The name "date palm" is some romantically associated with the legendary phoenix - a bird with a female head, which burnt itself, anticipating death, but then was reborn from the ashes younger and more beautiful. So the palm tree - growing on dead hot sand for 150-200 years in the desert, dries up. But new shoots form from the dying trunk and seed.
Palm tree is known as an edible plant. Moreover, seeds, fruits, young leaves, and even the core of the trunk come for food. Historically, a palm tree has been known for a long time. Even the ancient Greeks announced in a palm branch in the hands of messengers of their victory. The ancient Egyptians used the ability of palm leaves to die off every month, giving a new leaf, like a calendar. The holy books of India were scratched with an iron needle on palm leaves. In India, the date palm was the emblem of an ancient country where its image was minted on coins. From the Latin language, the name of the palm of a dactylifera is translated as fingers. And the fingers of a palm tree are her dates.
In many countries, date palm trees are cultivated and grown at home. Caring for her is not complicated. The plant needs bright light, even direct sunlight is allowed . It is better to allocate a place for a palm tree near a window facing the southeast or south side. Palm - a sun-loving plant, with a lack of light, the leaves of the date palm become brittle and can stretch. Therefore, it is important that the light evenly hits the plant, for which the palm needs to be periodically rotated. In the summer of a date palm, a moderate temperature regime of 18-20 ° C is enough. In winter, a date palm, the care of which varieties is different, is contained at a temperature of 8 - 20 ° C, depending on the species. The plant needs abundant watering, but not allowing stagnation in a pot of water. In summer, you can leave some liquid in the sump. In winter, watering can be reduced, but at the same time, make sure that the earthen lump does not dry out. The leaves in this case fall off and are not restored, so you have to resort to tying to the trunk or support, spots may also appear. A date palm, the care of which involves the use of only soft water, is prone to chlorosis with hard water - brown spots form on the leaves, growth slows down. Leaf spotting is observed with excessive watering of the plant in winter.
In February or March, you can try growing a date palm from a stone. To do this, you need a bone of raw dates, just eaten. For a day it is necessary to allow the bone to dry so that there is no rotting from the remnants of the fetus. Then, the hard bone of the date should be soaked for several days in warm water, changing the water daily. During this time, the bone will swell and it will be easier for the sprout to break into the light. You can resort to one of the following methods: scald with hot water, scratch a bone before soaking, to speed up the process of penetration of water into the cells or make a shallow incision in the bone itself so that it breaks faster. Next, the bone is vertically planted in the ground. The temperature for germination should be observed within 25-30 ° C. The soil should be moistened daily. For seed growth, 1.5–3 months after planting in a pot are necessary. When the sprout reaches 10 cm, it can be transplanted into a pot, where the date palm will continue to grow. Caring for it is the same as for the rest of the plants belonging to this group.
Another variety of palm trees grown at home is the Howea palm, which got its name from the island where it grows. This beautiful and hardy plant, unpretentious in care, can tolerate dry air and the shade of the room quite well. Howea can be grown at the northwest and northeast windows of the room.