Somebody in a gardening centre advised that after having eaten one's dates
at Christmas, to then sew the pips in compost for some nice palms in the
new year. Has anybody here done this and have they any advice?

"Saxman" wrote in message
news
Somebody in a gardening centre advised that after having eaten one's dates
at Christmas, to then sew the pips in compost for some nice palms in the
new year. Has anybody here done this and have they any advice?

sealed plastic bag, slightly damp compost, airing cupboard. When they
germinate, plant in pots.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

In article ,
Saxman wrote:
Somebody in a gardening centre advised that after having eaten one's dates
at Christmas, to then sew the pips in compost for some nice palms in the
new year. Has anybody here done this and have they any advice?

Don't hold your breath. I have got one to germinate, but damned
if I can repeat the effect.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

In article ,
Saxman wrote:
Somebody in a gardening centre advised that after having eaten one's dates
at Christmas, to then sew the pips in compost for some nice palms in the
new year. Has anybody here done this and have they any advice?

Don't hold your breath. I have got one to germinate, but damned
if I can repeat the effect.

Last year I planted about ten, and all came up except two.

Then they all died, one at a time, and I'm left with one, which hasn't
done anything this year.

They need a very deep pot as I presume they have adapted to sending deep
roots down in search of water. Certainly, the roots of mine just went
straight down.

And down.

And down.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
Nick Maclaren wrote:

Don't hold your breath. I have got one to germinate, but damned
if I can repeat the effect.

Here's the easy way:

1) Eat dates yourself or feed the fleshy parts to pet dog, parrot,
pot-bellied pig, capuchin monkey, significant other or any other
omnivore/fructivore.

2) Carefully scrape of any flesh that remains and then gently scrub
the seed clean with a scouring pad (Jif are good). If possible, add
10ml. of common, unscented. household bleach (must be 'straight'
sodium hypochlorite - no additives) to 500ml. water and soak prepared
seeds in this for 30 mins. This is not essential, but it helps to get
rd of any remaining bacteria.

3) Soak the seeds for 10 days in a container of warm water, kept warm
by placing on/close to a radiator. Water temperature can be quite
warm - up to 38C. Change water daily to prevent bacterial build up.

4) Place soaked seeds in a plastic bag of barely moist perlite, seal
tightly and place bag in airing cupboard or any other very warm spot.
Ideal temps are 35 -38C, falling to 20 - 25C periodically. Room
temperature in a moderately warm house will do, but be prepared to
wait a long time.

5) Carefully inspect seeds every 5 - 7 days. You are looking for a
white root-like growth emerging from the side of the seed opposite
the 'crease'. This usually starts to appear as a tiny 'pimple' after
20 -30 days. When it grows to 5mm. or so long, you can go to stage 6.
***Great care is needed - the slightest damage to the tip of this
'growth', will result in the death of the seedling.

6) Handling them extremely carefully, sow the germinated seeds
horizontally in small pots, just below the surface of a
heat-sterilised (microwaved) then cooled mixture of 2 parts perlite :
1 part multi-purpose. Do not use John Innes or 'any old
compost/soil'. Water well and drain thoroughly.

7) Place pot of seeds in a plastic bag, seal and return to airing
cupboard or a warm spot, heated prop tray, mat etc.

8) When shoots appear above compost, bring out into the light, but
keep the bag sealed for a week. Open bag and 'harden' seedlings to
the lower humidity and temperatures.

9) Allow the seedlings to continue growing for several months
maintaining temperatures above 21C and keep in bright, filtered light,
The first leaves are strap-like (adult 'fronds do not appear for the
first 18-36 months), each new leaf becoming wider than its
predecessor. The 'straps' can grow to 45 cms. long and 4 cms wide.

10) When the second seedling leaves have grown to full length
(usually about 20 - 25 cms.) carefully tip the seedlings out of the
pot, gently shaking the old compost away from the roots. Pot
individually into 8 - 10cm. diameter pots using equal parts perlite/
multi-purpose. When the third leaf is part-way grown, commence
feeding every month with a general purpose liquid feed.

It sounds complicated, but in practice it is very simple and once past
the first leaf stage, growing them is more or less plain sailing.
Don't keep them sopping wet, don't let them get bone dry, keep in a
bright spot and don't subject them to very low temperatures.

At the second potting, you can introduce a loam based compost - 2
parts multi-purpose: 1 part John Innes No 2 ; I part perlite and if
you can get hold of those deep pots used by nurseries for climbers
such as Clematis (garden centres usually have plenty knocking around)
so much the better. Within a few years, the leaves will change to
the adult 'fronds' and you'll have your very own, fully fledged date
palm.



Blimey, how do they ever grow in the wild?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

"Tumbleweed" wrote in message
...

"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
Nick Maclaren wrote:

Don't hold your breath. I have got one to germinate, but damned
if I can repeat the effect.

Here's the easy way:

1) Eat dates yourself or feed the fleshy parts to pet dog, parrot,
pot-bellied pig, capuchin monkey, significant other or any other
omnivore/fructivore.

2) Carefully scrape of any flesh that remains and then gently scrub
the seed clean with a scouring pad (Jif are good). If possible, add
10ml. of common, unscented. household bleach (must be 'straight'
sodium hypochlorite - no additives) to 500ml. water and soak prepared
seeds in this for 30 mins. This is not essential, but it helps to get
rd of any remaining bacteria.

