General distinctive features of the plant, indoor tamarind care, advice on self-propagation, difficulties in cultivation, interesting species, facts. We are well aware of date palms and their fruits, but there are many analogues in nature that are very similar in appearance and taste. Not all of these exotics can be seen on the shelves of our stores, but they are not something truly rare among tropical plants. Today we will tell you about Tamarind and the rules for growing it indoors.
So, Tamarind has a Latin name similar to the Russian transliteration - Tamarindus indica and is often popularly called the Indian date. It belongs to the numerous dicotyledonous legume family (Fabaceae) and the only species of the same genus Tamarind. Basically, this representative of the tropical flora can be found in the eastern lands of Africa, as well as in drier deciduous forests on the island of Madagascar. As a wild plant, it can grow in the Sudanese territories, but today tamarind has already completely "settled" in all regions of Asia, where the corresponding tropical climate prevails. The plant was brought there thanks to cultivation processes many thousands of years before our era. Since the 16th century, the Indian date has been successfully, intentionally or accidentally, introduced (introduced) to the lands of Mexico and South America. And now this plant is cultivated on all continents with the troopic belt.
But tamarind is called “Indian date” in Arabic, but in Malaysia it bears the name “Asam” or “Svi Boei”, if we take into account the Hokkien dialect. Almost the same name for a plant in the lands of Indonesia is "Asem Jawa", translated as "Javanese Asam". In the Philippines, tamarind is called "sampalok", and in the Indian regions it has a wide variety of names, according to languages: in Hindi - "imli", in Bengali - "tetul", and in the Senegalese dialect - "siyambala", but in the states of Telingana and Andhara Pradesh (in the Telugu dialect) it is called "chintapandu", which translates as the fruit of tamarind and "chintachettu" - this is the name of the tree itself. It is interesting that in Thailand you can hear how tamarind is called "ma-hkam" and it is also a symbol recognized for the Thai province called Phetchabun. In the scientific botanical literature (meaning the 6-volume edition of "Life of Plants", which was edited by Academician Armen Leonovich Takhtadzhyan), the Indian date is named "Dakar". And the German version differs little from the Russian, only the ending is Tamarinde.
Tamarind is a tree in the natural environment that can reach a height of 2-30 meters. Naturally, at home, the height is noticeably more modest, only 2 meters, but most often at the level of a meter height, they begin to pinch. The growth rate of the Indian date is very slow. It never sheds its leaves in regions where dry seasons are rare. The wood of the plant is at first a core (heartwood), colored with a dark red color and having a high density. It is surrounded by young and physiologically active layers of wood, which are called sapwood. Their tint is yellowish, they are soft. The color of the bark on the branches is light brown with a grayish tint. The crown of the tree is distinguished by rounded contours, and the branches hang down to the very surface of the soil.
The leaf plates are arranged on the branches in the next order, their outlines are pair-peristo-complex. The number of thin leaves in them varies within 10-14 units. They are somewhat reminiscent of the familiar leaf formations of acacia, its close relative. When the leaves are young, their color is delicate light green, but over time it becomes more saturated and darkens.
When blooming, buds appear with petals of reddish, whitish and pink colors. The flowers are irregular, five-membered, from which the apical inflorescences are collected. The biggest pride and value is the tamarind fruit. Their dimensions are up to 20 cm in length and 2-3 cm in width. They are, like all legumes, plump pods of brown color, the peel, which, when dry, becomes dense and crunchy, it would somehow remind us of the pods of the familiar peanuts. For the rest, the differences begin, in order to get to the most valuable, the peel must be broken. Underneath is the fleshy part of the fruit of plants with seeds (pericarp), a rich red-brown hue and a pleasant taste. Under it are hidden multiple dense seeds of irregular shape: somewhere square or rounded. Their color is almost chocolate with a slight reddish tint. For rooting, you will need to slightly cut the seeds, since they have a dense skin.
Naturally, it is problematic to grow such a large tree in a room, therefore, the well-known bonsai technique is used, literally this is translated from Japanese as "a tree in a tray", and means the possibility of cultivating an exact copy of a real tree, only dwarf or miniature in size. The fruits are actively used in cooking, folk medicine and carpentry, and not only.
