MOWING SEEDLINGS WILL KEEP LAWN IN HIS PALM, AND NOT OTHER WAY AROUND.

Byline: > JOSH SISKIN

I cut down several large palm trees in my front yard a few years ago. Ever since then, palm tree seedlings have sprouted up all over my front lawn and planters. Now, I literally mow the palm trees, which have taken over my lawn. Is there a way that I can get rid of these and get my lawn back?

David Siegel,

Granada Hills

Botanically, palms and lawn grasses are related, both being monocotyledons, which means they send up a single leaf during germination. If you were to spray your lawn with the sorts of chemicals used on dicotyledonous, broadleaf weeds such as dandelions or oxalis, nothing would happen.

Personally, I would not be concerned about removing the palm seedlings as long as your lawn is green. In time, the palm seedlings should die from being continually mowed and a tough lawn grass such as Bermuda or Kikuyu -- one or both of these invasive grasses, sooner or later, gobble up nearly every Los Angeles lawn -- will probably take over.

Of course, you could spray some chemical that would kill everything growing in your front lawn, rototill and resod. But even then, after admiring your nice green carpet for a number of years, you would probably end up with Bermuda or Kikuyu grass taking over.

It is not surprising that your aging palm seeds, which must have been trampled into your lawn after your palm trees were felled and then embedded themselves in the soil below, continue to germinate. Palm seeds are known for their long-term viability.

In 1973, date palm seeds were found at Masada, an ancient fortress on an isolated mountain top in Israel, at the edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Through carbon dating, the seeds were determined to be around 2,000 years old.

Without much hope of success, Israeli botanists planted the seeds two years ago and, almost miraculously, one of them germinated. This is no small matter since the fruit of the ancient Judean date palm, thought to be extinct, possessed legendary therapeutic properties.

Interestingly, there are two resilient plants that go by the name of palm grass.

Setaria palmifolia consists of palmlike frond clusters coming up from the ground that may reach several feet in height. Although it is killed back to ground level in a frost, this palm grass has a tough root system that will push up new growth the following spring. It may be propagated from division or from seed.

Another so-called palm grass is Curculigo capitulata, more tropical than the Setaria species but possessing a virtually indestructible rhizomatous root system. It grows to 3 feet tall in thick clumps and sports yellow flowers that look like lilies, which are its botanical relatives. Curculigo can be heavily watered without ill effect and makes an excellent container plant for outdoor or indoor decoration.

Tip of the week

Palm seeds are not difficult to germinate as long as you are patient. Some may take several months to sprout. Date palm seeds, however, are among the easiest to germinate, and you can even sprout the pits (seeds) from dried dates -- although seeds from fresh dates would sprout more readily.

Soak the seeds in water for 72 hours, changing the water once a day. Then dunk some peat moss in water to the point of saturation, mingle your date seeds within its fibers, and place the moss and seeds inside a sealed plastic bag. Within two to four weeks, most of the seeds will have sprouted, at which point they can be removed from the bag and planted in regular potting soil.

Simply soaking the seeds in water prior to planting will also lead to positive results, but germination will take longer.