HOW TO GROW A DATE PALM FROM SEED? |The Garden of Eaden

How do you grow a date palm from seed?

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Most of us will be familiar with edible dates - Phoenix dactylifera, usually available as a delicious treat during the festive holidays - or least it is in my family. Fossil records show that the date palm has existed for at least 50 million years but because it has been in human cultivation further back than human history can record (there is archaeological evidence of date cultivation going back to around 7000 BCE) the place of origin of date palms is uncertain. That being said scholars believe that it probably originated from the Fertile Crescent region straddling Egypt and Mesopotamia. Of course other scholars believe that that they are native to the Persian Gulf area or even western India. So in common with many of our ancient ancestors, just how do you grow a date palm from seed?

Dates - - Phoenix dactylifera

To begin with you will need to obtain some date seeds which luckily for us modern humans it is relatively simple. All you need to do is make your way to your nearest supermarket and purchase some dates. First you must remove the tasty flesh to expose the seed. Then clean the seeds under tepid water to remove any remaining flest, you may need to use a sponge to help you here.

Now place the seeds in tepid water and leave in a warm position for 48 hours, change the water for fresh half way through. After 48 hours the seeds can be removed from the water. For this next stage take two sheets of a good quality paper towel, place them one on top of the other and then fully dampen them. Next place your seeds equally spaced around the paper town the place another two wet sheets on top. Carefully and loosely fold up the paper towel back on itself a couple of times, making sure that the seeds remain in their original spacing, then place it inside a zip-lock plastic baggie.

Place the baggies in a dark position either in a heated propagator set at a temperature of around 21-24 degrees Celsius or somewhere that remains at a reasonably warm temperature. The seeds will need to remain like this for around 6-8 weeks and being checked ever two weeks or so for signs of fungal infection or preferably root emergence.

Once the seeds have germinated, and the first leaf appears carefully remove them from their 'mummification' so as not to damage the roots and pot them on at a rate of on seedling per 9-11cm pot containing a good quality seed compost such as John Innes 'Seed and Cutting'. Don't worry if you have left some paper towel on the seed, it it better to do this than damage any parts of the seedlings by removing it. Water the compost thoroughly then position your seedling in a warm bright position such as a south facing windowsill or, if all risk of frosts have passed, a greenhouse or cold-frame. Water again once the top couple of inches of compost appears dry.

As soon as the plant becomes established in its pot it can be repotted although this time use a compost with a higher level of fertiliser in it such as John Innes 2 or 3. In time and assuming you have a favourable climate, you can harden off your date palm and plant it outside in its permanent position.

Main image credit - By Sergei Frolov - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79496793

In text image credit - By M. Dhifallah - M. Dhifallah, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5008481