Date palm from seed at home: top 7 types and care rules

Date palm at home care and maintenance

The date loves bright sunlight and needs shading only in the midday summer heat.
It is best to place small young plants on the windowsills of southern and south-eastern windows, larger and older plants - next to such windows. For uniform growth and development of the palm tree crown, it is necessary to rotate it around its axis from time to time. In the summer, the plant responds well to being kept outdoors in the garden or on the balcony, but if this is not possible, then the room should be regularly ventilated.

If the autumn-winter days did not provide enough sunlight, then in the spring the plant must be gradually accustomed to exposure to direct rays of the sun in order to avoid burns of the foliage. They do the same with a palm tree just brought from the store.

In winter, it is advisable to illuminate the date using fluorescent lamps. With insufficient lighting, palm leaves begin to stretch and droop down, losing their decorative effect.

In the spring and summer, when the date grows, it needs to be kept at a moderate temperature of 20 to 25 degrees. These tropical beauties also love higher temperatures, up to 28 degrees Celsius, but they also need high air humidity, otherwise the tips of the plant’s leaves will begin to dry out.

In winter, dates have a dormant period and need a temperature within 15-18 degrees. The Robelena date is more thermophilic and the optimal winter temperature for it is from 16 to 18 degrees Celsius.

The Canary date can spend the winter at a temperature of 8 to 10 degrees, and in adulthood with a formed trunk it tolerates a short-term decrease to 5 degrees below zero. Palm trees really don't like this kind of air stagnation. It is necessary to ensure regular ventilation of the room, while protecting the plants from drafts.

Appearance and distribution in nature

Date palms are large plants with a tall slender trunk, reaching 30 m, at the top of which there is a crown of huge three-meter pinnately divided leaves, with spines at the base. In the genus Phoenix there are species that grow in several trunks.

The flowers of date palms are small, yellowish-cream in color, grouped into numerous (about 10 thousand pieces) paniculate inflorescences ranging from 0.5 to several meters in length. The fruits are edible oblong berries of amber color with tasty sweet pulp. On one tree, from 3-6 to 20 clusters of dates ripen, each yielding a harvest of 7-18 kg, and sometimes up to 250 kg of berries are collected from the entire tree.

There is no consensus on the origin of the date palm. It is believed that its homeland is the coast of the Persian Gulf. In nature, representatives of the genus live in Eurasia and Africa, and as an agricultural crop, the palmate date is grown in Asia Minor, the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.

As a rule, most date palm species are able to grow in the harsh climatic conditions of hot African deserts, but are not considered xerophytes. They grow only where groundwater comes close to the surface or where springs come out of the ground.

Seating in separate pots

As the date grows and develops, it becomes cramped in the pot. How to replant a date palm and when to do it?

The first transplant occurs when the leaf of the sprout has grown to 4 cm. The second transplant is carried out when the plant reaches 15 cm in height.

Since the date palm does not tolerate replanting well, it is advisable to do this only if necessary. The signal for replanting will be the obvious visibility of the roots in the drainage holes of the pot.

Young plants grow quickly and replanting is required annually. Before the procedure, moisten the soil ball well to make it easier to transfer it from the pot.

Another method of replanting a palm tree is not suitable: it has a very fragile root system. The pot is selected 3-4 cm higher than the previous one. The palm tree with the soil ball is carefully placed in the pot, and fresh soil is evenly poured into the voids of the container.

Important! Mature date palms are replanted every three years; otherwise, changing the top layer of soil is recommended.

The date palm is a spectacular ornamental plant; the only sad thing is that its propagation at home is possible only from seeds. Although in nature it reproduces well by root shoots. And yet, a green tropical tree in the house, especially during the cold winter period, significantly brightens up the anticipation of warmth and summer.

Growing conditions

In nature, the date palm plant is a tree or squat shrub with feathery leaves - the main decorative advantage of the plant. A date palm at home can only grow up to two meters, and even in this case, a date palm indoor plant requires significant space, so an adult plant is placed in rooms where there is almost no furniture. But if a date palm is grown from a seed, at home you can always find a place for a small pot, because such a tree will grow for a very long time, and then, lo and behold, living conditions will change for the better, and there will be enough space in the apartment for a date palm. In the end, an adult large plant can be placed in the office.

The date palm blooms with panicles of yellow flowers. But don’t expect to eat dates from your palm tree: the tree begins to bloom, and, consequently, bear fruit only when it reaches a height of fifteen meters, which is impossible at home.

Date palm kernels

Please be patient, this may take up to three months. But as practice shows, if a date seed is planted in May and kept outdoors, on a balcony, then the germination time is significantly reduced and sprouts appear about a month after planting.

This is interesting: Phalaenopsis mini orchid: home care, photo

Date palm in winter

It is advisable to keep in a cooler room (12-14 degrees). Annual replanting is necessary and with proper care, the seed grows into a beautiful tree up to 1.6 m tall. All palm trees have one thing in common: the only point of growth is at the top of the stem, and if the stem is cut off, the palm tree will die.

For palm trees

good drainage is needed, as they do not tolerate stagnation of water at the roots. In winter, keep the soil slightly moist. In spring and summer, water more abundantly. When kept in a heated room, the leaves are sprayed. Adult plants are sometimes wiped with a sponge. Drafts should be avoided.

Pests and diseases of date palm

Insect pests

Most often, if maintenance conditions are violated, the date palm suffers from spider mites, mealybugs and scale insects. The best way to control pests is to correct maintenance mistakes. It is best to remove insects and traces of their vital activity that destroy the plant mechanically, by wiping the leaves of the date palm with a soap-vodka solution (15 g of liquid soap, any dishwashing detergent or a teaspoon of grated solid soap dissolved in warm water, dilute in a liter of warm water and add to solution two tablespoons of vodka).

If the number does not pass, after a week the treatment of the leaves must be repeated, just do not forget to protect the soil in the pot from getting soap into it. In case of severe pest infestation, you will have to resort to treating date palm leaves with insecticides, and the best of them is actellik.

Among the diseases of the date palm, spotting is known, which disfigures the leaf blade, and pink rot, which affects not only the leaves, but sometimes also the stem, and causes them to rot. Fortunately, only weak and sick plants are susceptible to infection by these diseases, so the key to the health of your date palm is to follow the rules of caring for it. If trouble happens and the plant gets sick, treat the palm tree twice with a fungicide containing mancozeb and methyl thiophanate, observing a week interval between sessions.

Date palm dries out

Sometimes the leaves of a date palm dry out from the tips, and this is clear evidence that the air humidity in the room where the plant is located is too low, with a normal level of 50%. This is not so much, and there are more than enough ways to increase air humidity to the required value, so do not be lazy to spray and wash the leaves, otherwise the palm tree will lose its decorative effect, and it will be a great pity for wasted time and effort. Remember that the date palm dries out only if the owner is careless.

Date palm turns yellow

If you have not changed your attitude towards palm tree care in time and have not resolved the issue of supplying the plant with moisture at all levels, the next signal of an imbalance in the water balance after dry tips is yellowing leaves of the date palm. This means that you not only spray the leaves of the plant irregularly, but also forget to water it, allowing the earthen lump in the pot to dry out. If you don't have enough time to care for the plant, maybe it would be better to give your date palm to someone who has the time to take care of it?

Date palm leaves darken

When the soil in a potted date palm is chronically waterlogged, the plant's leaves gradually darken from green to brown, the trunk becomes soft, and the plant smells rotten. As soon as you notice this, stop watering the palm tree, remove it from the pot and inspect the roots: if they become dark, soft and watery, the plant has already died, but if there are still living roots among the rotten roots, then it makes sense to cut off the dead roots, sprinkling the sections with crushed charcoal, and transplant the date palm into fresh soil.

Date palm doesn't grow

As we have already written, the temperature in the room where the palm tree is located should not fall below 12 ºC in winter. At other times of the year, the temperature should not be lower than 18-20 ºC, because root growth stops at a temperature of 16-17 ºC, which means that root activity slows down and the plant is not able to absorb nutrients, which ultimately leads to cessation of growth. In addition, a imbalance occurs: the roots are able to absorb some substances, while others are not, and a deficiency of certain microelements occurs.

The reason for the date palm to stop growing can also be a too high level of soil acidity, causing a lack of manganese and iron, which is why it is so important to maintain the correct temperature regime and maintain soil acidity within a pH range below seven units. In order not to lose a tree grown from a seed, on which a lot of time and expectations have been spent, you just need to follow the rules of growing the plant, especially since there is nothing overly complicated in them, and the decorative qualities of the date palm are definitely worth the effort

In order not to lose a tree grown from a seed, on which a lot of time and expectations have been spent, you just need to follow the rules of growing the plant, especially since there is nothing overly complicated in them, and the decorative qualities of the date palm are definitely worth the effort.

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Planting and replanting (choosing a pot for a plant)

How to plant and replant a date palm at home? You need to plant fruit seeds as soon as the pulp of a dried or dried date is eaten. You should not leave the seeds for future use - they quickly lose their ability to germinate.

It is easiest to germinate a seed in the summer, when there is no need to create greenhouse conditions around the pot.

In winter, the container with germinated seeds should be kept at a temperature of 25-30 degrees.

Ten-centimeter sprouts can be planted in separate “apartments”.

The pot must be at least 15 cm in diameter, tall, narrow, with holes in the bottom.

Date palms do not like to be moved. If possible, the sprouted seedling is planted in a pot where the plant will be comfortable for several years in a row.

Transplantation is carried out in a transshipment manner, with equal care for the integrity of the root system and crown branches.

Here is a video about the date palm: care at home and growing from the seed.

When can you replant a palm tree?

Transferring a date palm to new soil is carried out:

upon reaching the first leaf 10 cm (seedlings);
in the spring, with the onset of the first fine days and increased movement of sap in the plants;
when the plant is clearly flooded, when the leaves turn brown (immediate replanting and reduction in the volume of the watering portion are indicated).

When is the best time to plant a palm tree?

In the warm season, when the stress of a disturbed plant will not be supplemented by the negative influence of an uncomfortable temperature for dates (if the plant is grown in an ordinary city apartment with an unstable heat supply to the radiators).

