Growing Phoenix dactylifera from store bought dates

[Zeeth]

I have seen packages of Medjool dates at the local Publix with pits still in them. Will trees grown from the seeds produce a good quality tree for Florida? I know it's not advisable for producing trees if your intent is to collect fruit, but that will never happen here, so I just want a good looking tree. Anyone have any advise for me on this? Thanks

Keith

[_Keith]

I have seen packages of Medjool dates at the local Publix with pits still in them. Will trees grown from the seeds produce a good quality tree for Florida? I know it's not advisable for producing trees if your intent is to collect fruit, but that will never happen here, so I just want a good looking tree. Anyone have any advise for me on this? Thanks

Keith

Medjool is a recommended variety for the Gulf South, tolerating our humidity. And a good looking date palm, too.

[spockvr6]

I have seen packages of Medjool dates at the local Publix with pits still in them. Will trees grown from the seeds produce a good quality tree for Florida? I know it's not advisable for producing trees if your intent is to collect fruit, but that will never happen here, so I just want a good looking tree. Anyone have any advise for me on this? Thanks

Keith

Keith-

Clearwater Beach (after the bridge on the island side) has a bunch of Date Palms. And, to my surprise, Ive seen them dropping so much fruit, it was making a terrible mess on the sidewalk below! I didnt try to eat any of them though

[cagary]

Here's a photo of my Medjool seed palm at about 5 years old taken a few years ago. It was left in the pot way too long and now is in the ground doing well.

It looks just like a regular old Phoenix dactylifera (as it should).

[Alicehunter2000]

Keith, I have several small plants that have been grown from store bought seed. In fact I have a bowl full of seed ready to be germinated as soon as I finish the rest of the dates in the package. They germinate fast and grow great, no reason not to grow them, I'm sure the groves that produce the dates do not allow cross pollination, so you should be getting pure Medjool plants. I have also seen lots of Date palms around Panama City and North Florida beaches that have alot of dates on them......have never tried eating any.

[Mark Heath]

Keith,

I agree w/ everyone here, and David is right, they germinate easy. I have many seedlings that are doing good!

I need to buy some from the local publix soon, my wife bought me some a while back but she bought the pitted kind.

Half the fun is germinating them and growing them, but boy they sure are good to eat as well!!

[TheChemist]

Keith,

I agree w/ everyone here, and David is right, they germinate easy. I have many seedlings that are doing good!

I need to buy some from the local publix soon, my wife bought me some a while back but she bought the pitted kind.

Half the fun is germinating them and growing them, but boy they sure are good to eat as well!!

Phoenix dactylifera from seeds will grow very well (I have a few small ones in pots), but you should not expect to get tasty fruits. Commercial plantations use cuttings of heavily cropping cultivars, mainly 'Medjool'. Only dates from plants made by cuttings will taste sweet. Dates from P. dactylifera grown from seeds will be of poor quality. The date palm is dioecious, so only 50 % of the seedlings will be female and get fruits.

Edited January 10, 2010 by TheChemist

[iamjv]

Oddly enough I am not only a fan of the phoenix data palm but of it's fruit as well and often order varying varieties of dates and always with their pits, so that I can germinate and grow them. They have always germinated easily and grown normally. You just don't know if you've got a male or female till 10 yrs later.... Jv

[floridagrower]

I agree. There is a huge one in front of our wal-mart that drops fruit nearly every year. The are some males at a nearby condo.

[Zeeth]

Thanks for the info everyone! Just a few more questions, What's the deal with the fruit on Florida grown trees, is it edible but tastes bad, or unedible?

Also, How do they trim the boots to make them look all fancy? I.e. http://www.mgonlinestore.com/TwoDates/dactylifera05.jpg

I like that look, and I want my trees to be like that eventually, so how is it done? Thanks for all the info,

Keith

[cagary]

Thanks for the info everyone! Just a few more questions, What's the deal with the fruit on Florida grown trees, is it edible but tastes bad, or unedible?

Also, How do they trim the boots to make them look all fancy? I.e. http://www.mgonlinestore.com/TwoDates/dactylifera05.jpg

I like that look, and I want my trees to be like that eventually, so how is it done? Thanks for all the info,

Keith

A chainsaw in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing.

[M@ximus]

I have seen packages of Medjool dates at the local Publix with pits still in them. Will trees grown from the seeds produce a good quality tree for Florida? I know it's not advisable for producing trees if your intent is to collect fruit, but that will never happen here, so I just want a good looking tree. Anyone have any advise for me on this? Thanks

Keith

Keith, buy the book " Dates - Imported and American Varieties of Dates in the United States (http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/InOrder/Shop/ItemDetails.asp?ItemNo=3498) .The best book for Dacty lovers!!

