Large plants are often used to decorate homes and offices. One of these home trees is the date palm.
Origin and appearance
In Africa and Eurasia, about 20 species of palm trees grow. The lifespan of trees and shrubs is about 150 years.
It is known that in the VI century BC, the date palm was grown in Mesopotamia. Herodotus, Pliny and ancient scholars mentioned her in their works.
Indoor date tree
Despite the fact that the birthplace of palm trees is subtropics, they calmly withstand temperatures up to -14 ° C, can grow on depleted desert soils, salt marshes.
The fruits of the date are tasty and quite nutritious, they contain 3400 kcal.
The tree belongs to the Palm family (Arecaceae). It is characterized by long cirrus-separated leaves with sharp spines located at its base. Palm flowers are small, yellow, collected in panicles. Most species have one trunk.
Date flowers
Date palm grows very slowly. In nature, it grows up to 20-25 m. A home tree usually does not exceed 2 m in height.
Types and varieties for indoor breeding
The following types of date palms are most often grown on the premises:
- A palmate date is a species that can be grown from the seed itself. The leaves are hard, have a blue-green color. In the process of growth, the trunk is gradually exposed. The fruits of the tree are edible. They are delicious, sweet. They are dried and used as dried fruits.
- The date of Robelin belongs to undersized species (from 1.5 to 2 m). Under natural conditions, grows in Laos, in the center and in the south of China and Vietnam. The length of the leaves is almost equal to the height of the tree (1-2 m). At a young age they are covered with a whitish coating. The tree can grow in a small shade. The plant has several trunks with a diameter of up to 100 mm. Date fruits are black.
Date Robellen
- The Canarian date reaches a height of 2 m. The birthplace of the plant is the Canary Islands. Prefers rocky ground. When grown indoors, the tree does not bloom.
Date palm care at home
Watering mode
Caring for a tree is easy. During the growing season, watering is carried out daily. The main requirement for watering is moderation.
If the soil is waterlogged, then the plant is poorly developed, brown spots appear on its leaves. Therefore, a drainage layer is arranged in the flower pot. With rare watering, dry air and over-dried soil near the palm tree, the tips of the leaves also dry out.
For a tree to develop normally, air humidity should be in the range of 40 to 50%.
To moisten the air, the plant is sprayed with water from a spray gun or a humidifier is installed. When growing dates of Robellen, the air should be more humid than when growing other types of palm trees.
Tip. Periodically, palm leaves should be wiped off with dust with a damp cloth.
The plant does not tolerate irrigation with hard water. Therefore, the tree is watered and moistened with settled cold water. In winter, watering is less common.
Top dressing
During the growing season, the plant needs to be fed. If the tree is kept on the street, then fertilize it with a frequency of 1 time in 7 days, and 1 time in a half-month - when kept indoors. As a top dressing, ready-made liquid mineral fertilizers for palm trees or for decorative and deciduous plants are used: Biohelat, Ideal, Bona Forte, Green Paradise, Palm Focus.
In the summer, every month, the tree is fed with potassium nitrate (1 gram of saltpeter is dissolved in 1 liter of water).
Home palm with proper care
Fertilizing with organic fertilizers is also carried out. To prepare them, take 1 tsp. chicken droppings (or 1 tbsp. l. mullein) and stir in 1 l. of water. Insist for 25-30 days.
Foliar top dressing of the plant is also recommended. It is carried out in case of damage to the root system, before the flowering period begins. It is best to carry out spraying in the morning or evening.
Attention! A palm tree is not fed in case of an illness not associated with a deficiency of mineral substances, and after transplantation (within 2-3 weeks).
In the autumn-winter period, the introduction of nitrogen fertilizers is excluded so as not to stimulate the growth of young leaves.
In winter, top dressing is carried out every month.
Important! Fertilizing should be carried out on moist soil. This is necessary to eliminate burns to the root system.
Growing a dwarf date palm from a stone at home
Often, beginner growers are wondering about how to grow dates from seed at home.
Sprouted dates
The conditions for the germination of date bones
When germinating a seed, the air temperature is maintained within + 25-30 ° C. At low temperatures, dates will either fail to germinate, or the seed will germinate much longer. You also need to monitor the moisture of the soil substrate.
Stages of germination of date bones
How to grow dates from a seed step by step:
- The prepared seed is soaked for 2-3 days in water + 35-40 ° C. When soaking, cellulose fermentation begins. Due to this, it will be easier to separate from the date seed. Water is periodically replaced with fresh.
- Soaked seeds are washed under running water.
- The seed sprouts for a long time, for several months. In order for the sprout to appear faster, the hard shell needs to be slightly destroyed, for example, by making a shallow file with a file.
- Place prepared sterile, moistened soil (treated with boiling water) in glasses.
- Seeds need to be planted to a depth of 5-10 mm. How to plant dates vertically or horizontally does not matter, since in nature, in which position the fruit fell, the bone is in this position. However, gardeners recommend for convenience to stick the seed vertically into the soil. After this, the pit above the bone is covered with earth. You can optionally sprinkle the soil on top with small crumbs of charcoal.
- After the first leaf grows to 2-4 cm, the seedling needs to be transplanted to a permanent place. The usual soil for palm trees is used as soil. Direct sunlight should not fall on young plants, as they can cause burns to foliage.
Date palm seedlings
- The correct method of replanting a seedling is the method of transshipment.
Attention! The transplant must be carried out carefully, try not to injure the roots, since in this case the seedling will be very difficult to take root or die.
How to choose the fruit of the desired maturity
The method that is most often used for propagating dates is growing a tree from seeds. You can use seeds from fruits bought in supermarkets.
The fruit for growing should be large and fully ripe. If the date is bought candied, then the seed can also be used for growing. The tree is also grown from seeds from dried dates. The main thing is that the fetus should not be pre-processed using heat.
The seed must be completely cleaned of the pulp, as it contains substances that prevent germination.
Preparing a place for a date palm
The date palm is a photophilous plant, so the southern, southeastern windows will be optimal for it. The place to place the tree must be chosen in a spacious room, because the palm tree does not like stagnation of air.
You can not have a tree under air conditioners, since it does not like drafts. In the process of development, the plant is periodically turned to the light by different sides.
In winter, the ambient temperature is maintained in the range from +10 to + 15 ° C. In the case when the flower pot is located on the floor or on the windowsill, it is advisable to lay a thick cloth litter under it. This will protect the roots from hypothermia.
It is necessary to arrange the pot so that the new leaf has a growth direction inside the room, and not towards the window.
Soil preparation
Peat mix, sand, perlite, sphagnum or a combination of these components are used as soil.
Soil is bought in stores or prepared independently. To do this, mix turf and sheet land with sand and peat.
Pot selection
A deep flower pot is selected for the palm tree. A drainage layer several centimeters thick is poured down. Expanded clay, broken brick, river pebbles and other materials are used as drainage. You can make foam drainage.
As a pot use plastic or ceramic containers. The capacity material does not affect the development of the plant.
Date sprout watering regime
Water the seedling in the same mode as an adult plant. The main thing when caring for a plant is to prevent the drying of an earthen coma and stagnation of water in a pot.
What does a sprout of dates look like?
Palm tree shoots are similar to grassy ones, only the leaves are harder. So she will look up to about 3 years. Then the tree begins to take on the familiar look.
Date Palms at Three and Five Years
If you properly prepare the seed material and create optimal conditions for germination, you can grow a beautiful date tree on your own.
