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Date palm

Phoenix dactylifera

The date palm is the tall, feather-leaved palm of desert oases, grown for thousands of years for its sweet fruit. It fruits best in hot, dry places such as the low deserts of Arizona and California; in humid Florida and the Gulf Coast it grows fine as a landscape palm but rarely gives a good crop. Every palm is male or female, and a fruiting female needs pollen, usually put on by hand.

Tree facts

Scientific name
Phoenix dactylifera
Origin
Middle East and North Africa, probably around the Persian Gulf
Tree size
50–80 ft tall in time, with fronds up to 20 ft long; it takes 15–20 years to reach 20 ft
Growth rate
Slow
Sun
Full sun. It doesn't make good shade, and fallen fruit is messy over paving.
Soil
Well-drained, sandy soil; tolerates alkaline and somewhat salty ground. It needs plenty of water for a heavy crop, but soggy soil rots the roots.
Soil pH
Neutral to alkaline; UF/IFAS also lists slightly acid soil as fine
Pollination
Separate male and female palms. Pollen from any male pollinates any female cultivar. In home plantings it's put on by hand when the female flower sheaths first open, usually March–April, and repeated about two weeks later for the late-opening flowers.
Cold hardiness
Damaged below about 18°F; grows best where it seldom drops to 20°F.
USDA zones
9–11
Years to first fruit
Several years from a rooted offshoot; 6–10 from seed, and about half of seedlings are male
Season
Sep–Dec
Water
About every 7 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 180 days, Feb–Jul
Pruning
Jan–Feb
Taste
Very sweet; soft types are sticky and rich, dry types firm
Nutrition
High in natural sugar, with fiber

Is date palm safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Ripe fruit, fresh or dried

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Take care: The leaf stalks carry sharp thorns 3–4 inches long. Wear leather gloves, long sleeves and eye protection when trimming.
  • Good to know: Male palms shed a lot of airborne pollen, which UF/IFAS rates as highly allergenic; female palms cause little or no allergy.
  • Good to know: Susceptible to lethal yellowing, a fatal palm disease in south Florida. UF/IFAS advises against planting it where the disease occurs.

Pets: No reliable data on toxicity for dogs, cats or horses. The thorny leaf stalks can injure animals that brush against them.

How to eat and enjoy date palm

  • Fresh, soon after picking
  • Dried, as a snack
  • Stuffed with nuts or cheese
  • Chopped into baking, or blended into date paste and shakes

When it's ripe

Dates turn from green to yellow or red in mid to late summer, then soften and darken to brown or black from about September. Bag the bunches in breathable cloth once they color, to keep birds off. Most cultivars can be cut as a whole bunch once much of it has softened; Medjool and a few others are best picked over 2–3 rounds by shaking the bag. Late cultivars hang into December.

Storing it

Rinse lightly and let them dry fully. Soft dates go in the fridge, and in the freezer for 2–3 months or more. Semi-soft dates such as Medjool keep longer, longest chilled. Dry dates keep a long time at room temperature.

Date palm varieties (9)

  • Barhee · also Barhi, Barhy

    A soft date from Iraq.

    Origin: Iraq

    Soft; refrigerate or freeze after harvest.

  • Black Sphinx

    A soft date that originated in Arizona.

    Origin: Arizona (Phoenix)

    Soft; refrigerate or freeze after harvest.

  • Deglet Noor · also Deglet Nour, Deglet Nur

    A date from Algeria, in Arizona State's collection.

    Origin: Algeria

  • Halawy · also Halawi, Halaway

    An early, semi-soft date.

    Origin: Iraq · Season: Early, from Sep (Arizona)

    Keeps longer than soft dates, longest chilled.

  • Khadrawy · also Khadrawi

    An early-ripening date, grown alongside Medjool at Arizona State.

    Origin: Iraq · Season: Early, from Sep (Arizona)

  • Khisab · also Khisaab

    A very late date.

    Origin: Saudi Arabia · Season: Dec or later (Arizona)

  • Medjool · also Medjoul, Mejhool

    The big, soft, rich date most people know, and most of the crop in Arizona State's campus groves.

    Origin: Morocco · Season: Mid-season, from Sep (Arizona)

    Semi-soft. Its fruit stalks are brittle, so tie them down gently, and pick over several rounds rather than cutting the whole bunch.

  • Thoory · also Thuri

    A dry date.

    Origin: Algeria

    Keeps a long time at room temperature.

  • Zahidi · also Zahdi

    A mid-season, semi-dry date.

    Origin: Iraq · Season: Mid-season (Arizona)

    Keeps a long time at room temperature.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing date palms? Let Yardkin keep track.

Yardkin tells you when your date palm needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.