These videos tell you about caring for a date palm indoors, when the leaves of a date palm bloom, when it is necessary to pick, and more.

And here are two videos about the features of caring for a date palm at home.

Many gardeners dream of decorating the interior of their home with a date palm. Read our materials about the most popular types of plants, and also find out whether it is possible to grow a palm tree from a seed.

Types of date palm for indoor culture

Previously, only one species was grown at home:

The palmate date (Phoenix dactylifera) is a true date palm, the type species of the genus, common in the oases of Western Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and the Sahara deserts, as well as on the Canary Islands. The trunk is vertical, often covered with the remains of petioles of dead leaves, and grows up to 15-26 m in height, some up to 30 m.

The leaves are large, up to 6 m long, grouped in a bunch at the crown of the trunk. Flowers are wind pollinated, unisexual, in panicle inflorescences. The fruits are elongated drupes about 8 cm and up to 4 cm wide. They do not lose their taste even at 14 degrees below zero.

Date palmate

Currently, other, more decorative types are used in interior design:

Canary date (P. canariensis) - originally from the Canary Islands, but naturalized throughout the subtropical zone of the planet and now grows from the northern regions of France to the southern Chilean provinces. The tree reaches a height of 10 to 40 m. Date leaves are huge, complex-pinnate, reach 4-6 m in length and consist of 80-100 fragments on both sides of the main axis. The fruits are orange oblong berries with a large seed.

Date canarian

The Robelen date (P. roebelenii) is a popular houseplant native to Laos. It reaches 2-3 m in height, which is why among gardeners it is often called the dwarf date palm. It grows into several trunks, each of which gracefully arches from the center of the bush. The leaves are pinnately divided, grayish-green in color, pubescent below, from 60 to 120 cm long, up to 100 lobes 15-25 cm long and 1 cm wide are formed on one petiole. The flowers are small, sunny yellow, forming inflorescences 45 cm long. The fruits are drupes with a thin layer of pulp.

Date Robelena

Forest date (P. sylvestris) - also known as the silver date palm. It grows in southern Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma and other South Asian countries. It can grow from 4 to 15 m high. The trunk is not thick in circumference - up to 40 cm. Foliage about 3 meters long forms a lush crown with a diameter of up to 10 m and can consist of 100 leaves. Inflorescences of small white flowers droop downwards, then form large inflorescences with purple-red berries, which are used to make jelly and wine. The sap from palm trunks is drunk fresh, made into punch, or boiled to produce jagged sugar.

How and where do dates grow?

Any schoolchild knows what tree dates grow on. This is the date palm or palmate date (Phoenix dactylifera). The homeland of dates is the coast of Africa from the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. The date palm has been cultivated by people for 4,000 years and has spread very widely during this time. The palmate date thrives in countries with dry, hot climates and is an inhabitant of the dry tropics.

Of the European countries, only Spain can boast of growing palm trees, where the Sayer variety is acclimatized. In our country there are no suitable climatic conditions to grow palmate dates. The palm tree is found in Sochi, but does not bear fruit, but only decorates city streets and squares.

Knowing in which natural zone dates grow, Soviet scientists in 1939 planted a plantation of date palms near the city of Etrek in the south of Turkmenistan on the border with Iran. Dates in Russia (then the USSR) successfully took root and began to bear fruit. But the country fell apart, and with it the experimental station and tropical culture disappeared. Now in Turkmenistan there is talk about its revival. But knowing how many years it takes to grow a palmate date, you will have to wait a long time for “your” dates: the lifespan of the plant is 150-200 years, and fruiting of a small palm tree begins in the 15th year.

The date palm has many interesting features:

reaches a height of 25-40 m (but dwarf specimens are also found);
the columnar trunk is lumpy due to dead leaves;
the complex pinnate leaves of the date resemble fans, they are hard with spiny tips;
the plant is dioecious: male and female flowers are formed on different plants;
female flowers are inconspicuous, while male flowers form cascades of cream and yellow inflorescences;
in November, palm trees bloom and 10 months later, in August, the fruits ripen.

Diseases and pests of date palm

Violations of maintenance conditions and care rules often lead to the appearance of scale insects, mealybugs and spider mites on the plant. If the palm leaves stop growing, dry out, curl, darken and plaques appear on them, then the date is suffering from pests. It is recommended to regularly inspect the leaves and, when insects first appear on them, spray them with garlic solution or wash them with water and laundry soap. The treatment is repeated after a week.

A severely affected plant requires the use of insecticidal preparations. You can use Actellik by dissolving it in water according to the instructions.

Sick and weak trees are susceptible to diseases:

pink rot causes rotting of leaves and stems;
spotting disfigures the leaves.

In this case, the plant is treated with fungicides, which include methyl thiophanate and mancozeb. Processing must be carried out strictly according to the instructions that come with the drugs.

How to germinate a seed

A shoot from the seed will grow only if the fruit has not been heat treated. To try to grow a palm tree from a seed, you can use both seeds from fresh fruits and dried fruits purchased in a store, if they were dried naturally.

Soil for the plant

You can germinate the seed in ordinary soil or soil used for home flowers, but it is better to prepare a special nutrient mixture that will help speed up the growth of seedlings. To do this, you need to mix the soil with sawdust in a 1:1 ratio.

