sure of getting the result. The seeds are carefully cleaned of pulp, since the slightest part of them on the fruit can lead to the formation of fungus. Now the bones need to be lowered into cold water for a couple of days, while periodically refreshing it. After this, check again for any remaining pulp. The planting material is ready, but experts recommend using a couple of tricks to speed up the germination process of date seeds. To do this you can:
1. Pour the seeds for 10 minutes hot water. Thanks to this, the first shoots will appear within a few weeks, instead of waiting months.
Remove the pulp from the bones To plant a date you need to take care of creating necessary conditions. We'll find out which ones further.
Dates from pits at home: creating the conditions
The soil.
Landing. Planting itself is not difficult: the seed is lowered into the ground vertically and then covered with earth. After this, the seedlings need to be watered with a small amount of water and the container should be placed in a warm place. Any container can be used as a container for planting dates: pots, large bowls, etc. When a small leaf appears from the ground, and then a sprout, it is time to plant the seedlings.
Transfer.
Basic date palm care is simple. She is no different from others indoor plants, which love warmth, moderate moisture and good nutrition, so dates should be fertilized several times a year. The main thing is to prevent the soil from drying out and becoming waterlogged, shower in the summer and ensure exposure to ultraviolet rays. As you can see, planting dates from seeds is easy. And very soon you will enjoy beautiful palm tree, which will decorate your interior.
Probably, everyone who simply adores dates for their unique taste would dream of growing a date from a seed at home. But will it bear any resemblance to the plant that grows in natural conditions? It’s not that difficult to grow a palm tree from a seed, and you don’t need to put any effort into it. special effort. But you are unlikely to ever see fruits on it, because such a plant is room conditions does not bear fruit. However, in order to grow such a palm tree, you need to know how to plant the seed correctly, and you also need to remember the basic rules of care.
First you need to start looking for quality planting material. To do this, you need to go to a store or market. You need to choose dates very carefully. It is important to note that they should not be subjected to pre-treatments. For this purpose, it is best to choose dates that have been withered or dried.
In order to increase the chances successful landing, it is better to use not one, but several seeds at once. Before planting, their surface must be thoroughly cleared of pulp. It must be remembered that even the slightest piece of remaining pulp can lead to mold appearing on the pit.
The cleaned bone should be placed in a container with cold water for 2 days. Water must be replaced systematically. Then the planting material should be inspected again for any remaining pulp. Now the seeds are ready for planting. Experienced flower growers It is recommended to use the following tricks to speed up the appearance of sprouts:
- Place the pit in a small container and pour in hot water. Wait 10 minutes and remove it from the liquid. Thanks to this preparation, a young plant will appear just a few weeks after planting. By the way, without this procedure, seedlings need to wait for months.
- You can also carefully pierce the seed with a pointed object or rub it thoroughly on sandpaper. This method will allow the liquid to quickly get inside the seed. The result of this will be a fairly rapid appearance of sprouts.
Before proceeding to the actual planting of the date pit, it is necessary to prepare the most optimal conditions for the plant.
Caring for dates from pits at home
Earth mixture
For successful growth and development of the plant, it is necessary to select the most suitable substrate for planting. So, it must be light and also loose. The date has a rather weak and fragile root system, therefore, you should choose the most suitable soil mixture for its cultivation. This soil can be purchased at a specialty store. But it can also be done with my own hands. To do this, you need to combine sawdust, humus, peat, and sand.
Planting a date is not at all difficult. To do this, you need to lower the prepared bone vertically into a hole made in the soil, and then sprinkle it with soil. Then the soil needs to be watered, but not much water should be used. a large number of. After this, the pot is moved to a fairly warm place. In order to plant a date, you do not need any special containers. You can take a pot, a large bowl, etc. After the plants have both a small leaf and a sprout, they will need to be transplanted into separate containers.
Transfer
The plant must be replanted very carefully along with the earthen lump. Try not to disturb the integrity of the root. If the root system has been damaged, then such a seedling can be thrown away, as it will not take root in a new pot.
The date palm is quite undemanding and non-capricious. This plant responds well to humidity, heat, and fertilizing. Fertilizers should be applied to the soil several times a year. Watering should be done moderately. Such a palm tree reacts negatively to both drying out and waterlogging of the earthen clod. IN summer time It is recommended that he take a shower. The date also needs direct sunlight.
Planting a date palm, as well as caring for it, will not cause many difficulties. And within a few months you will have a luxurious plant grown with your own hands on your windowsill.
