The word "palm" is always associated with distant and hot exotic countries, warm oceans and seas. A picture appears before my eyes - a tall tree with a bare thin trunk and leaves located closer to its crown. However, these plants do not always look the same, as the Palma family consists of a large number of genera and many species. There are about 20 indoor varieties from this family.
The article provides interesting information about these plants.
General information
Palm trees are almost all decorative, so often they decorate cities and towns in southern countries. Palm trees or Areca are a family of monocotyledonous plants.
Mostly they are represented by woody plants with unbranched trunks, in which primary thickening occurs due to the activity of the main meristem and protoderm. There are several varieties with characteristic climbing or creeping shoots. In total, this family consists of 185 genera and more than 3, 400 species of palm trees.
There are five main genera:
- Coconut tree (Cocos).
- Date (Phoenix).
- Roystonea.
- Bismarckia
- Sabal (Sabal).
The most common and famous types of palm trees used by gardeners as decorative: brachea, butia, gioforba, chamedorea and others.
Spread
Most palm trees under natural growing conditions are common in the tropics and subtropics. Especially many varieties are observed in Colombia and Madagascar. In France (in the south) and in Spain, a fan-shaped variety grows - a squat chameroops that can withstand frosts of -12 degrees. In southern Greece, mainland and on the island of Crete, there are groves of cirrus date palm trees.
Introduced palm trees of several genera grow in Russia in areas with subtropical climatic conditions (the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, Crimea), as well as in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and in the south of Kazakhstan.
Briefly about the varieties
A palm tree trunk usually does not branch. Often these plants have the form of shrubs, and some representatives do not have stems at all, only leaves. The thickness of the trunk can reach one meter (yubeya), and a height of up to 60 meters (zeroxylon). In addition, among palm trees there are climbing vines, the stems of which reach a thickness of up to 3 centimeters and a length of up to 300 meters (rattan).
Their leaves have a fan shape (trachicarpus, chamerops, liviston and others), cirrus (chamedorea palms, coconut, date, "fox tail", howea and others), bipartite (in karyota). In fan-shaped leaves, they grow from one part of the petiole, forming an umbrella or fan, and in cirrus leaves are attached to the petiole along its entire length.
Indoor palm trees
Any room without plants looks lifeless and dull. They create a cozy atmosphere, bring freshness and life. Green pets are more than just decoration, as they are able to change the energy of the room, even exert influence on the residents. Palm trees have been grown as home plants since ancient Rome. It was believed that this beautiful tropical plant is an attribute of a prosperous and wealthy home.
One of the most decorative among all Arekovye palms is that require certain conditions of detention. It must be borne in mind that all of them are representatives of hot countries, so they should be grown indoors under conditions of sufficient humidity, high temperature and good light. If you study all the features of this plant, it is quite possible to grow a palm tree yourself from seeds. These plants are centenarians. With proper care, they can please the eye for more than 100 years.
Palm hamedorea
This is a relatively low tree, whose homeland is Central America. The plant of Chamedorea elegans (or graceful) is also called a bamboo palm, reed palm or elegant collinia. She has a thin trunk and beautiful cirrus leaves. At a young age, the trunk has a green color, which eventually becomes chestnut.
In indoor conditions, the plant can stretch up to two meters in height, but most often it is much lower. In general, this palm tree is quite compact, so it is suitable for growing even in small rooms. Flowering Chamedorea elegans occurs at the age of 3-4 years. Fragrant flowers are small, yellow, collected in panicles. The fruits of the palm tree of this species are dark small berries with seeds. Florists use them for propagation.
Like other varieties of palm trees, chamedorea is moisture- and heat-loving. In terms of illumination, it is not capricious, so a slightly shaded place is enough for it, where direct sunlight does not fall.
Date palms
Sweet exotic fruits sold in Russian stores ripen on a palm-shaped date, which has long been grown by people in the open. This plant has another name - "Bedouin bread." It is possible to grow this palm in indoor conditions. However, more varieties in homes and offices prefer other varieties, for example, Canary dates.
Date palms have been cultivated by man for about 8 thousand years. There are 17 species of plants in the genus, each of which has both male and female forms. Under natural conditions, they grow in the territories of the countries of the Middle East, Africa, as well as in the Philippines and India. These exotic plants are favored by areas rich in groundwater.
The halls and rooms are also not bad for growing Robelin dates. This plant has one or more trunks with beautiful feathery leaves up to 50 centimeters long. Date Theofrasta is another species that can be successfully settled in your home or office. The birthplace of the plant is the island of Crete.
Canary Date
The most popular among palm trees is the Canary variety - Phoenix canariensis. The trunk of a young date is practically not expressed. Under natural conditions of growth, its height can reach up to 15 meters. This is a fairly fast-growing palm tree, having a columnar-shaped trunk and a large number of cirrus leaves 3-5 meters long.
At home, it grows in height from 2.5 to 3 meters. To limit palm growth too fast, it should be replanted only when the roots no longer fit in the container.
At home, the plant does not bloom. From the name it becomes clear where the date palm of this species grows. Its homeland is the Canary Islands.
Growing at home
The air temperature should be in the range from 12 to 28 ° C heat. On dry summer days, the room should be ventilated more often. In winter, the temperature can vary between 12-16 ° C. Lighting should be sunny and bright enough. A tub with a date palm is best installed at a southeast or south window. For the uniform development of the crown, the exotic beauty should be periodically turned to the light in different directions.
Watering is necessary regularly. In summer and spring it should be plentiful, but do not allow excess moisture in the tank. In winter, palm should be watered moderately (the soil should always be slightly moist). It is useful to spray the leaves with settled warm water (in summer more often, less often in winter).
How to grow a palm from the seeds of dates? It is very easy to do. The date should be soaked for 2-3 days in water (temperature 30-35 degrees). Then it must be dropped into a container with earth. The seed will sprout pretty quickly. The soil for dates should be neutral or slightly acidic. A mixture of humus, sand, peat and sod land is suitable in a ratio of 2: 1: 2: 2. In gardening stores you can buy a special ready-made soil mixture for palm trees. It is profitable to purchase it, since it already takes into account all the preferences of this plant. However, with its growth and transplantation into a tub, such land will require quite a lot. Therefore, it is important to learn how to prepare the soil mix yourself.
