Many lovers of indoor floriculture at least once tried to grow something exotic and interesting from a stone or seed of a purchased fruit. Perhaps it was a fig, banana, kiwi, coconut or citrus fruits, a date from the stone. Just about him and will be discussed. An overseas guest has long ceased to be something out of the ordinary, and it can be easily found on store shelves. So why not try to grow your own palm tree out of it? Knowing how to grow dates from the stone at home, you can easily make your desires come true. There is nothing difficult in this, the main thing is to make a little effort and have a little patience. And the grown date palm will not cause you much trouble at all, but will only delight with its beauty.
Date tree
In other words, the date palm is a plant fromgenus Palm, which includes from 14 to 17 species growing in Africa and Eurasia. The fruits of many of them are very common foods.
Dates began to grow in ancient Mesopotamia (the territory of modern Iraq) in the fourth millennium BC. For millennia, dates have been a staple food in North Africa and the Middle East.
Biological description of the genus
All representatives of a small genus - mostly trees or squat shrubs with characteristic pinnately dissected leaves. In addition, a distinctive feature of most representatives is a single trunk without branching. Long hard leathery leaves of dark green color near the base have spines. Date - a tree with small yellow flowers collected in paniculate inflorescences. Cirrus leaves are located on a long handle at an angle. The height of the palm tree can be different and ranges from 15 to 30 meters.
Date Tree Fruits
They are not edible in all species, but only in a few. Date palm is especially valued. Sweet fruits have long been used by people as a highly valuable food product. They are sold and exported, as a rule, in dried form. They have a high calorie content and the highest glycemic index. Therefore, people with diabetes need to be extremely careful with these fruits.
Date tree from stone
Grow an exotic palm tree at homeat home is quite realistic and very simple. The most important thing is to pay attention to the dates, it is desirable that they are fresh, not dried out. The fruits can be eaten with pleasure, but leave a few seeds. Rinse thoroughly with water and dry lightly with paper towels. Then, in order to break the integrity of the seed coat, it is necessary to rub it with sandpaper, slightly scratch it. This procedure will speed up germination. Keep in mind that a homemade date tree will not bear fruit, you will only get a beautiful palm tree with large decorative leaves.
How to germinate seeds?
The first step is to prepare the soil in which you will plant the seeds. Recommended soil mixture of the following composition: peat, sand, sawdust in a ratio of 1:1:1. Plant dates vertically so that the top is covered with a layer of earth one centimeter thick. From above, it is desirable to cover the container with swamp moss (sphagnum) to prevent moisture from evaporating. If it is not available, then simply place the container in a transparent plastic bag and place it in a warm place (not lower than 25 ° C). Keep the soil moist at all times. A date from a stone germinates in different ways, on average from one to three or even six months, so you have to be patient. Fresh seeds sprout fastest.
Date seedlings
It is simply impossible to confuse seedlings with anything else. They, like soldiers, jump out of the ground. Thin and long sharp green skewers are pulled out instantly in the first days. Need to waitwhen they grow to a height of 10-15 cm, and only then plant them in separate small pots. Or, as an option, you can immediately plant the bones in a separate container. A date tree from a stone grows, as a rule, strong and he althy. The main thing is to take good care of it. Let's learn how to do it.
A place in the house and soil for the date palm
The best place would be in the house, where there is a lot of diffused sunlight without direct exposure to burning rays. To maintain the symmetry of the plant, it is recommended to rotate it around its axis by 180 degrees every two weeks. Then the palm tree will not lean to one side, and all the leaves will remain straight, even and green.
The soil for the date palm should consist of the following components: turf, leaf soil, humus, peat soil and sand (in a ratio of 2: 2: 4: 1: 2). Be sure to make good drainage from the expanded clay layer and add charcoal to the soil. A date tree grown from a stone is transplanted annually at a young age, and upon reaching the five-year milestone - every few years. The signal for this will be the roots that will come out through the drainage holes, which means that the pot has become small.
Before you grow a date from a seed, you should think about whether you can provide it with suitable conditions, including temperature conditions. In winter, the air should be warmed up in the range from 16 to 18 ° C, and in summer - up to 25-30 ° C.
Water regimeand top dressing with fertilizers
During the period of active vegetation and the growth of green mass (from April to August), watering should be plentiful, do not allow the earthen clod to dry out. And in the autumn-winter time, you need to take small breaks: at this time, the plant begins a mild dormant period.
Feeding with complex mineral fertilizers is also carried out from April to August with a frequency of once every two weeks. Use special preparations for palm trees or for decorative leafy plants with the optimal content of the main elements - nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium - in a ratio of 3:1:3. The date tree is calm to the dry air of apartments with city heating, it has enough humidity at the level of 40-50%. In the summer, a palm tree can be taken out to a balcony or loggia and periodically wiped from dust with a damp sponge.
Characteristic signs of a lack of useful elements
Having learned how to grow dates from the pit at home, it is important to remember the main problems that may arise when growing a palm tree.
- Nitrogen deficiency. Symptoms: palm leaves turn light green, plant growth stops.
- Potassium deficiency. Manifested in spots of bronze color on the leaf blade. Symptoms appear on the old parts of the plant in the first place, only then they move on to the young. Also, yellow translucent or orange spots may appear on the leaves. Gradually, necrosis begins with them. The sheet dries and curls.
- Magnesium deficiency. Symptoms are similar to the previous case, appearing first on older leaves. Deficiency of the element appears as a wide yellow band along the edge of the leaf blade, while it itself retains a bright green color.
- Manganese deficiency. The first signs of a lack of an element begin to appear on young fresh leaves in the form of chlorosis, poor development, smaller in size compared to the rest. The deficiency is mainly caused by the fact that the element does not dissolve at high pH or low air temperature in winter.
Main issues
1) The date tree has stopped growing. This phenomenon is usually accompanied by leaf chlorosis. The reason is the low air temperature, the growth of roots, and consequently, the absorption of nutrients by them, stops at 16-17°C. There is a deficiency of several trace elements at once. The way out of the situation is to maintain the correct temperature in the room at the level of 25-27 ° С.
2) Lack of nutrients. The first symptom is the appearance of chlorotic spots, which, if no action is taken, turn into necrotic. A lack of copper, manganese and iron can cause high soil acidity. Apply fertilizer correctly, in strict accordance with the instructions.
3) Edge burn of leaves. Palm trees, including the date tree, are very sensitive to soil waterlogging and do not tolerate poorly drained substrates. First, the roots are damaged, and, as a result, a marginal burn on the leaves soon occurs. The way out is to change the substrate andreduce watering.
Knowing how to grow a date from the seed at home, the basic conditions of detention and possible problems, you can get a beautiful and strong plant.