You can prepare another option, which is suitable not only for germinating seeds, but also for maintaining an adult palm tree. For it, you need to mix an equal amount of clay-turf soil, humus with leaf soil, peat and sand. You need to add a large pinch of charcoal to the resulting composition and mix the soil well so that the mass becomes homogeneous.

Preparing for germination

Before planting in the ground, seeds need to be prepared to increase their germination. To get one palm tree, it is better to take about 5-8 seeds at once, since some of them may not sprout or die as they grow. They should be freed from pulp, rinsed well and left to dry completely. After this, the planting material must be soaked in warm water for several days and left in a place with good heating. With this method of germination, water should be changed daily.

There is another way to prepare the seeds for planting. It is necessary to make 1-2 punctures on each seed with a sharp object so that water can get inside. After this, the bones need to be wrapped in several layers of soft cotton fabric or cotton wool. Planting material should be placed in a container with a small amount of water and left for 3-4 days in a warm place. It is necessary to ensure that the seeds have constant access to liquid, adding it as it evaporates. When the seeds swell a little, they can be planted.

Planting and watering

It is recommended to plant seeds in the ground in winter, since at this stage the plant will not need as much light as in subsequent periods of development. To germinate dates from seeds at home, you must proceed according to the following scheme:

Soil is placed in a common pot for all seeds, which is watered moderately with water until moist.
Prepared planting material is planted at a distance of at least 5 cm from each other. Seeds should be planted in the ground to a depth of 1.5 times their length.
Immediately after planting, watering is not carried out.
The pot with the future palm tree should be placed in a warm place with a temperature of about +30 degrees. For additional insulation, small greenhouses can be built above each bone by placing plastic glasses upside down. Remember, dates do not tolerate temperature changes; they must always be warm.
To obtain seedlings, you need not only high temperature, but also sufficient soil moisture, so future palm trees should be watered every day without flooding them. Instead of watering the soil, you can irrigate it using a sprayer.

Seedling of seedlings

If you managed to germinate more than 1 seed, the seedlings will have to be planted in different pots. You can begin this procedure after the plants have grown at least 10-15 cm in height. If you do not do this, the dates will become crowded and they will die.

How to properly transplant violets at home

For the future palm tree, you need a high pot in which the long roots of the plant, with a diameter of at least 12 cm, will be placed. Special soil is poured into the container, which should be moistened. In order for the palm tree to grow comfortably, you need to put a good layer of drainage on the bottom of the pot. Pebbles, expanded clay or any bulk materials are suitable for this purpose.

Growing Dates from Seeds

How long does it take to grow a palm tree from seed? If you decide to grow a date palm at home, then know that it will take a long time to grow. For the first two years, she will have enough space on the windowsill.

The seed for planting should be one that has not undergone heat treatment. Simply by sticking it into the ground, germination can take up to six months. To speed up this process, you should resort to some tricks:

Rinse the seed well, peel it and let it sit for a day.
The dried seed must be scalded with hot water, cuts made or rubbed with sandpaper. All these procedures are designed to break the hard shell of the bone.
The prepared seed is soaked in damp cotton wool. To do this, one piece of cotton wool is well moistened with water and placed in a small container, a bone is placed on it, which is covered with a second piece of wet cotton wool. You can use hydrogel, sawdust, and gauze instead of cotton wool.
The container is placed on the battery, since high temperature is required to germinate the seed.
Every day you need to check the moisture content of the cotton wool by adding a little water to the container with the seed.

Thanks to this soaking, the first sprouts can be obtained within one to three months. In any case, it is best to be on the safe side by soaking several seeds at once to germinate them.

How to properly grow date seedlings?

How to plant a seed correctly? The swollen stone is placed in a container with a soil mixture, which should consist of peat, sand and raw sawdust (1:1:1). The seed is immersed vertically in the mixture and sprinkled with one centimeter of the same soil.

The containers are placed in a warm place with an air temperature of at least +25 degrees. The top of the container can be covered with glass or polyethylene. Every day the glass needs to be lifted and the soil moisture checked. It should not dry out, but it is also not advisable for the soil to be too wet.

As soon as the sprout hatches, the container is placed in a well-lit place without direct sunlight. Having grown to ten to fifteen centimeters, the small sprout is transplanted into a larger container with a diameter of ten centimeters. Date palms have long roots, so the pot should not be low.

Drainage made of pebbles, charcoal or ceramite is placed at the bottom of the prepared container. A soil mixture is prepared, which can be purchased at the store or prepared independently. Soil for Date should consist of the following components:

humus-leaf soil - 2 parts;
clay-leaf soil - 2 parts;
sand – 1 part;
rotted manure - 1 part;
peat – 1 part.

The transplanted sprout is well watered and placed on an eastern or western windowsill. It will need to be replanted every year into a new container, which should be slightly larger than the previous one. Since the palm tree has delicate roots, it is recommended to replant it so that the plant does not get sick and quickly takes root in the new pot.

Under no circumstances should a small tree be shaped or trimmed, since its growth point is at the top of the trunk. The date will produce leaves only after three to five years of growth at home. For uniform formation of the crown, it is necessary to rotate the pot around its axis from time to time. The new leaf arrow should be turned towards the shadow.