For what i know, growers using only few selected staminate varieties .

Pollen from a variety called "Crane" is one of the best!

As sayd, You will obtain from seeds , only a palm with caracteristics ,differents than mother palm,

but new varieties were also selected from seeds , so,you could get a beautiful palm!! ( why not??)

Remember that for produce dates,( as the medjool that you bought) the climate is essential.

For an esthetic purpose instead, there are several varieties , first of all the american varieties " ABADA" & "Sphinx". with fantastics red fruits

Here also some interesting links for dates lovers:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0681E/t0681e02.htm ( the best dates articles )

http://www.hiking-in-ps.com/dates.php ( buy on line, interesting and delicious dates)

Best M@x

[redbeard917]

I can't remember where I heard this, but supposedly some commercial date plantations in the southwestern US went out of business and sold off their palms for landscape use. It wouldn't surprise me if some in our area weren't of this origin. Destin, for example has a lot of tall date palms, which seem to be almost exclusively female.

I've got a few palms just putting out mature leaves sprouted from grocery store dates. Definitely easy and fun after struggling with more challenging palm species.

As for why they aren't grown for their fruit here, Max's link reports dates in storage are susceptible to:

"Microbial infestation: Dates of over 24% moisture in a warm moist atmosphere are an easy target for microbial attack, especially yeasts, but also moulds. The most common conversions are fermentation (alcohol), souring (lactic acid, acetic acid) and superficial mould growth."

Presumably, the quality of the fruit would suffer while it was still maturing on the tree, given that it would be exposed to greater than 24% humidity when grown outside of the desert. I wonder if a variety could be developed that had fruit that was more resistant to microbial attack in humid environments.

[Musi]

Be aware: They are incredibly slow!

This is my 1 year old Medjool (from supermarket date stone, took only 1 week to germinate)

Only 2 ¼ 'leaves'

[Jose Maria]

I have done it with dates from the supermarket, they came from California.

They germinate fast, and grow up to two leaves, then the rain were gets them, they die from the high humidity I guess. I will try again under a plastic roof.

In the rainy season humidity is 95%, in the dry season 70% the lowest... no place for dates..

[DoomsDave]

To get quality dates you need two things:

First, quality date trees, grown from selected cuttings. Medjool is just one of many varieties.

Second, you need a blistering hot desert to grow them in, and I do mean hot. Dates need temperatures above 100 F for a long time to get nice and sweet. Fruits from less ideal climates will taste insipid, even if they're grown from prize stock.

[Zeeth]

To get quality dates you need two things:

First, quality date trees, grown from selected cuttings. Medjool is just one of many varieties.

Second, you need a blistering hot desert to grow them in, and I do mean hot. Dates need temperatures above 100 F for a long time to get nice and sweet. Fruits from less ideal climates will taste insipid, even if they're grown from prize stock.

Aah, I see. So fruit from the trees in Florida will be "edible", meaning they won't make you sick (unless they are moldy) but they will taste terrible. That was my biggest question. Now, since dates from the fruit at the store will produce a pretty tree but bad fruit, I think it is safe to go ahead and start growing some, as I don't want them for the fruit. I'll let you know what my results are. I will try with seed from cultivar "Medjool".

[_Keith]

To get quality dates you need two things:

First, quality date trees, grown from selected cuttings. Medjool is just one of many varieties.

Second, you need a blistering hot desert to grow them in, and I do mean hot. Dates need temperatures above 100 F for a long time to get nice and sweet. Fruits from less ideal climates will taste insipid, even if they're grown from prize stock.

Aah, I see. So fruit from the trees in Florida will be "edible", meaning they won't make you sick (unless they are moldy) but they will taste terrible. That was my biggest question. Now, since dates from the fruit at the store will produce a pretty tree but bad fruit, I think it is safe to go ahead and start growing some, as I don't want them for the fruit. I'll let you know what my results are. I will try with seed from cultivar "Medjool".

Believe it, or not, my community pot of Medjool seedlings took two nights at 26 degrees and are doing fine.

[Zeeth]

To get quality dates you need two things:

First, quality date trees, grown from selected cuttings. Medjool is just one of many varieties.

Second, you need a blistering hot desert to grow them in, and I do mean hot. Dates need temperatures above 100 F for a long time to get nice and sweet. Fruits from less ideal climates will taste insipid, even if they're grown from prize stock.

