Planting date seeds

Video: DATE SEED GERMINATION | How to Grow Date Palm Tree from Seed | Date Palm Plant - Sprouting Seeds

Content

To step
Part 1 of 3: Germinating the seed
Part 2 of 3: Planting the germinated seed
Part 3 of 3: Caring for your date plant
Necessities
Tips

When the weather is warm, it can be fun to germinate a date seed and then plant it. The seeds of dates can grow into date palms that you can enjoy at home, on your patio or in your garden. Simply collect the seeds from some medjool dates, wash them and let them germinate for several months. Once the seeds have germinated, you can plant them in a pot with soil. Give them plenty of water and as much sunlight as possible. Date palms are slow growers, so you may have to wait 4 years for them to reach maturity, but planting is an easy way to get started!

To step

Part 1 of 3: Germinating the seed

Buy some ripe medjool dates and collect the seeds. Buy some ripe medjool dates and open them to extract the seeds from the core. Set the seeds aside and eat or discard the fruits.
- The dates are ripe when they are slightly wrinkled or when a sticky liquid leaks out.
Clean the seeds to remove fruit debris. Rinse the seeds thoroughly and rub off any excess date flesh. If the remaining pulp is stubborn, you can soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours and then scrub the pulp off.
Soak the seeds in fresh water for 48 hours. Fill a cup or bowl with cold water and place the seeds in it to soak. Change the water once a day by pouring out the old water and refilling it with fresh water. This will help prevent mold.
- Soaking the seeds will help the seed coat absorb water and prepare for the germination process.
- Discard any seeds that float on top of the water. You are supposed to use only the seeds that sink to the bottom.
Fold 2 seeds in a damp paper towel. Run water over a paper towel to moisten it. Then place the paper towel on the counter and place a date seed on each end. Fold the paper towel so that it covers both seeds and then fold it in half. The seeds should be completely covered by a paper towel.
Place the seeds and kitchen paper in a plastic bag and seal it. Open a plastic bag with a zipper and put the damp paper towel folded in half in it. Make sure the seeds are still there before closing the bag.
Keep the bag in a warm, dark place for 6-8 weeks. The seeds will germinate best at a temperature between 21-24 ° C. Find a place in your home that stays warm, such as on top of a refrigerator, or use a heat mat to control the temperature more carefully.
Check the bag regularly for mold and how growth is progressing. Every 2 weeks or so you have to open the bag and check the progress. Also check for mold and do whatever it takes to replace moldy paper towels with clean damp paper towels. After 2-4 weeks you should see small roots growing from the seed.
Plant the seed in a pot once it has germinated. Continue to monitor the progress of the germination process. Once the seed has sprouted along the roots, it's time to take it out of the paper towel and plant!
Try to germinate seeds in pots if you prefer them in containers. Prepare one pot per seed by filling the pots with one part seed germination compost and one part sand. Water the soil a little so that it is moist and then plant the seeds so that half of each seed is exposed. Cover the exposed portion of the seed with sand. Cover the pots with cling film and place them in a place with indirect sunlight and a temperature around 21 ° C.
- The seeds should germinate after 3-8 weeks.
- Place the pots on a germination mat if you have trouble finding a spot with 21 ° C.

Part 2 of 3: Planting the germinated seed

Find a pot with many drainage holes in the bottom. Find a stoneware pot or plastic container with many holes for good drainage. You can also buy a plate to set up the pot or container to catch drips.
- Start with a small pot, but remember that you will need to transplant to a large pot as the plant grows.
Fill the pot up to 3/5 with potting soil. To estimate the amount of soil, fill the pot to a little more than half full. Use a mixture for palms or cacti. These usually contain a good mix of soil, sand, vermiculite, perlite and peat moss to control moisture and drainage.
- Don't push the earth. It should be loose for good drainage.
- You can also add vermiculite or sand to normal potting soil. Choose a ratio of 1: 4 or 1: 3.
Place the germinated seed 2-3 cm above the center of the soil. Hold the leafy or sprouted end slightly above the center of the pot. The point where the shoot sprouts should be about 2-3 cm below the rim of the pot.
- If the roots are still delicate, you can plant the shoot along with the kitchen paper to protect it.
- Only plant a sprouted seed pet pot.
Fill the rest of the pot with gently packed soil or sand. Hold the seed and shoot in place while you add the rest of the soil and backfill to the point where the shoot emerges. Press the soil down a little so that the shoot gets some support when standing upright.
Water the plant properly. After planting, the shoot will need a good drink of water. Pour water on the soil until it seeps out through the drainage holes in the bottom. Let the soil absorb and drain the water and water the plant again until the soil is completely wet.

Part 3 of 3: Caring for your date plant

Place the pot in a sunny place. Some good places are near a window with a lot of sunlight or an open terrace. The plant will grow best in full sun, so try to expose it to the sun as often as possible.
Water the plant when the first 5 cm of soil feels dry. Check the soil daily by inserting your index finger up to the second knuckle. If the soil feels moist, the plant still has enough moisture and you should wait before watering. If the soil feels dry, pour a little water evenly spread over the surface of the soil.
- It is better to water plants when they need it than to follow a set schedule. In general, date palms need water about weekly.
Transplant the date palm to a large pot as it grows. Once you notice that the plant is getting too big for the current pot or if roots are growing out of the bottom of the pot, move it to a larger pot. Continue to do this throughout the plant's life as it continues to grow. Always water the plant before and after transplanting to a new pot.
- Once the plant is the size of a tree, you can place the large pot outside, for example on a terrace. Make sure it is a place with maximum sun exposure.
- If necessary, you can also keep the plant in a large pot indoors near a sunny window. However, do not forget that this will slow growth significantly.
- When the weather is warm, you can also plant the date palm outside in the garden.
Transplant the date palm to the garden when it gets too big for a pot. If the weather is warm or your garden is very sunny, you can put the date palm outside and plant it in the ground. You have to choose a sunny spot and dig a hole large enough for the roots of the plant. Remove the plant from the pot and place it in the hole. Then fill the pit with soil.
- Remember that a date palm can grow taller than 20 meters over time. So choose a place that offers the tree enough room to grow!