Date palm is a perennial tree on which delicious sweet fruits - dates grow. The plant is distributed mainly in Asia and Africa. In the countries of Europe, as a rule, decorative species of plants are grown. The date palm Phoenix has gained wide popularity due to the possibility of growing from the stone and ease of care.
History of the date tree
Archaeologists have found that dates were grown in Egypt in the Neolithic, and on the shores of the Indian Ocean - at the beginning of the Bronze Age. There is evidence that date trees were grown on the lands of modern Iran as far back as the 6th century BC.
Palm tree with dates
According to legends, the date palm was considered a tree of life, which symbolized immortality and restoration. In the countries of the Middle East, a date palm tree was revered as a "tree from space." Ancient people believed that dates are a tree whose fruits can be called the food of the gods and the first people on earth.
Date palm was considered a symbol of wealth and a good harvest. Ancient people believed that the dried fruits of the date palm have a healing effect on the whole body. This tree was worshiped and described in verse, and many artists depicted it on their canvases. Martiros Saryan "date palm" - a famous work that was written by the artist in 1911.
Decorative date palm
In European countries, date trees are grown recently and mainly as a houseplant.
General description
Date palm (Latin - Phoenix dactylifera) belongs to the Palm family (Arecaceae). The average height of the tree is 12-32 meters. The growth rate of a young plant is about 50 cm per year. At the age of 15, the palm reaches 7 meters in height. As a rule, the trunk of the palms is shaggy, from the bases of fallen leaves.
The top of the date palm is decorated with a rosette of 15 cirrus leaves, which reach five meters in length. Long panicle inflorescences are formed in the axils of the leaves. During ripening, the inflorescences bend under their weight.
Fruits are dates, they are oblong or oval, reach 2-7 cm in length and 3.5 cm in diameter. Date - a completely edible fruit, in ripe form it is yellow-brown or red-chestnut in color.
Interesting! Date fruits have high nutritional value and are easily absorbed by the human body. By taste, dates can be called premium dessert fruit.
It has a sweet nutritious flesh, in which a solid bone is hidden with a longitudinal groove on its side. For full ripening, a stable air temperature of about 35-40 degrees is required.
The fruits of the date tree are consumed in fresh, dried, dried and candied forms. Fresh fruits are not stored for long, therefore, on store shelves are presented in the form of dried fruit. Pitted dates, what is it - the fruit of a date palm, from which a seed was removed before drying.
Date palm blooms in natural conditions.
The taste of the date is very sweet, sometimes even too much, depending on which variety. How much sugar is in dried dates with seeds - the dried fruits of the date palm contain 60-65% sugar (mainly fructose and glucose, which does not adversely affect the body), it is much more than in other fruits.
Distribution area
The date palm grows in areas with a hot climate and can only tolerate short-term cooling. The tree is common in Europe, Asia, India, Africa, the city of Luxor, South America and Australia. Canarian dates and Robelins prefer to grow on coastal sites, stones and rocks. The palmate date palm grows in oases located in the Libyan and Nubian deserts.
Types of Date Phoenix Palm
More than 17 species of date trees are known that are grown as a houseplant and fruit tree. The most common types of date palm trees include:
- Canary (canariensis);
- Palmate;
- Robelini (roebelenii).
Canary
Canarian date - in the natural habitat, the columnar tree trunk grows up to 15 meters high, up to 1 meter wide. Under indoor conditions, the plant is much smaller. The Canary date palm has sufficiently large separate leaves of malachite color.
Canary Date Palm
Flowering of the tree occurs only in nature, in the conditions of home maintenance the plant does not bloom. Canary dates in home care require careful adherence to the watering regime and ensure good lighting.
Palmate
Date palmate - in nature, a tree trunk reaches 30 meters in height and 30 centimeters in circumference. On the trunk of the tree are numerous remains of petioles of dried leaves. The leaves are separate, quite long (up to six meters), arranged in a beam-like manner, like a bouquet at the very top.
Note! Due to the large size, young plants are grown at home.