3) Soak the seeds for 10 days in a container of warm water, kept warm
by placing on/close to a radiator. Water temperature can be quite
warm - up to 38C. Change water daily to prevent bacterial build up.

4) Place soaked seeds in a plastic bag of barely moist perlite, seal
tightly and place bag in airing cupboard or any other very warm spot.
Ideal temps are 35 -38C, falling to 20 - 25C periodically. Room
temperature in a moderately warm house will do, but be prepared to
wait a long time.

5) Carefully inspect seeds every 5 - 7 days. You are looking for a
white root-like growth emerging from the side of the seed opposite
the 'crease'. This usually starts to appear as a tiny 'pimple' after
20 -30 days. When it grows to 5mm. or so long, you can go to stage 6.
***Great care is needed - the slightest damage to the tip of this
'growth', will result in the death of the seedling.

6) Handling them extremely carefully, sow the germinated seeds
horizontally in small pots, just below the surface of a
heat-sterilised (microwaved) then cooled mixture of 2 parts perlite :
1 part multi-purpose. Do not use John Innes or 'any old
compost/soil'. Water well and drain thoroughly.

7) Place pot of seeds in a plastic bag, seal and return to airing
cupboard or a warm spot, heated prop tray, mat etc.

8) When shoots appear above compost, bring out into the light, but
keep the bag sealed for a week. Open bag and 'harden' seedlings to
the lower humidity and temperatures.

9) Allow the seedlings to continue growing for several months
maintaining temperatures above 21C and keep in bright, filtered light,
The first leaves are strap-like (adult 'fronds do not appear for the
first 18-36 months), each new leaf becoming wider than its
predecessor. The 'straps' can grow to 45 cms. long and 4 cms wide.

10) When the second seedling leaves have grown to full length
(usually about 20 - 25 cms.) carefully tip the seedlings out of the
pot, gently shaking the old compost away from the roots. Pot
individually into 8 - 10cm. diameter pots using equal parts perlite/
multi-purpose. When the third leaf is part-way grown, commence
feeding every month with a general purpose liquid feed.

It sounds complicated, but in practice it is very simple and once past
the first leaf stage, growing them is more or less plain sailing.
Don't keep them sopping wet, don't let them get bone dry, keep in a
bright spot and don't subject them to very low temperatures.

At the second potting, you can introduce a loam based compost - 2
parts multi-purpose: 1 part John Innes No 2 ; I part perlite and if
you can get hold of those deep pots used by nurseries for climbers
such as Clematis (garden centres usually have plenty knocking around)
so much the better. Within a few years, the leaves will change to
the adult 'fronds' and you'll have your very own, fully fledged date
palm.



Blimey, how do they ever grow in the wild?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com



Easier to buy them from the Cash and Carry :-))

In article ,
Tumbleweed wrote:


Blimey, how do they ever grow in the wild?

In hotter climates :-)

They produce quite a lot of seeds, and there is very little
competition, so do not need a high success rate.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:20:42 -0000, "Tumbleweed"
The
soak-method and baggie method provides relatively trouble free short
cuts in an unnatural environment.

Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November

When soaking seeds do you soak in an acid environment or just plain old
water?

Saxman (removethis) wrote:

Somebody in a gardening centre advised that after having eaten one's dates
at Christmas, to then sew the pips in compost for some nice palms in the
new year. Has anybody here done this and have they any advice?

I succeeded germination only once, in cottonwool kept permanently moist
on a sunny kitchen window sill.
This is where is all went to pot: when trying to gently disentangle the
germinated stone from the cottonwool, I broke the sprouting root!
Morality, use a germination medium that you will transplant with the
stone!!

What is *incredibly easy* and successful, is germinating, and growing
on, citrus fruit. They give beautiful plants with glossy evergreen
leaves, and if you're lucky incredibly heady scented flowers. If
you're even luckier and have a greenhouse or conservatory, maybe even
fruit.
I have grown from pip-hood a splendid 4 ft tall grapefruit, now about
10 years old (it's had a few accidents, mostly frost related, from
which it has always recovered, I assume that explains the small size
for the age). I keep it in a very large pot outdoors all year round,
in a suntrap right up against the house. So long as I keep an eye out
for scale insects - which LOVE the young shoots - and some kind of
black mouldy stuff which comes in occasionally in winter, it seems to
be quite happy.

Cat(h)
Herds twirl slow

On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 02:04:12 +0000, Dave Poole wrote:


Here's the easy way:

Thanks for a very descriptive reply.

Do you grow your own?

Do not forget that date palms from seed can either be a male or female
plant, and you will not know for approx 5 years.

Just for interest it is estimated that there are 100 million date
palms worldwide.

In article ,
Dave Poole wrote:
Saxman wrote:

Thanks for a very descriptive reply.
Do you grow your own?

Yes, I grow half a dozen 'dates' (Phoenix) - 1 hybrid and 5
different species including the Canary Island date (Phoenix
canariensis) and edible date (Phoenix dactylifera). They are just
grown for their elegant foliage though - getting ripe fruit in this
country requires much longer and hotter summers than we have at
present.

Or are likely to get, until the sun turns into a red giant or
continental drift moves us much closer to the equator!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.