Under natural conditions, date palms grow into a strong tree with a powerful trunk. Homeland plants consider hot Africa and India.
It is known that a tree can live in conditions of heat and hot sand up to one hundred and fifty years.
Optimal conditions in the house for growing
To grow palm trees at home, it is necessary to provide it with the most comfortable conditions. The soil for the date palm is chosen loose, well permeable to moisture and air, soft and nourishing. You can purchase a purchased substrate for palm plants, you can cook yourself. To do this, take the turf ground, humus or compost and sand in equal parts with the addition of superphosphate. The pot for the date palm is chosen according to the height and depth, the main thing is to hold the long roots of the plant.
Did you know? Dates, along with buttermilk, are traditionally eaten by Muslims at the end of Ramadan fasting after sunset. Another tradition of Muslims in Oman: when a boy is born in a family, the father plants a date palm. The tree grows with the child and serves as a talisman.
Place and lighting for palm
The palm tree in nature develops beautifully under the conditions of the scorching sun and heat, but in the apartment house plants are not adapted for such an extreme. It is best to place the plant pot near the windows facing the southern, eastern and western sides, but not in direct sunlight, the leaves should not get burned. As the leaves always reach for the light, The palm must be regularly rotated around the axis so that the crown will develop evenly, and the leaves will not stretch from one side. In winter, the palm tree should provide additional lighting with fluorescent lamps.
Important! Without proper lighting, date palm leaves are deformed, strongly stretched, become fragile, brittle, fall down.
Temperature
Temperature conditions for palm trees in flat conditions - 23-25 degrees of heat. In the spring, when the air temperature warms up to +12 degrees, a palm tree can be carried out on the loggia, gradually increasing the time for “walking”. The plant loves fresh air, so it is advisable to ventilate the room in which there is a pot with dates. In winter, a palm tree is at rest, it can be kept in cooler conditions, but not lower than 14 degrees Celsius. In the summer, the palm tree carries the heat to 30 degrees, but with the maximum humidity.
Features of care for date palm at home
The date palm lives and develops in drought conditions in the homeland, but it does not remain without water, we do not forget about the long roots. At home, the plant requires attention not only when watering but also in nutrition, maintaining the shape of the crown and increasing the area as it grows.
Watering palm
Let's figure out how to water a date palm in different periods of her life. If you planted a palm tree from a stone, then while the plant grows, watering should be rare, on the verge of complete drying of the soil. When a young bush is formed, follow the top layer of the soil - two or three centimeters, watering is carried out as it dries. For watering palm trees use separated water. Water that has fallen into the pot tray must be drained immediately.
Attention! In winter, plant life processes are slowed down, watering is reduced to a minimum. If moisture stagnates, the root system will rot, and the date will die.
Air humidity
The plant does not require specific indicators of moisture, but in winter it should be removed as far as possible from the heating devices, preferably wiping the leaves with a damp cloth. This will fulfill several functions at once: it will give the plant additional moisture, clean it of dust, serve as insect prevention. In the summer, with dry weather and heat, the care of the date palm includes spraying and warm baths once a week. During the bath procedure, the soil clod around the trunk of a palm tree should be covered with a thick film and water should not be allowed to fall on it.
Top dressing
Palm fertilizers can be used commercially - complex preparations for large ornamental plants. Date palm responds equally well to organic matter and mineral fertilizers. In the warm season, the plant is fed twice a month, in the cold - once a month. Fertilizers for dates are desirable in liquid form. Top dressing of potassium nitrate (10 g per 10 l of water) is allowed. On sale there are complex compositions directly for palm trees.
Palm leaf pruning
It is important to know how to prune a palm tree so as not to destroy the plant. The pruning procedure removes dead leaves, damaged, bent too low. Side shoots are also removed when they appear, for a normal development and decorative appearance the palm tree should have one central trunk. When pruning, be careful: you can not damage the main shoot, otherwise the plant will die.
Important! Do not immediately remove the yellowed leaves, the plant for some time pulls them from the nutrients. No need to remove the leaves more than they grew over the year.
Date palm transplant at home
Consider how to transplant a date palm. Terms of transplantation depend on the age of the palm and its size. The plant at the age of five is transplanted every year, picking up a pot four centimeters more. Plants older than five years are transplanted once every three years or earlier if the roots are already visible through the drainage holes.
Date palm transplantation is carried out by the method of transshipment, since its root system is rather fragile and requires careful handling. Before the procedure, the earth ball is carefully watered so that it is easier to pull it out of the pot. The plant is taken out on spreading paper, drainage is placed in a pot. For self-preparation of the soil you need:
- sod soil - 2 parts;
- sheet - 2 parts;
- peat - 1 part;
- sand - 1 part;
- handful of charcoal.
Possible problems when growing date palm trees
Date palm may be attacked by pests. and most often with the wrong care at home. Due to excessive waterlogging, palm leaves may darken to brown-brown, the trunk will soften, and the plant will produce an unpleasant smell of rot. To stop the situation will help stop watering and complete drying of the soil. In this situation, a careful examination of the root system will not be superfluous: if the roots are soft, then the palm tree cannot be saved. If there are live roots, then it is necessary to remove rotten roots, process the cuts with crushed coal and dry the soil.
If only the ends of the leaf plates become brown, the reason may be a lack of moisture, temperature drops as a result of the draft, and dry air. In the case of darkening of the lower leaves - this is most likely age.
If the date palm leaves turn yellow, the reason may be too hard water or a lack of nutrients. Water for irrigation should be defended, even better to use filtered. Do not forget about date palm dressing. Leaves with an intact leaf plate may be tied up during treatment.
Too faded, shrinking, twisting and dropping leaves may indicate the presence of insect pests.
In this case, it is necessary to wash the leaves and stalks of palm trees with a soapy solution, spray the plant with an insect repellent. If there are few pests, try garlic extract; if on the contrary, resort to help. "Aktellika", "Confidor", "Fitoverma".
Interesting! Date palm is cultivated, according to scientists, from the IV millennium BC. er The ancients called the plant "tree of life" and "flower phoenix". The tree of life is because all parts of the plant are somehow used, and the phoenix is for incredible vitality. Palm, like a phoenix bird, can be reborn from the dead part of the trunk.Date palm easily takes root at home. The uniqueness of the plant is that You can even grow it from the bone. Adult plants are especially beautiful in large rooms of a private house, on terraces in the warm season.