The fruits of date palms are quite tasty, nutritious and healthy. Their the nutritional value per hundred grams of product is 227 kilocalories. They contain vitamins:
- Ah, playing important role in the formation of teeth and bones in humans;
- B1, necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins;
- B2, which supports human immunity;
- B3, involved in the metabolism of fats and amino acids;
- B5, which can stimulate the production of adrenal hormones,
- B6, which takes part in the production of blood cells;
- B9, necessary in the synthesis of amino acids;
- C, involved in the conversion of cholesterol into acids;
- D, ensuring the absorption of calcium and fluorine;
- K, necessary for protein synthesis.
It turns out that from date seeds you can get beautiful indoor plants, which, by the way, are quite easy to care for. The only drawback is that such a palm tree will never bear fruit or bloom.
Choosing a seed
The seed can be taken from any ripe fruit that has not been exposed to high temperatures.
To begin with, it should be washed and cleared of the sweet shell. It is better to take several pieces at once for planting, as some of them may die. Now you need to take a cloth, wet it well so that it becomes damp, and wrap the seeds in it. Before doing this, it is better to slightly cut the bones with a knife. This is necessary specifically so that the water is better absorbed and the shell opens better.
You need to 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 wait 2 weeks, adding water to the container every day. Once the seed has swelled, it can be planted!
Choosing soil
In this case, it is better to give preference to peat mixed with sawdust. Soil is poured into the container. The seeds 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, the 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 grooved surface.
It is better to place the plant in a warm, well-lit place. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that before the age of five the palm tree should be transplanted into a new, larger pot. After this age, you can simply observe the condition of the roots: if they come out through the holes in the bottom of the pot, then this is a sure sign that it is time to replant.
It is not recommended to use tap water 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. There is no need to flood the palm tree, but you also shouldn’t overdry the soil.
The palm tree loves fertilizer very much. Therefore, when replanting, it is advisable to think about drainage. For example, you can put expanded clay on the bottom and add charcoal. For mature 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, dry air can cause leaf tips to dry out and change color. In this case, you should start spraying the leaves of the plant with water and move it to another, warmer place.
- It will be much worse if the entire palm tree turns out to be completely brown. As a rule, this means the death of the plant.
- However, do not be alarmed if the lower leaves suddenly dry out. The palm tree stretches upward and outward. You just need to remove excess leaves with a knife so that they do not spoil the picture.
How to grow a date from a seed
Date lovers, while eating the amazing fruits, are probably wondering - can a date palm grow from a seed? If so, will it look like a plant that grows in nature?
It is possible to grow a homemade date from a seed, but such a palm tree in an apartment will never bear fruit.
She will fit perfectly into modern interior, will not require intensive care and some plants will even begin to bloom, so why not try it?
The desire to have a home greenhouse very often arises after a bright vacation among exotic nature. Implement the idea winter garden In an ordinary standard apartment it will never work in full, but a few unusual indoor plants can become an excellent decoration for the living room, bedroom or kitchen.
As you can see from the photo, a date palm in the interior requires large space, since the plant has branches that are both high and wide. To create real tropics at home, an adult palm tree should be placed only in those rooms where there is not a lot of furniture.
Dates in the interior will not look impressive if you place them in corners or too close to the walls. For the interior of rooms in Mediterranean or nautical style This indoor plant is the most ideal option.
A properly selected pot will add style - these can be stylized medieval barrels or specially aged clay flowerpots.
If in your apartment small rooms, then this is not at all a reason to abandon an interesting experiment - growing a date palm from a seed.
It will grow for a long time, the plant is not one of those species that stretches out in a year or two, so in the first years there will be enough space for it on the windowsill.
Then you can give it to relatives, friends, or take it to work - in offices there is usually always plenty of space.
Believe me: it is very interesting to watch every day the gradual transformation of a palm tree, how the leaves appear, how they grow, how the seedling completely changes.
See what a date palm will look like at home, so you don’t have to worry that your pet is growing slowly.
This is exactly what a date palm looks like at the age of 2-3 years, it is not very beautiful yet.
These palms are about 5 years old: they already have feathery leaves, but lack height.
Tips on how to grow a date palm from a seed
A date from the pit will only work if it has not passed heat treatment. Both fresh fruits brought from vacation and dried fruits from the store are suitable for this.
For the sake of experiment, many people try to simply stick a bone into flower pot and surprisingly: it usually takes root. In an apartment, this can take up to 5-6 months, is it possible to speed up the process?