Agrotechnics for growing tamarind at home
- Illumination and place of growth. The plant is very light-loving and it is necessary to place a pot with it on the windowsills of windows with a southern, southeast or southwest orientation. In the event of a lack of sunlight, the Indian date slows down in growth, its leaves become smaller and may not appear at all, the shoots stretch out, and then the plant becomes ill. You also need to remember to periodically rotate the tamarind pot around its axis by 1/3 so that the crown develops symmetrically. However, it is not recommended to leave it in the sun for a long time, especially at noon.
- Dakar content temperature. Naturally, as a resident of tropical areas, tamarind easily tolerates high temperatures, but it is better to maintain them within 23-25 degrees. With the arrival of autumn, you can lower the temperature in the room, since a cool wintering is even useful for this exotic, but it is important that the thermometer readings do not fall below 10 degrees. When airing, tamarind should be protected from drafts.
- Content moisture. Dry air is unacceptable when growing Indian dates. It is necessary that its indicators do not fall below 60%. When cultivating this plant, you will have to increase the humidity by all available methods and means. This is periodic spraying of foliage from a fine-dispersion spray gun and the use of mechanical air humidifiers, as well as installing the pot in a tray with expanded clay and water.
- Watering tamarind. The soil in the pot should be constantly moist, but not waterlogged. Watering is carried out with soft and always warm water. Drying is also unacceptable - it will kill the plant. In the summertime, the Indian date is watered every 3 days, the soil should only dry out slightly between humidifications. In winter, watering is reduced.
- Fertilizers for this exotics are introduced from the beginning of the growing season to the autumn months. Any liquid indoor plant food preparation will do. Tamarind also reacts well to organics (for example, mullein solutions). The regularity of fertilization every 2-3 weeks. In winter, they stop.
- Transplantation and choice of substrate. Like many plants, transplanting tamarind should be carried out in the spring, before the activation of the growing season begins. In the new pot, holes are provided in the bottom so that there is no stagnation of moisture and a layer of 2-3 cm of drainage material is also poured. To change the soil, a substrate is selected with an acidity within the pH range of 5, 5–6, 5 (that is, it must be neutral). Also, the soil is prepared nutritious with good looseness and conductivity of moisture and air. A little river coarse-grain sand is usually mixed into it. The soil mixture can be prepared independently by mixing greenhouse soil, peat substrate, rotted manure, sand or perlite (in equal parts).
Breeding tips for Indian dates
It is possible to get a new tree of "Indian date" by planting seed material, which does not lose its germination for a very long time. There is information that the seeds taken out of the fruit germinated after 8 years of storage.
Stratification (keeping a certain time at low temperatures) is not needed here, but scarification (seed incision) is possible, since the seed peel is quite dense. To do this, it is necessary to rub it on all sides with sandpaper before planting. Then the seed is planted in a container with a moistened peat-sand mixture (you can mix peat with perlite). It is recommended to simply press the seed into the surface of the soil and lightly sprinkle it with a substrate. The container will need to be covered with a piece of glass or wrapped in a plastic bag - this is to create a mini-greenhouse. Then the container is placed in a warm place with diffused illumination. The temperature for germination is maintained at 22-25 degrees.
Ventilation should be carried out daily and, if necessary, moisten the soil from a spray bottle. After 2-4 weeks, the first shoots can be seen. As soon as a pair of true leaves is formed in young tamarind, the first transplant is carried out in another pot with real suitable soil for further cultivation. You can even take a simple universal substrate and mix it with an equal amount of river sand. Several holes are made in the bottom of the pot so that there is no stagnation of moisture and a drainage layer is laid on the bottom. It is better to plant one plant in each container, so it is easier to care for it. By creating greenhouse conditions.
After this transplant, young shoots are also covered with a glass jar or plastic wrap (you can take a cut plastic bottle). It is important here again to carry out regular ventilation and moistening of the soil. When the tamarind gets stronger, then they begin to gradually accustom him to the atmosphere in the room and greater illumination, removing the film.