Palm date palm
Robelini
Date Robelini is a multi-barrel or single-barrel squat tree, grows up to 1-3 meters in height. The trunk in a circle is about 10 cm. The leaves are pinnate, of medium length (up to 1-2 meters), their color is dark green.
Date Robelini
Due to its small size and slow growth, this species is very easy to grow at home.
Home Care
The rules for caring for a date palm are the same as for other types of palm trees.
Lighting
The date tree loves good lighting, but it will feel great even in partial shade. A pot with a plant can be placed on the windowsill of a western or eastern window. In order for the crown to develop evenly, the plant needs open light, and you should also regularly turn it with different sides to the light source.
Palm tree in a floor pot
In summer, when the nights are warm and the temperature does not drop below +12 degrees, you can keep the palm tree outdoors in the garden, under the shadow of the rest of the trees. If this is not possible, then it is worth taking the plant to the loggia or balcony, but provide it with protection from direct sunlight.
Important! If the palm is not turned in different directions towards the sun, the crown will develop well only on one side.
Watering
When kept at home, the plant must be provided with regular watering. Do not allow the drying of an earthen coma in a pot. As soon as the top layer (2-3 cm) of soil becomes dry, it is necessary to water it. During the period of active growth (from the beginning of April - August), the palm tree needs the greatest amount of watering.
During extreme heat, the plant is watered every two days and sprayed leaves are sprayed once a day. During dormancy (September - end of March), the plant should be watered less often (not more than 1 time per week) and not so abundantly.
Watering palm trees from a watering can
To maintain soil moisture, you can put a pot with a plant on a pallet with wet expanded clay or moss. When watering a palm tree, do not pour too much water, otherwise, due to strong soil moisture, the roots may rot and the plant will die. It is very important that the pot is equipped with good drainage.
Temperature and humidity
In the spring and summer months, when there is an active process of vegetation, + 20-25 ° C is considered the ideal temperature for tree maintenance. During the dormant period (autumn, winter), the optimum air temperature for the plant is considered to be + 15-18 ° C, but there are such types of date palms that winter well at + 8-10 ° C.
When keeping a date tree, it is worth considering that it reacts poorly to a draft. Leaves may darken or fall completely. Also, the plant has a very sensitive root system, so the pot with a palm tree should not be placed on a cold marble floor or window sill.
The tree is very fond of high humidity, and the higher it is, the better (about 70-85%). It is recommended to install humidifiers in the room where the plant stands, and also regularly spray the leaves with warm filtered water.
Water spray
Once every two weeks, you need to wipe the palm leaves with a soft and damp sponge. Once every 7 days, it is worth moisturizing the plant from the shower, while the water should be warm and soft.
Top dressing
During the active growing season, the date palm is fertilized once every 14 days. During dormancy, fertilizers are applied once every 30 days. They are used in liquid form. Integrated top dressing for ornamental-growing deciduous plants and special mineral and organic complexes for palm trees are considered the best.
The plant is fed both by the root method and by foliar, spraying the leaves of the plant with fertilizer. For a good increase in the green mass of palm leaves, a large amount of nitrogen is needed.
Transfer
Despite the fact that the date palm tree does not like transplants, it still needs to be transplanted. Young plants, aged 1-5 years, require an annual transplant. Palm trees older than 5 years should be transplanted every 2-3 years.
The transplantation is carried out by transshipment with an old earthen lump. First, a drainage layer of expanded clay is laid at the bottom of the new pot, then a palm tree is placed together with the old earth and sprinkled with the necessary amount of new soil mixture.
Transplanting a plant into a new pot
When transplanting, it should be borne in mind that the pot for the plant must be selected very high, since the roots of the palm are quite long. For transplanting a date palm, as a rule, they use this option of soil: turf, sheet soil and sand. All components are taken in equal proportions.
Palm Growing Problems
If you do not follow the necessary rules of care, water it a lot or a little, then soon the plant may become sick, pests may even appear on it.