How to germinate a date seed:
1. The seeds must be thoroughly cleaned and washed so that the process of rotting does not begin in the soil. Once washed, they should sit for a day until the next stage - soaking.
2. Date seed is very hard. To speed up seed germination time, a variety of methods are used:
– scratched or rubbed sandpaper its surface for faster penetration of water;
– cuts are made to make the shell easier to split;
– for this you can simply scald the bone with hot water.
3. The most effective soaking is with cotton wool. A piece of cotton wool in a small container (for example, a plate) is generously moistened with water, a bone is placed on it, and covered with another layer of moistened cotton wool to prevent rapid evaporation of moisture. Cotton wool can be replaced with gauze, sawdust, hydrogel.
4. Germination requires heat, so the container with cotton wool can be placed on the battery. Every day you need to monitor the moisture content of the cotton wool and add a little water.
5. When the seed swells well, it can be transplanted into the ground.
Thanks to soaking, several months are saved. Best time to start germination - February-March. Even if you want to grow only one date from a seed, you need to take several seeds. Some sprouts will die due to disease or your inept actions during transplantation, so insurance will not hurt.
How to grow a date palm from a seed further:
1. All seeds are immersed in prepared soil (soil from the forest, peat or a mixture of earth and sawdust) vertically to a depth equal to one and a half lengths of the seed.
2. Place the container with soil in a warm place. Make sure the soil is constantly moist.
3. The first shoots can be seen in 1-3 months. When their length reaches 10-15 cm, each sprout will need to be transplanted into a separate pot with a diameter of about 10 cm. The pot should not be too wide; its height is important, since the date will have long roots.
4. At the bottom of the pot there must be good drainage(expanded clay, charcoal, pebbles), since stagnation of water is detrimental to the plant. You can buy special soil for palm trees or mix the soil yourself, take:
– clay-turf soil – 2 parts;
– humus-leaf soil – 2 parts;
– peat – 1 part;
– rotted manure – 1 part;
– sand – 1 part.
A small palm tree will need to be replanted every year, always increasing the pot size a little. The plant has very delicate roots, so replanting should be done using the transshipment method to avoid damage to the root system.
Date palm at home - how to care and replant
Having an exotic palm tree at home is pleasant and prestigious, because an adult indoor plant is expensive. Growing a date from a seed is an excellent solution for everyone who does not have the opportunity to purchase a grown seedling, but not everyone can do it.
Why doesn’t every plant look like in our photos?
The main reason that the sprout did not become a tall and lush tree is that complete information on caring for it was not received in time. exotic plant.
The advice is suitable for both adult specimens and seedlings that are only a few years old.
The temperature in the room where the pet will be should be moderate 16-20°C. There is no need to place it near heating devices, so as not to provoke the death of the plant. During the summer best place- on outdoors without drafts.
Humidity in the room should be within 50%. Spraying the leaves will increase it; this can be done up to several times a day.
The lighting should be sufficient so that the leaves do not become brittle or elongated. Even direct ones are possible Sun rays. The pot should be periodically unrolled so that a uniform, beautiful crown is formed.
Water abundantly - only in summer; at this time you can even leave water in the pan. In winter, watering is minimal. It is necessary to strictly control so that the coma does not dry out, but the water does not stagnate due to poor drainage.
Transshipment is the only way to transplant. Everyone is looking for information on how to plant a date seed, but then they forget that until the age of 5, the plant needs to be replanted every year. A large palm requires replanting as the roots grow.
Spraying and wiping the leaves will increase humidity and give a beautiful appearance plant. Once a week it is advisable to take it under the shower, but you must carefully protect the earthen lump from excess moisture.
Fertilizers (mineral and organic) are introduced in sufficient quantities during the period of active growth - from March to September weekly, and in winter once a month.
A date palm from a seed can either decorate a home or completely destroy coziness and comfort.
When a plant is sick, it looks very unsightly - the leaves turn yellow, darken, fall off, the trunks become soft, and a putrid smell appears. Diseases arise from improper care or due to pest attacks. Help your pet: there is detailed information on our website on how to deal with these problems.
Date palm at home
In the wild, the date palm grows in India and Africa; scientists know of 17 of its species. A tree lives among the hot sand for about 150 years, and during this time many new plants grow around it, growing from its seeds and roots. Is it really possible for a desert palm tree to grow in our apartments without specific care?
Robelena (Phoenix Roebelenii) with a very beautiful dense crown no higher than 1.5-2 meters.
Canary (Phoenix Canariensis) – height up to 2 meters, feathery trunks, hard straight and narrow leaves.