With the arrival of the spring months. You can try to propagate tamarind using air layers and stem cuttings, but at the same time, heat indicators must be maintained in the range of 28-32 degrees.
Difficulty growing fruit
The Indian date is rarely sick, but if the growing conditions are violated, it can be affected by the scale insect, thrips, whitefly, mealybug or spider mite. These pests reveal themselves as the formation of a sugary bloom on the leaves (span), cotton-like lumps on the back of the leaves or in internodes, brown plaques on the back of the leaf, whitish dots and flies or a thin cobweb. In this case, the leafy parts themselves begin to turn yellow, deform and fly around, the growth of the plant is inhibited. To combat, it is necessary to carry out treatment with insecticides (for example, Karbofos or Aktara).
If you allow frequent waterlogging of the soil, this can lead to damage by fungal diseases, in which the root system rots. To solve the problem, it is necessary to carry out treatment with fungicides.
The following troubles associated with violation of agricultural techniques also occur:
- if there is stagnation of water, and there is no high-quality drainage in the pot, then rotting of the root system may begin;
- roots are also affected when irrigated with cold water or low summer temperatures;
- when the dryness of the air increases, and there is not enough watering, then the tamarind begins a massive discharge of its foliage;
- with a lack of nutrients or sunlight, the branches of the tree begin to droop, and growth stops;
- retardation in development is observed with a decrease in the temperature of the content.
Interesting facts about tamarind
Naturally, tamarind pulp is actively used not only in sweets, but also as a spice in Asian cooking, as well as in cooking in the lands of Latin America. In the old woman of Great Britain, it is customary to cook the very popular Worcester sauce, which includes the fruits of the Indian date, as well as the British favorite fruit sauce HP (produced by Houses of Parliament) and served with meat dishes.
The pulp, when the fruits are not yet ripe and green in color, has a rather sour taste and is used for cooking spicy dishes. If we take, for example, India, then there national dishes Kuzambu or Sambara (lentil food) are made from the fruits of tamarind. As well as a very popular in Tamil Nadu (a state in southern India) liquid dish called pulikuzambu, the pulp is used in the preparation of puliyodaray rice and various traditional Indian spices, which set off the taste of the main dish - chutney. In Asian markets, you can find the pulp of "Javanese Asam" in a variety of forms: dried, salted, candied or even frozen. In Mexico, it is customary to make sweets using Indian dates. They taste with both pungency and acidity at the same time, they are called "polparindo". And in Thai cuisine, this representative of legumes has not been ignored. There they prepare a traditional dish from it - "pad tai" (with chicken, pork or shrimps, rice noodles and vegetables), which can be found at every step, but everywhere it is made differently. Also sauces, which include tamarind pulp, are served with lamb.
It is interesting that if it is necessary to clean the brass jewelry, which are placed in temples in the territory of Asian countries, from all kinds of oxides, fats or cobwebs, then the pulp of tamarind is actively used.
Since the wood of the Indian date has a very high density and strength, it is used in the furniture industry, making floor coverings and interior items. The production of rods from the flexible branches of this tree has not been forgotten either!
In the Indian states, it is customary to plant tamarind along the roads so that their round and lush crowns create good shade. They are home to flocks of local monkeys who love to feast on the ripe fruits of Indian dates.
Since the fruits of this plant contain a large amount of organic acids, sugar, in which the proportions of fructose and glucose are equal (invert) and pectin substances, it is customary to use them in folk medicine. Also, not only the fruits, but also the casting, and the bark are suitable for the manufacture of remedies applicable for various diseases by folk healers. In Ayurveda, when taking tamarind, vata and kapha begin to decrease, and pitta at this time tends to rise, so it is natural that work is underway to "drive out the winds" and a laxative effect, there is a warming energy. Treat them with problems associated with disruption of the gastrointestinal tract.
And on the lands of Cuba, at the place where the foundation of the city of Santa Clara was laid, a tamarind tree was planted and since then it has been a symbol of the city, its outlines are displayed on the coat of arms. It is curious that in Mexico, in the local slang of traffic controllers, due to the color of the form, which resembles the color of the fruit of the Indian date, they are called tamarind.
More about tamarind in this video:
