How to grow a date from a stone - the secrets of successful germination

Tell me how to grow a date from a stone? My daughter wanted a date palm, went around all the flower shops, we don't have this anywhere. We read that you can plant a bone from a fresh fruit. But it is so hard, how long will it germinate?

Unlike indoor citrus fruits, house date palms do not bear fruit. But on the other hand, their huge fan leaves, gathered around a thick trunk, look gorgeous and will decorate any room, both residential and office. Moreover, it is not at all necessary to look for expensive seedlings - it is enough to know how to grow a date from a stone. Yes, from the usual stone of ordinary dates, bought in the store in the dried fruit section. In dried and dried dates, the bone remains "viable" and germinates under favorable conditions. Of course, you need to help her a little, as well as create a comfortable environment for the young seedling. And then in a couple of years you will have your own palm tree.

There are more than 1000 varieties of dates, but only 3 types grow at home: finger, Canarian and Robelena. By the way, the stores mainly sell finger dates.

How to grow a date from a stone - planting features

So, first of all, we go to the store and buy good and high quality dried dates there. We eat all the pulp, and be sure to wash the bone well and leave it in water for 2 days. It is necessary to clean it completely from the remnants of the pulp, otherwise the mold will appear earlier than the sprout.

Date pits are extremely thick and strong, so they need to be pre-processed:

1. We put it in hot water for 10 minutes.
2. Rub the peel with sandpaper or prick it with a needle.

We mix sawdust, sand, peat and humus... Pour the mixture into pots and plant the seeds, sticking them vertically completely. Cover with plastic wrap and place in heat for germination.

How to care for a date seedling

The date sprouts for a long time, so we are in no hurry to remove the shelter. You may have to wait a couple of months, periodically moistening the soil. When the sprout appears, remove the film and wait for the first leaf, and then transfer the seedling into a deep pot. Necessarily together with a lump of earth, because the delicate roots absolutely do not suffer damage, and the seedlings may die.

We put the transplanted young dates on the east window, where it is light and warm. And don't forget to look after them:

1. Water and spray regularly, draining the water from the pallet.
2. From spring to autumn, we feed them twice a month with a mineral complex. In winter, a single application of fertilizer every month is sufficient.
3. In winter, we supplement the lighting so that the daylight hours are at least 12 hours.
4. Also, in winter, we transfer the pots to a cooler room with a temperature not higher than 16 ° C heat.

When the date grows up to 15 cm in height, we transfer it again with the ground into a more spacious container. In the future, we carry out transplantation annually. Dates do not need pruning, unless you can cut off the dried lower leaves.

Date palm from stone