Aah, I see. So fruit from the trees in Florida will be "edible", meaning they won't make you sick (unless they are moldy) but they will taste terrible. That was my biggest question. Now, since dates from the fruit at the store will produce a pretty tree but bad fruit, I think it is safe to go ahead and start growing some, as I don't want them for the fruit. I'll let you know what my results are. I will try with seed from cultivar "Medjool".

Believe it, or not, my community pot of Medjool seedlings took two nights at 26 degrees and are doing fine.

I believe it. Date palms are tough buggers. They haven't blinked at our weather.

[Corrosion]

I think I´ll lose all of my hair before if I´ll ever going to see some of my seedlings in a reasonable size in the future.

Anyway here are some images of my year and three months old medjool seedlings. I think these seeds are originated from the dates from Tunesia.

They grow slow but steadily. One is pushing already 5th leaf.

All the best,

Ralf

[Kris]

Dear Keith

I would suggest that you buy readymade once,if you have a budget for 6 to 8 feet trunk specimens.And raising date palms from seeds,their are chances that you will end up with a male palm tree as for my experience goes..

Kindly visit this link and see their date palm stock list...

http://www.datepalm.com/dp/

http://www.datepalm.com/dp/index.php/palm-...ols/cod-special

And by the way readymade palms are always instant gratification...no waiting period at all !

And here's a still of our phoenix palms,first one is p.sylversteris,followed by californian datepalm and the third palm is a small one and that was raised from seeds taken from tasty dates from Oman.which i think could be Medjool..

Lots of love,

kris

[Ken Johnson]

I will ad that I have eaten ripe fruit from every Phoenix I have come across and if it is very ripe it will taste "good". It needs to be ready to fall fron the palm or it will be nasty. You can pick it from the ground but if it smells like wine don't eat it.

Many a palm nut has started thier hobby by planting a seed from store bought date fruit including on of our greatest members ever, Theodora Buhler!

[Joey Powell]

Be aware: They are incredibly slow!

This is my 1 year old Medjool (from supermarket date stone, took only 1 week to germinate)

Only 2 ¼ 'leaves'

They can also really take off once they start to get bigger. See my other thread I just posted.

[Zeeth]

Kris, nice visuals! It doesn't matter to me if the palm is male, that just means it will be less messy!

Ken, Thanks for the info. That's quite interesting.

[cagary]

Dear Keith

I would suggest that you buy readymade once,if you have a budget for 6 to 8 feet trunk specimens.And raising date palms from seeds,their are chances that you will end up with a male palm tree as for my experience goes..

Kindly visit this link and see their date palm stock list...

http://www.datepalm.com/dp/

http://www.datepalm.com/dp/index.php/palm-...ols/cod-special

And by the way readymade palms are always instant gratification...no waiting period at all !

And here's a still of our phoenix palms,first one is p.sylversteris,followed by californian datepalm and the third palm is a small one and that was raised from seeds taken from tasty dates from Oman.which i think could be Medjool..

Lots of love,

kris

Any producing date palms in Rajasthan?

[Kris]

Any producing date palms in Rajasthan?

Dear cagary

Rajasthan produces nice quality flooring marbles,and though the region is desert like people have not ventured into date palm cultivation nor do they produce date fruits in commercial quantities.But your question has made me think...

love,

kris

[Jose Maria]

Hi Kris,

You mentioned this, and it keeps intruiging me:

I would suggest that you buy readymade once,if you have a budget for 6 to 8 feet trunk specimens.And raising date palms from seeds,their are chances that you will end up with a male palm tree as for my experience goes.. huh.gif

How can you know if you buy a small date- palm, instead of growing it from seed...that you bought a female date -palm????

What does the seller know that makes him distinguish male and female...???

There is something... I missed?

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

So I have a package of organically grown Medjools here, grown in the U.S. and I am saving all the seeds. I want to start the seeds now, and grow them up a bit here before my eventual move to Florida. Should I expect to see very slow growth on these the first year or two after I germinate them? About how long do these stay in the "strap leaved" stage? When they do start producing the "feather" leaves, does it pick up in growth speed? Thanks for any help. info!

[Kris]

Hi Kris,

You mentioned this, and it keeps intruiging me:

I would suggest that you buy readymade once,if you have a budget for 6 to 8 feet trunk specimens.And raising date palms from seeds,their are chances that you will end up with a male palm tree as for my experience goes.. huh.gif

How can you know if you buy a small date- palm, instead of growing it from seed...that you bought a female date -palm????

What does the seller know that makes him distinguish male and female...???

There is something... I missed?