Planting process

Even an inexperienced gardener can plant a palm tree, however, a number of important nuances should be taken into account. First of all, palm trees are somewhat different from most house flowers, which means they have their own special needs:

Palm trees can be sown regardless of the season, however, the sprouts require a well-lit place; if there is a lack of light, they will have to be provided with artificial lighting;
germination and duration of germination are related to the shelf life of the seed material, so it is better to sow it immediately after purchase;
prepared seeds are placed in a light soil mixture - this can be a ready-made material for germinating seeds; in addition, gardeners often use a mixture of perlite and vermiculite, with the addition of sphagnum or a substrate made of coconut fibers; they should be moistened, but not wet; It is advisable to first disinfect the material by steaming it for 8–12 minutes in the microwave;
There is no need to place the seeds too deep; a depth of 1–2 times the diameter of the seeds is sufficient; if you deepen them too much, they begin to rot; if the seeds are scarified, they should be planted with the cut side down;

You can take any container, but it is best to use containers made of transparent plastic with a lid - these are used to sell confectionery and baked goods; in a closed container, the seeds will not dry out, and thanks to the transparent bottom it is easier to observe the process of seedling growth; the planting should be placed in a warm place, the air temperature should be +25-+32 degrees; however, this indicator depends on the type of palm tree: for some, the normal germination temperature is +25 degrees, while for others, +30 is not enough; to eliminate the possibility of mold formation and rotting of seeds, daily ventilation should be arranged - it is enough to open the container lid for 15–20 minutes a day, ensuring free access of air; palm seeds grown at home do not need to be watered; as the substrate dries, the substrate should be carefully sprayed with a spray bottle;

Some particularly advanced “palmaholics” purchase special mini-greenhouses, with installed heating devices and a thermostat. But this pleasure is not cheap.

In summer, a container with palm seeds can be placed on the windowsill, but you just have to consider the following:

the window sill should be warm, without drafts and constant shadow;
The substrate and seedlings should not be exposed to direct sunlight.

If there is no place with suitable conditions, then there is a way out: future palm trees will feel good on the cabinet, where the thermometer will always show more degrees than in other areas of the room.

Preliminary preparation of date seeds for planting

How to grow a date palm from a seed at home? Growing this desert native at home is not as difficult as it may seem.

You just need to follow a certain procedure. And the first thing a gardener who sets out to get a date from seeds at home should think about is where to find suitable seeds.

Selecting seeds for sowing

The choice of seeds depends on the goals of the grower.
If you want to get a specific variety of palm tree, purchase factory-produced seeds from a special gardening store. The manufacturer usually provides detailed information on the packaging about the type and variety of the plant, and also describes its agricultural technology.

But factory-made seeds have a drawback - their cost is quite high.

When purchasing, pay close attention to the production date. The older the seeds, the lower their germination rate

If the variety of date palm is not of fundamental importance to you, you can get seeds much easier (we talked more about popular types and their features here).

. To do this, go to the nearest supermarket and buy a package of dried dates (or better yet, fresh ones). Take packaged dates, as on the packaging you will find information not only about the production date.

It is important that the dates do not undergo additional heat treatment, such as cooking in sugar syrup. Otherwise you won’t see shoots

The fruits must be smooth and healthy, without signs of rot.

Remember, fresh seeds germinate fastest.

You need to start germinating date seeds in March - April.

You will need about a dozen seeds. Of this amount, some will not sprout, and some may die after germination.

Treating the pit before soaking

Having selected fruits for seeds, you need to process them before sowing. This is done in the following order:

The pit is removed from the date.
Remove any remaining pulp very carefully and rinse well with warm water.
Cleaned seeds are placed in warm water for 48 hours in order to rid future plants of harmful microorganisms that can infect the soil and cause rotting of seedlings. The water should be changed daily.
Clean seeds are dried for 24 hours.
Date seeds have a very dense shell, and in order to make it easier for water to access the embryo, it is necessary to break its integrity. You can do this in 4 ways:

Rinse the seeds with hot water (not boiling water!). The water temperature should be about 80 degrees.
Carefully pierce the shell with a sharp object, being careful not to damage the seed itself.
Sand the pit with sandpaper, thus removing part of the shell.
Lightly cut the bone along the seam with a sharp knife.

Seed preparation is almost complete. Let's move on to soaking.

Soaking in cotton wool

The emergence of date palm seedlings depends on the quality of the seed and can last from 1 month to 1 year. To speed up the process as much as possible, experienced gardeners came up with the idea of soaking the seeds. This can be done simply by placing the seeds in water, but it is best to do this in cotton wool.

Procedure:

Each bone must be tightly wrapped in cotton wool, forming a cocoon.
Each such cocoon is well moistened and placed on the bottom of a plastic container.
A small amount of water is poured into the bottom of the container with the seeds and placed in a warm place, for example, on a radiator. The temperature should be in the range of +25-30 degrees.

Soak the seeds for 2-4 days. During this time, monitor the moisture content of the cotton cocoons and, if necessary, add water. To reduce moisture evaporation, the container with the seeds can be covered with a piece of glass.

