Date Palm
Phoenix dactylifera
Palms Difficulty: Moderate
📖 About this plant
The Date Palm is one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees, having been grown for over 6,000 years in the Middle East. Its sweet, nutritious fruits are a staple food in arid regions, and the tree provides shade, building materials, and fiber.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
☀️
Light
Full sun (8+ hrs)
💧
Water
Every 1-2 weeks
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Humidity
Low to moderate (20-50%)
🌡️
Temperature
20-40°C
🪴
Soil
Deep, well-draining sandy loam; highly salt-tolerant; pH 7.0-8.5
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Fertilizer
Palm fertilizer with micronutrients (especially boron) 2-3 times per year; nitrogen in spring
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Middle East, North Africa — likely Iraq/Iran region
- 📏 Max height
- 1500-2500 cm
- 📐 Spread
- 300-500 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Spring
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Yellow, Cream
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Blue-Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Slow
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic; dates are edible and nutritious; thorny leaf bases can cause physical injury
- 🌱 Propagation
- Offshoot separation from mature female trees; seed produces unreliable fruit quality
🛡️ Health & Safety
🐾 Pet safe
✅ Non-toxic
Non-toxic; dates are edible and nutritious; thorny leaf bases can cause physical injury
Common issues
- Bayoud disease (fusarium wilt), Red palm weevil, Scale insects on fronds, Offsets crowding the base
💡 Care tips
- Produces sweet edible dates when both male and female trees are present,Extremely heat and drought-tolerant in desert conditions,Can live for over 100 years and grow up to 75 feet tall,Thorny young trunk becomes smoother as the palm matures
🪴 Add to My Plants
One click — added instantly. Watering every 11 days, fertilizing every 30 days.
