THE DATE 207 



stems of the former crop, which will leave about four rows of 

 leaves below the new fruit stems, or approximately 30 to 36 

 expanded leaves." 



PROPAGATION 



The date palm can be propagated in only two ways : by 

 seed, and by the offshoots or suckers which spring up around 

 the base or sometimes on the stem of the palm until it attains an 

 age of ten to twenty years. 



Seedlings are easily grown, but offer little promise to the 

 commercial grower. Half of the plants will be males, and 

 among the females there will be such a wide variation that 

 no uniformity of pack or quality can be secured. In regions 

 with a large proportion of seedling palms, such as Spain and 

 parts of Egypt, there is practically no commercial date-culture. 

 Most growers in California plant a few seedlings for windbreak 

 or ornamental purposes. These yield a supply of males, but 

 males can be secured better by growing offshoots from male 

 palms of known value. 



The multiplication of the date palm, therefore, is reduced 

 in practice to the propagation of offshoots, and skill or lack 

 thereof in this regard will determine largely the grower's success 

 or failure at the outset. 



In California at the present time the yield of offshoots is 

 almost as valuable as that of fruit, and growers, therefore, 

 desire to secure as many offshoots of their best varieties as 

 possible. For this purpose ample fertilization and irrigation 

 must be supplied. After the fourth or fifth year of a palm's 

 life, the owner can usually take at least two offshoots a year 

 from it for a period of ten years. The best size for offshoots 

 at removal is when they weigh from ten to fifteen pounds (say 

 5 to 6 inches, is greatest diameter). The best season for the 

 purpose is during February, March, or April. 