Finger (Phoenix Dactylifera) is the most common form, not very beautiful, but growing relatively quickly. The disadvantage of this plant is that its trunk will gradually become bare over time.
Growing a date at home requires a lot of desire and time, but it can be an excellent hobby for long years. Many people try to grow date palms from seed; this is an excellent solution for anyone who does not have the opportunity to purchase an adult seedling, which is relatively expensive.
How to care for a date palm
The date tree will not delight you with its beauty for the first five years; decorative value will appear only after 5-7 years. Don’t expect that, having grown a date from a seed, you will be able to have it in just a couple of years. great decor your home.
To decorate your home with an adult indoor date palm, caring for it throughout the years requires several important points:
It must be constantly turned towards the sun so that the sun's rays reach all the leaves. Without light, the leaves stretch, develop unevenly and become brittle.
The plant is very afraid of drafts. Ventilating housing in autumn-winter period, you need to protect it from cold air currents.
When watering, water should not stagnate at the roots, so good drainage is required condition. For irrigation, use settled, soft water without chlorine at a temperature of approximately 20°C.
The leaves need to be sprayed daily, as the tree needs wet air. Once a week, the plant will even need a real shower, but during the procedure, the earthen lump in the pot must be carefully covered with film.
The leaves should also be regularly wiped with damp sponges so that they are not attacked by pests and simply to ensure that the palm tree has a well-groomed appearance.
Under no circumstances should you cut or break off the top of a palm tree. Trimming the top of the stem can result in the death of the plant.
Mineral and organic fertilizers deposit twice a month warm period and once a month - in winter. Will fit complex preparations for palm trees or for decorative deciduous indoor plants. They are applied only to moist soil, in diluted form.
Date palm – replanting, transshipment
The plant often begins to hurt after transplantation. It bears it very hard if everything is done traditional way.
How to replant a date palm, is it necessary to do it at all?
A young date palm (up to 4-5 years old) is replanted annually, and mature plant– in 2-3 years.
Replanting is required only when the roots no longer fit in the pot and are clearly visible through the drainage holes, so each replanting (more precisely, transferring) is done into a pot 3-4 cm larger in diameter.
To do this, the bush is carefully transferred into a new container, and the voids are filled with soil.
Experts in caring for date palms at home have noticed: the larger the pot becomes, the more intense the plant begins to grow. But you should not take containers that are too large, as the tree’s growth may stop in them.
For replanting, store-bought soil mixtures “For palm trees” are taken, or the soil is prepared independently based on the following calculation:
2 parts light clay-turf;
2 parts humus-leaf;
1 part peat;
1 part rotted manure;
1 part sand;
some charcoal.
The soil should be loose, soft, permeable to air and moisture. A good drainage layer should be placed at the bottom of the pot to prevent water stagnation as much as possible. The pot should be chosen not wide, but high, so that long roots fit well.
Date palm diseases
It would seem that the indoor date palm is receiving care, but its appearance is not the same. high level– it dries, the leaves turn yellow, darken, and curl. What could be the problem?
Let's look at what date palm diseases can occur due to poor care:
If the leaves become completely dark, almost brown, the trunk becomes soft, and a putrid smell is felt, then this indicates waterlogged soil. After such signs appear, watering stops and you need to wait until the soil dries.
It is necessary to examine the condition of the root system; to do this, the plant is removed from the container in which it grows. If all the roots are soft, watery, dark, then they have already died and such a palm tree cannot be saved. If there are living roots, then they must be carefully protected from dead ones by cutting them off and sprinkling crushed coal on the cut areas.
If only the tips of the leaves turn brown, this happens as a result of lack of watering, dry air or winter drafts, sudden temperature changes. Brown leaves below are not scary - they are age-related changes. The darkened leaves have died, so they should be cut off sharp knife, they cannot be restored.
If a date palm turns yellow, it means that it is watered either with hard water or does not receive enough moisture and nutrients. From insufficient watering the leaves droop down, and this defect cannot be corrected. You can lift them by tying them to a support.
Pale appearance indicates too much light or red lesions spider mite. To protect the tree from bright solar lighting, you need to slightly shade the plant.
If a date palm dries out, the leaves fall off, darken, curl, and brown plaques appear on their surface - the plant dies from pests.
Pest control - scale insects, mealybugs or spider mites - is standard for all indoor plants. You need to wash the leaves with a solution laundry soap, sprinkle with garlic extract.
If severe damage is observed, apply a solution of Actellik (a broad-spectrum insecticide) - 1-2 ml per liter of water.