How To Grow A Date Palm From A Stone At Home?

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

How to grow a date palm from a stone at home?

The date seed has a very small size, but it is quite possible to grow a tall and spreading date palm from it, and this can be done at home. It should be understood that a date palm grown at home will not bear fruit. However, this is a very beautiful tree that will delight its owners with an aesthetic appearance.

Content:

• Preparing for growing date palm from seed at home
• Planting a date seed
• Date palm care rules

Preparing for growing date palm from seed at home

For planting, seeds extracted from ripe dates are suitable. For this purpose, there is no need to visit gardening shops; dates can be purchased at a regular food supermarket. The main thing is to know how to choose the right dates. The main condition that you should pay attention to when buying is the absence of mold and visible damage on the fruits.

So, after the dates are eaten, the remaining seeds must be properly prepared for planting. To do this, they should be immersed in warm water for 1-2 days. During this time, the liquid will need to be changed 3-4 times. Such a procedure will cleanse the bone from the remaining pulp, and it will not grow moldy after planting in the ground.

In addition, the seed of the dates swells in the water, which makes the root germination easier. To better absorb the moisture, you can make a small and not deep scratch on the bone. After that, the seeds are again sent into water for 2-4 days, remembering to change it 1-2 times a day.

Several date seeds should be planted at once, as some of them will not germinate, and others will die in the first few years. Provided that the date palm grows for a very long time, and some of the seedlings do not survive, it is better to take care of a sufficient number of them in advance.

It is best to choose the time for germination of date seeds in winter, when the sprouts do not yet require a lot of sun.

While the bone is in the water, you need to prepare the soil for it. You can use store-bought palm soil, or you can make it yourself. Young palm seedlings prefer a mixture of peat and sand. It is good if sawdust is added to the peat and sand. All components are taken in the same proportion.

Planting a date seed

After all the stages of preparation have been passed, you can proceed to planting date seeds. This is a very important point that affects the lifespan of the tree and its growth rate.

The following conditions must be met:

• The seeds must be planted vertically in the soil in one large clutch.
• You should not bury them too deeply, just sprinkle the seeds with soil. The maximum planting depth is 1.5 sizes from the bone itself.
• After all the bones are in the ground, you need to make a mini-greenhouse. For this, the soil is covered with Sfagnum moss or a plastic jar.

• The seed pot should be kept warm all the time, the optimum air temperature is 30 ° C with a plus sign. Don't forget about high humidity. To do this, you need to water the seeds daily, but this should be done carefully so as not to overmoisten the soil.
• The first shoots will appear no earlier than a month later. The maximum germination period of date seeds is 3 months. If after this time no sprouts have appeared, then the bones should be dug up and opened. Most likely, they either soured, or simply were not viable.

The sprouts are planted after they reach a size of 10 cm. For them, you need to choose pots with a diameter of 9-12 cm. It is important to change the soil, since a composition suitable for germination will not be suitable for an adult tree. Optimal soil for date palms: humus (4 parts) + sand (2 parts) + peat (1 part) + turf or leaf land (2 parts).

Young seedlings are especially sensitive to transplantation, therefore, all manipulations should be carried out extremely carefully. Otherwise, you can lead to the fact that the plant will die.

The palm tree requires an annual transplant until it reaches 5 years of age. After that, the tree will need to be replanted as it becomes little space in the pot. This will be indicated by the roots sticking out from the ground. During transplanting, it will be necessary to trim the felt layer that forms the roots of the plant. This is the only way to achieve the maximum survival rate of trees.

The palm is transplanted by the transshipment method. The earth ball must remain intact. The pot is increased in size each time. Although an adult plant is transplanted 1 time in 2 or 3 years, at least 1 time in 6 months it will be necessary to remove the top layer of the earth and fill up with fresh soil.

Date palm care rules

The date palm is an unpretentious plant, but, like all tropical "inhabitants", it loves sunlight, loose soil, periodic showers, high air temperature and moderate moisture.

The fact that the tree feels uncomfortable will be indicated by the blackened leaves of the plant. This is most often due to a lack of sunlight or insufficient watering. However, it is possible that the palm is freezing, for example, due to constant drafts. Therefore, one should not allow sudden temperature changes in the room where the tree is located.

Don't worry that the palm tree is growing slowly. This is quite natural for tree crops. You should choose a place for the palm tree where there will be enough sunlight for it. However, you should not expose a home-grown date palm to the test of the scorching rays of the sun. It is best to place the plant pot in the back of the room, provided that the windows face south.

Starting from May, you can transfer the plant to the balcony and loggia. The tree is not afraid of temperatures above +12 ° C Celsius.

As for the humidity of the air, the tree has no special preferences. However, during the heating season, as well as in the hot season, it is necessary to additionally spray the roots of the plant and wipe the leaves with a damp cloth.

It is important not to overflow the palm as its roots are absolutely intolerant of stagnant water. However, do not allow the soil to dry out. In summer, the tree is watered more often, and less often in winter. The reference point is the drying of the soil surface by 2-3 cm. It is important that there is no water in the pan, if it accumulates there during watering, then it must be removed. The watering liquid should be warm. If the plant lacks moisture, then spots will appear on its leaves. You should be very careful about watering, since overdried palm leaves cannot be restored.

As for fertilizers, the plant responds well to special feeding. To do this, you can buy mineral fertilizers for palm trees in the store and apply them according to the instructions.

If you take care of the plant correctly, then it will reach impressive sizes and will delight its owners for many years.

The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist

Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).