How to grow a date from a stone at home

Dates are a favorite treat, sweet and healthy. Dates are called the fruit of the date palm. Eating a fruit or seeing an exotic, spectacular palm, many people have a question – how to grow a date palm from a stone at home? Easy enough to do! Endurance and resistance to pests – make it easy to grow at home. And the slender and beautiful tree will decorate any corner of the house. Want to try fresh fruit? Then you need to grow two palms of different sex and wait at least 5-6 years!

The date palm is an ancient crop

The date palm has been cultivated in northern Africa and Asia Minor for six thousand years. It is native to Mesopotamia. Written sources and graphic images on the walls of temples are direct evidence of its ancient veneration and importance. Thus, the Quran repeatedly speaks of the date as a gift to the people! Parts of the plant were actively used in construction works: the trunks were used to make dwellings, which were covered with leaves on top. Local residents to this day can not imagine their diet without dates, which are considered, not only nutritious, but also healing, normalizing the digestive and cardiovascular systems.

Preparation for planting

The easiest way, which was used by many people in their childhood, to plant the pips from just eaten dates in the ground. Dates are so undemanding and hardy that many pips planted in the “baby” way will germinate in 2-3 months.

And yet, to be sure of a successful germination, it is better to plant the seeds “scientifically”. Take fresh fruits or dried fruits, although their germination is much lower, many of them give sprouts. Be careful not to plant the seeds of dates boiled in syrup. Wash and dry the hard middle of the dates. The pips are scratched, cut, rubbed with sandpaper or scalded with hot water to break the integrity of the shells and the manipulation makes the seeds germinate more quickly.

Swollen pips will sprout much faster. So we keep them in a humid environment (wet absorbent cotton, syntepon, paper, etc.) or in water until they swell. Change the water every 1-2 days to avoid rotting. Scarified and swollen seeds germinate much faster and in some cases begin to grow as early as 2 weeks. But do not be dismayed if it takes a couple of months before the seed starts to sprout, despite your best efforts.

Planting the seedpod in the ground

Pips are placed in the ground vertically, and covered with a layer of 1-1,5 cm. The soil should be kept moist all the time. A planting container is placed in a plastic bag and closed tightly or cover the surface from above with film or glass. From time to time the soil a little watered.

There are two options for planting at home:

• Pips are placed immediately in a permanent place to grow seedlings immediately without the initial transplanting. Soil can be bought in a store marked “for Palms” or prepare, using the following components and proportions: clay (sod) soil, humus leaf, humus manure, peat, sand.
• Plant pips at home before germination in temporary substrates: peat with sand, vermiculite or coconut fiber. Their advantage over soil substrates is moisture capacity, oxygen saturation, absence of potential pathogenic microflora. When sprouts appear, the date is transplanted to a permanent place.

Growing a young and an adult date palm: the differences

Are there differences in the cultivation of plants of different ages? The peculiarity of dates is the large size and powerful root system. The first few years of life achieve root and crown growth with frequent feeding and replanting every year. Leaves are unsightly, thin. Roots develop mainly, and the above-ground part grows slowly. And after 5 years, the growth of the dateberry, on the contrary, should be restrained. The crown acquires a characteristic luxurious appearance and quickly gains green mass. The adult palm is transplanted at home only by transplanting, so as not to damage the roots, once every 3-4 years, and after 15 years of life – once every 5-6 years. Sometimes, remove only the top layer of soil, replacing it with fresh soil.

Care of the plant at home

At home we choose the sunniest place – southern, southeastern windows, bright loggias and balconies. From the midday sun it is better to shade, although in their homeland and some hardened in domestic conditions instances perfectly withstand staying in direct sun for a few hours. A simple rule will help to keep the symmetry of the crown: turn the palm around its axis by 180 degrees in relation to the source of light every 2 weeks.

Temperature

During the growing season the ideal temperature for growing at home is 22-25°C. In winter it should not fall below 15°C. Roots at a lower temperature do not assimilate many nutrients and starvation of the plant occurs if they are sufficiently contained in the soil.

Watering

At home the palm is watered abundantly in warm seasons, but drying the top layer of soil before the next watering is mandatory. Water should be in abundance, but stagnation is not allowed. Good drainage, large drainage holes at the bottom of pots, drainage of excess water in half an hour after watering solve the problem of excessive moisture.

Wash the dust off the leaves often by spraying them, transplant and feed them on time, provide the right temperature and light conditions, and then it will be easy to grow the date palm. Healthy and beautiful it will please you for many years at home.

Fertilizer

Nourish the palm at home better complex fertilizers (Kemira, Agricola, etc.) with a full content of trace elements and with balanced macronutrients.

Pay attention to the instructions: the formula should contain the most nitrogen, which is necessary for the growth of the crown.

It is important to fertilize the plant as needed, but not less than once a month, as home conditions are much different from natural ones.

Species and varieties

The genus dateberry belongs to the palm family. There are up to 17 species in the genus. The trunk of the palm is often one, but there are several, differing in size. Height in nature reaches 15-30 m, at home growth is limited to the ceiling. The crown consists of unpaired, large, stiff, pointed leaves. The small flowers are gathered in an inflorescence of panicles. The date palm comes in male and female varieties. Fruits are edible in a small number of species. Particularly popular is the species F. palmate, and if you plant pips from purchased fruits at home, you are likely to grow this particular species. At home you can grow F. canarius, which tolerates low winter temperatures up to 8° C, F. bent, growing as a bush, and F. robelena, the most graceful and rare.

Each region of ancient growth spontaneously developed its own varieties of dates over many centuries, and they are still the leaders in the creation of various varieties. In Egypt, the most popular varieties are considered to be Nasrallah, Ahmadinejad, in Iran – Diri, Mazafati, Piyarom, in Saudi Arabia – Asuqqari, Shakra, Barhi, in Algeria – Deglet noor. In recent years, the large, “royal” variety Majhol is highly valued.

There are more than 1500 varieties. All of them are very sweet, shades of taste differ in different varieties, different colors – yellow, brown, red, black, the surface is smooth or wrinkled.