When the seeds swell, they are ready for planting.

Creating temperature conditions

The optimal temperature for seed germination is considered to be +25-30 degrees. It is best to germinate seeds in a mini-greenhouse, where the required temperature and humidity will be maintained.

Rules of care

Properly caring for a date palm is no more difficult than caring for an ordinary indoor flower. It needs to be watered, given a shower, fed and replanted as it grows. The date does not tolerate drafts, keep this in mind when placing it.

Watering

Palm trees love water. It does not tolerate dried soil. However, it is also not recommended to fill it, otherwise the roots will begin to rot. It is better to water less often, but abundantly as the soil dries. If the leaves droop down and spots appear on them, it means there is insufficient watering.

Spray dates regularly; they love moisture. Once a week, arrange more serious water treatments. If possible, place the plant's pot in a bathtub, cover the soil with plastic, and rinse the trunk and leaves from the shower.

Top dressing

The date palm needs to be fed all year round. In winter, this should be done no more than once a month, and from March to September inclusive - once a week. Buy a ready-made universal mixture for palm and ornamental leaf plants. Mineral and organic fertilizers are suitable. Dilute them in water and apply to wet soil. Fertilizer should be applied a week after replanting, then the date palm will take root better.

Signs of battery shortage

The leaves become lighter – there is not enough nitrogen in the soil. First, the leaves acquire a lighter shade, then the growth of the plant stops.
The leaves are covered with bronze-brown spots - there is little potassium. At first the foliage will become covered with spots, then curl and dry out.
Yellow edging on the leaves is a lack of magnesium. Feed with magnesium fertilizer, otherwise the plant will die over time.

Trimming

It is not recommended to prune the plant before 5 years of age - it may die. The top of the palm tree should also not be cut off, otherwise the growth point will be disrupted. Do not cut off damaged or yellowed foliage; let it dry out and fall off naturally.

Air humidity

Comfortable indoor air humidity for a date palm is not lower than 50 and not higher than 70%. Before the start of the heating season, move the pot away from the radiator. When the heating is turned on, cover the radiators with a wet cloth. In summer, during dry weather, spray the leaves more often with water at room temperature. This should be done at least once a week.

Humidity

For date palms, air humidity should be at least 40%. In winter, the plant should be placed away from heating devices.

Periodically, date leaves must be wiped with a damp cloth - this will both prevent the appearance of pests and add decorative value. To increase air humidity, you can place containers of water near the plant.

Due to too dry air, the tips of the date palm's leaves begin to dry out.

In winter, you can increase the ambient humidity by placing a damp cloth on the battery. You can also place a pot with a palm tree in a tray filled with wet pebbles, sphagnum moss, and expanded clay. It is important that the bottom does not touch the water. Otherwise, there is a high probability of rotting of the root system.

If possible, it would be great to use a humidifier.

About caring for date palm at home:

Temperature: The optimal temperature for Date Palm in summer is 20-25 ºC, and in winter the temperature should not fall below 15-18 ºC, and some species can tolerate temperatures of 8-10 ºC. All year round, Date loves warm conditions and an influx of fresh air, but it should be protected from drafts, especially in the winter season.

Lighting: Bright lighting, but Date feels great in light shade. East and west windowsills are suitable for palm trees. Regular rotation of the palm is necessary for even development of the crown. In the summer, when the air temperature at night does not drop below 12 ºC, Date will not refuse to be kept outside in the shade of other trees. If this is not possible, the palm tree can be taken out to the balcony, while protecting it from direct sunlight.

Phoenix canariensis.

Watering: The date palm loves abundant water without drying out the earthen coma, so it must be watered abundantly and regularly. In summer, the palm tree has active growth and an increased need for water, as the soil dries out faster. In winter, with a lack of lighting and cool conditions, watering is reduced because the soil takes longer to dry out, but you should not let the soil dry out completely. To maintain moisture, the pot with the palm tree is placed on a tray filled with wet expanded clay, pebbles or moss, so that the bottom does not touch the water. Water for irrigation must be used that has settled, rain or bottled water, as hard water is detrimental to the plant. Mistakes with watering cause the greatest harm to the plant.

Humidity: The indoor palm tree loves high humidity and the higher the humidity, the better it feels. The optimal humidity threshold for it ranges from 70 to 80%. It is recommended to spray regularly; spraying in hot weather has a particularly beneficial effect on the plant. It is also necessary to give the plant a warm shower weekly to prevent spider mites. During the shower, the earthen lump should be covered with film. The best way to increase humidity in winter at temperatures below 18 ºC is to place a container of water or a humidifier next to the plant.

Phoenix roebelenii.

Fertilizers: It is necessary to fertilize from spring to autumn 2 times a month, and in winter 1 time a month with liquid fertilizers. For feeding, you can use complex fertilizers for decorative deciduous plants, as well as special fertilizers for palm trees. The palm tree responds well to fertilization through leaf spraying, which must be done once a month.

Soil: For palm trees, you can also add turf soil, humus and manure to it. It is worth considering that good soil for Date Palms should drain water quickly. Good drainage is necessary. It is recommended to add perlite and charcoal to the substrate.