Insects and pests
The most common pests that attack a home date palm:
- Red spider mite. This insect, as a rule, starts up with improper watering and non-compliance with the temperature conditions in the room. First, the tick affects the stems and then palm leaves;
- Shield. These insects look like brown dots. They hit the surface of the leaves, sucking out all the juice from them. As a result, the leaves on the palm tree begin to turn yellow, dry out and fall off;
- The spider mite is ordinary. This insect may appear due to too dry indoor air. When the palm is affected by this pest, a small cobweb can be seen on the leaves.
Leaves dry on a palm tree
- Powdery Worm. This pest affects the stem of the plant and the leaves themselves. If no action is taken, the tree will dry very quickly;
- Thrips. Very small midges that lay their eggs on palm leaves. If the plant is infected, brown spots can be seen on the inside of the leaves, and white on the outside.
If these pests are detected, you should not panic - it is quite possible to cure the plant.
Pests can be overcome using the following methods:
- Mechanical removal with a sponge and soap;
- Spraying with drugs: Pyrethrum, Fosfamide, Actellik, Fitoverm. These funds are used in the form of a solution, using 2 grams of the drug per liter of water;
- By treating the leaves and the stem with alcohol (soaked areas are wiped with a wet cotton swab, sprayed with water).
Additional Information. It is necessary to periodically inspect the trunk, leaves and stems of the date palm in order to timely notice pests that can lead to the death of the plant.
Common diseases
Date palms are not only attacked by insects, but also diseases.
The tips of the leaves are dry
As a rule, the tips of the leaves begin to dry in the palm of the tree with insufficient watering, when the ground becomes very dry. Another reason is the lack of fertilizer. If watering is carried out regularly, and top dressing is applied on time, then the reason may be in increased soil moisture at the roots.
This happens with insufficiently loose soil. You can solve the problem by pulling the plant out of the pot, cleaning the roots and replanting in another pot, but be sure to lay a drainage layer on the bottom.
Leaves turn yellow
If the leaves turn yellow on the palm, this means that either it was poorly watered, or an insufficient amount of nutritious fertilizing was introduced. Also, the cause may be irrigation with hard water and too dry air in the room.
The leaves are dry
You can solve the problem by spraying more often and watering with purified warm water.
Brown leaves
Why brown leaves appeared on a palm tree - the plant was subjected to too much wetting or hypothermia. To save the tree, you need to pull it out of the pot and inspect the roots, cut off the damaged ones, sprinkle with crushed coal and transplant the plant into new soil.
How to grow a palm from a date bone
The uniqueness of the date palm is that it can be grown from seed. For breeding to occur, it is important to choose those dried fruits that have not been heat-treated. Only such a palm will not bear fruit.
Date bones, potted soil and sprouts
Bone preparation and germination
Separate the bone from the dates, rinse thoroughly and soak in warm water for a day. For better germination, scalp can be scalded with boiling water. Next, date seeds must be put on a layer of wet cotton wool and covered with another layer.
Place cotton wool in a container and place in a very warm place for germination. It is necessary to constantly moisten the cotton wool and make sure that mold does not appear. It can take more than one month to germinate, so be patient.
Soil selection and landing
When a sprout appears on the bone, it can be planted in previously prepared soil. For its preparation take: turf, peat, sawdust and humus in equal quantities. You can also use a store substrate for palm trees.
Important! put a drainage layer on the bottom of the tank. To deepen a bone a third into the ground. Place the container with landings in a warm place. Keep the ground in the container slightly moist. A layer of sphagnum moss can be laid on top of the ground.
Sprout care
The first shoots appear in 1-6 months. When they grow to 10-15 centimeters, they must be transplanted into separate pots. It is important that the pots are tall, as long roots grow on a date. This is followed by an annual transplant into a larger pot.
During the growth period of young plants, pruning should not be carried out, since the growth point is located at the very top. Also, the sprouts need to provide a full daylight and stable air temperature.
Growing a date palm at home is the dream of many gardeners, it can be easily translated into reality, you just have to put a little effort and patience.
