Date Palm?

I germinated one a few years back, just given the plant to JWK, he hates me now as he'd just finished his conservatory, now he's got to extend the roof.

 

Aren't they the same (give or take a variety or two, bred for eating dates) as Canary Island Date Palms (CIDP) ?

Popular tropical/exotic plant and with some protection can survive outside - at risk from a really bad winter though.

 

How fast do we reckon they'll grow?

 

Easy enough to germinate in a plastic bag with some damp peat in the airing cupboard.
Pot up when a root appears.

Fairly slow growing and more upright than Canary palm, also not as bright green.

Not likely to be hardy and needs some heat and strong sun in summer to grow well.

 

Hi FC , Look at my picture I`ve just left some seeds in the compost and look at some of them coming out .


Yes it does make a nice palm , but need at least 5 years before you will see something. I used to have a big one outdoor , but gone in 2010 , can take -5 /7 if it`s dry , seen some big plants around London area.

but this is how it will look after 5 years.

got one the same , but you can buy one of it for a 5 pounds .

 

Yep, easy to germinate, I've got one on my windowsill that's 2 years old.

I germinated them by placing the stones in slightly damp vermiculite in a plastic tupperware type box and popping them on top of the combi-boiler (same as an airing cupboard). Within 2-3 weeks I got 19 out 20 stones producing a nice white root, I then potted them up in 3" pots and popped them on a heated propergator base and after about a further 4-6 weeks they produced the first green shoots (quite a lot of root was produced in the time I waited for the leaf shoot).

Good luck

 

A bit of follow up on the Masada Date Plant here,

http://israelpalestineguide.wordpre...m-trumped-by-a-32000-year-old-russian-flower/

They've planted it into the ground now.

 

If it looks anything like a Canary Island Date Palm I think it will look great. I've had them in my tubs this year, t make a change from Fuchsias

 

In my experience true Date Palms (Phoenix Dactylifera) are less hardy than P. Canarensis and definitely need more heat. They aren't ideal as a house plant as they need a lot of light and they will have a wide spread with the lower frond leaflets becoming vicious spines.

 

I totally agree, P. canariensis is far superior to P. dactylifera as an ornamental plant.

But just growing a few date stones is a good experiment.

 

Another update on the date.