Replanting: The date palm really does not like replanting, so it is replanted only when necessary using the transshipment method, replacing the drainage and adding fresh soil. When replanting, it is not recommended to bury the plant; the soil level should remain the same as before replanting. Young specimens (up to 5 years) are replanted annually, adults once every 2-3 years. Every year, if replanting is not carried out, it is necessary to change the top layer of soil. Good drainage is necessary. It is better to choose a tall pot for the palm tree, since Date has quite long roots.

Date palm pests. The plant most often gets sick not from pests, but from inattentive care. But it is worth knowing that the queen of the oasis can be affected by spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects. For prevention, it is necessary to use a warm shower and wipe the leaves.

Phoenix dactylifera.

Selection and preparation of seeds

For planting, it is best to use seeds extracted from fresh fruits. A ripe date looks like an oblong reddish-brown berry. Seeds must be used immediately after extraction. They are thoroughly cleaned of any remaining pulp, and then soaked for 2-3 days in warm water. The liquid is changed daily with fresh one. Once they swell, they can be germinate quickly and easily.

Diseases and pests

Phoenix is quite unpretentious. If the date palm receives enough light, moisture and nutrients and is located in a warm place, there should be no problems with its cultivation. Most often, diseases and harmful insects affect plants weakened by improper care.

Pests

Harmful insects settling on a palm tree lead to the loss of decorativeness of its foliage, twisting and falling of the blades. Possible pests include nematodes, scale insects, mealybugs, as well as thrips and spider mites. Methods to combat them can be different and include mechanical, chemical treatment and the use of folk remedies.

Insects visible to the eye can be collected from the foliage by hand. The nematode is considered the most dangerous pest - it is especially difficult to remove. In case of damage, the date palm will have to be destroyed along with the soil, sometimes the pot will be thrown out along with it. One diseased plant can quickly infect neighboring ones.

Before using chemical treatments, they most often try to get rid of pests using household products. Among the most famous:

A mixture of soap and vodka. About 15 g of liquid soap or 1 tsp. planed laundry soap is diluted in a liter of water. Add 2 tbsp to the solution. l of vodka and treat palm foliage weekly, repeating the procedure several times.
Tobacco infusion. 40 g of tobacco must be poured into 1 liter of water. The resulting mixture is infused for two days, then another liter of water is poured into it again. The foliage is treated with the diluted infusion.
Garlic extract. Approximately 4 garlic heads are kept in a liter of water for about 5 days. 6 g of the resulting mixture (1 cap from a plastic bottle) is poured into a liter of water and the foliage is sprayed with the solution.

After such treatment, the foliage is thoroughly washed with water and then allowed to dry - for this the plant must be in a warm place.

If traditional methods do not bring the desired result, you should use commercial insecticides. These include Fitoverm, Actellik, Pyrethrum and many other brands. The selected drug is diluted according to the instructions. Most often the proportion is 2 g per 1 liter of water. Before completely treating the palm tree, it is necessary to carry out a test treatment. To do this, you need to apply the drug solution to just one leaf of the plant and wait a day. If nothing happened to the date, it means that it tolerated the impact well, and the entire green part can be processed. But before complete treatment, it is necessary to cover the soil in the pot so that the insect repellent does not get into the substrate.

Diseases

Sometimes the date palm can be affected by fungal diseases. These include pink rot and gray spotting. The reason for their development is usually insufficient drainage, unsuitable soil or the presence of pests. They can be cured using fungicidal drugs. For dates, it is better to choose products that do not contain copper. They should be used systematically until the plant recovers, but do this no more than once a week.

If you care for the date properly, it will practically not get sick.

Date palm care

Where to place

Although a mature date palm can grow to a huge (by home standards) size, it grows very slowly. Therefore, the place you choose for her will stick with her for a long time. When choosing a location, you must take into account that this palm tree is a very light-loving plant and does not tolerate stagnant air. In the summer, it does not make any special demands on the air temperature and can easily tolerate daily changes. While the plant is small and quite transportable, take it out into the fresh air in the summer. If the palm tree has already reached an age when this is difficult to do, be sure to provide it with a flow of fresh air. In winter, it is desirable for the date palm to be kept cooler (recommended +10-15 degrees). In the first years of the plant’s life, a window sill, where the temperature in winter is lower than indoors, is quite suitable for placement. In order for the palm tree to grow evenly, your intervention will be required. The leaves of the plant will inevitably be drawn towards the light source, so it must be rotated periodically. This is especially true when new leaves appear.

Watering and air humidity

In warm weather, the date palm should be watered abundantly and regularly. Avoid letting the soil dry out and water as soon as the top layer of soil dries out.

Important! If the soil is allowed to dry out, the leaves of the date palm droop, and even after watering is resumed, they do not restore their original position!

But at the same time, you can’t flood the plant. Stagnant water and cool air (even in summer) can cause considerable harm. Drain the water from the pan 20-30 minutes after watering. The leaves of the plant react to flooding first. Characteristic brown spots appear on them. When they first appear, you should immediately reduce watering. But if the whole plant begins to darken at once, then immediately replant it in fresh soil, the roots have begun to rot! During transplantation, be sure to inspect the roots and remove rotten ones. In winter, watering is reduced, but it depends on the temperature. The lower it is, the less often you water and vice versa. But you can’t completely stop watering in winter.

It is believed that air humidity is not important for the date palm. This is not true. Dry air causes leaf tips to dry out. Therefore, on hot, dry days, be sure to spray it. The same should be done in winter if you were unable to keep the palm tree cool and it grows at normal room temperature. Water for watering and spraying date palms must be settled and not lower than room temperature. At the same time, it is highly desirable that it be soft. It is ideal to use melt and rain water, but you can soften it at home (read how).

Top dressing

For date palms, liquid organic fertilizer is best. I do not advise beginning flower growers to experiment with preparation, but to buy ready-made fertilizer. During the period of active development, the plant is fed three times a month. Additional monthly feeding with a solution of potassium nitrate (one gram per liter of water) also gives good results. In winter, feeding does not stop, but is reduced to once a month.

Transfer

As I already noted, the date grows very slowly, so it is considered young for quite a long time, until about 5 years of age. It is transplanted annually before reaching this age. Afterwards, the palm tree is replanted only when the need arises. Most often this is necessary when the plant’s pot becomes small. For very large plants, it is practiced to only replace the top layer of soil. Moreover, if the roots protrude excessively onto the surface of the earth, then they too are cut off (a layer of 5 to 10 centimeters). If you do not want to use purchased soil, you can make it yourself by mixing turf soil, humus, compost and sand in equal parts. To avoid stagnant water, ensure good drainage.

Preparing date pits for planting

Before you can sprout a date from a seed, you need to get it somewhere. It’s not difficult - dates are bought, but not roasted, eaten, and the remaining grains can be immersed in the ground.

Date pit

The correct dates from which to take the pit are fresh fruit, dates brought from other countries, dried fruit.

Additional Information! The best time to plant a plant from a seed is from February to March.

Selection and preparation of planting material

The appearance of a palm tree is possible only from those seeds that have not been subjected to heat treatment.

A step-by-step algorithm for seed procurement is described below.

Step 1. The seeds are removed from the fruit and washed under running water. If this is not done, the remaining particles from the fruit can trigger the process of rotting in the ground. Washed seeds should be left for at least 24 hours.

Step 2. Because the seeds of the plant are very hard, it is difficult for them to germinate. To speed up this stage, the following methods will help:

scratch the surface of the bone with sandpaper so that moisture penetrates into it more easily;
make several cuts so that the shell splits faster;
scald with very hot water.

The best way to speed up the germination process is to soak the seed in cotton wool. You need to put cotton wool soaked with water in a plate, put a seed in it, and cover it with another piece of wet cotton wool.

For reference! Instead of cotton wool, you can use hydrogel, sawdust or gauze.

Step 3. Place the container with the bone in cotton wool in a warm place, for example, on a radiator.

As the cotton dries, it should be moistened with water. As soon as the seed swells, it can be planted in the ground.

To increase the chances of having a date tree, you need to prepare some seeds. Some of them will not be able to sprout.

Step 4. The seeds are placed in the ground to a depth of 1 - 2 cm. All seeds can be placed in one container, which makes it easier to care for. Before the seedlings appear, the soil should be watered frequently, but not flooded.

Attention! The seed is placed in the soil in a vertical position. In containers with seeds, you need to make small holes at the bottom so that the water does not stagnate.

In containers with seeds, you need to make small holes at the bottom so that the water does not stagnate.

The soil is nutritious soil; it is recommended to add sawdust or sand to it. The room temperature should be between 24 °C and 26 °C. The lower the temperature, the longer it will take for the swelling to appear. Sometimes this takes up to 10-12 months.

Watering should be done at such intervals that the soil is moist but not wet. On average, it takes from 1 to 3 months for seedlings to emerge. It all depends on the quality of the planting material and compliance with all recommendations.

As soon as the green stem that has broken through reaches a height of 10 cm, you can transplant it into another flowerpot.

Soil selection

Before you grow a date from a seed, you need to select the soil. Purchased land intended for palm trees is best suited. You can make soil suitable for dates yourself:

2 parts clay-turf soil;
2 parts of humus-leaf soil;
1 part peat;
1 part rotted manure;
1 part sand.

Attention! There should be drainage at the bottom of the pot. Its function can be performed by charcoal, expanded clay, small fraction pebbles

It prevents stagnation of water in the ground, which is detrimental to the palm tree.

Planting a sprouted seedling

There is nothing complicated about transplanting a seedling. But you need to take into account that the date palm treats the procedure of changing places very poorly. Quite often, quite actively growing seedlings died after being transplanted into another flowerpot. To avoid this, the seedling is placed in a new container with a lump of earth in which its roots are located. This way the palm tree will gain a foothold faster without experiencing severe stress.

In winter and spring, the palm tree will develop slowly. Watering should be reduced to a minimum, only to maintain soil moisture. The plant does not need fertilizing; it will not speed up its development.

The first few years after transplanting the seedlings, the palm tree looks like tough grass. In the 3rd year, the leaves expand, their plates become solid.

Future leaf

A real, full-fledged leaf will appear on the plant approximately 4 years after planting. From this moment on, in order for the palm tree to actively develop, it must be looked after properly.