Dear Jose

Iam glad you interacted to my opnion.And Most of the big players in the U.S & middle east cultivate palms specifically for date fruit.Through tissue culture(kind of cloning) and they grow these saplings in huge farm.And most of them are female,until and unless you ask for a male sapling of date palm.And by the way my californian date palm raised from the seed had put out male flowers even though it does not have a 2 feet of hardened trunk.So 6 to 8 feet of hardened trunk is more than sufficient to know wheather its a male or female.

But i was hinting at buying palms from tissue culture farms.And i assume we are all palm conosiers,why waste time on hybrids and unknown varities of date palms.If one needs only Medjool dates why grow some other date ?

Kindly visit youtube site for visuals of date palm culture.I had pasted some in most of the discussions pertaining to date palms,but at the moment i could not find those old threads...

So i repeat onething here is,if you like black coffee then why buy & drink tea.

Thanks & love,

kris

[buffy]

Be aware: They are incredibly slow!

This is my 1 year old Medjool (from supermarket date stone, took only 1 week to germinate)

Only 2 ¼ 'leaves'

Your Phoenix is under-potted. Put it in a much bigger pot and it will take off. I did an experiment with my father. A year ago, we germinated a batch of Phoenix seeds of different varieties. Some we left in liners. Some we potted-up quickly. The ones we left in liners look similar to yours after one year. The ones we potted-up aggressively were going pinnate by the middle of the summer. They're ready to go in the ground. Bottom line: Phoenix needs root space.

[merrill]

Most commercial dates are pollinated w/ any convenient Phoenix pollen; The most convenient pollen is usually some other Phoenix, except in Arab countries! Therefore, it is best to buy Phoenix seed from a reputable dealer.

merrill

[Kris]

And by the way if here is a huge female date palm that has lots of offshots(clumps)around it.An expert palm gardener can neatly remove them safetly and gently,and create a new female palm out of it.Since if a grown up date palm is a male then its clumps will all be male & vise a versa.

And if the mother date palm is putting out tasty dates even the off shots will produce similar dates provided they are pollinated by a male phoenix palm and are living in similar climatic zones..

And here is an intreasting discussion our date palm :

When or at what age do date palms.. - Put out date fruits or flower ?

I hope i have cleared all the doubts of dear Jose.

Love,

kris

[Angel]

Oddly enough I am not only a fan of the phoenix data palm but of it's fruit as well and often order varying varieties of dates and always with their pits, so that I can germinate and grow them. They have always germinated easily and grown normally. You just don't know if you've got a male or female till 10 yrs later.... Jv

. Here's a good site for dates zumzumstore.com they have dates from medina Saudi Arabia called ajwa and he has a good track record at sending them quick and fresh. actually I have some coming in today

[Angel]

I know this threads pretty old by now but hopefully someone might be able to answer my question. I live in St.petersburg florida and I would like to some day produce edible fruit from my seedlings. I have over a hundred different varieties that I brought back from different countries during my travels. I was inspired by this video documentary I seen on on YouTube called-motaleb grows Saudi dates- very amazing story this poor guy lost his wife was humiliated and harassed by his neighbors but he still held on and is now the first person to produce dates in Bangladesh. I did some research and the area in Bangladesh where this date orchid is has very similar average humidity levels as St. Petersburg fl. Now i know that in the Arab countries they hand pollinate I was wondering if anyone in florida has tried this method and also what about growing in a huge greenhouse with dehumidifiers inside of it?

[Xerarch]

Dates are very sensitive to both humidity and rain during certain periods of fruiting, both of these are far too prevalent in Florida to expect good quality, the fruit will split if exposed to moisture. Hand pollinization is a must, without pollination, the tree will still produce fruit, so don't be fooled, it will just be smaller, not have much of a pit if anything at all, less moisture, and most important, the fruit won't taste nearly as good. Also, as has been stated above, dates really want blazing heat, not 90's, has to be 100's. now, having said all this, everything I read has to do with commercial production and I have often wondered if suitable dates can be grown in non-ideal conditions. Maybe quality can be "good enough" somewhere where commercial production is not viable. As far as the dehumidifiers, that idea is really shooting for the stars, but if your crazy enough to try we'd all sure love to see the results, good luck.

Btw here is a interesting quote from "The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms" in the section on P. dactylifera, "The date palm does not produce quality fruits in humid climates, no matter how much heat is apparent during the summer; However, 2 cultivars can produce fruits in such regions as the Gulf coast of the United States: P. dactylifera 'Medjool' and P. dactylifera 'Zahedii'"

I would really like to hear from some gulf coast folks that can attest to the quality of medjool fruit in the gulf coast, I know it will produce fruit, but how is the eating quality?

[Matthew92]

I was at a fruit growers gathering in South FL recently and someone had brought some dates from Egypt. I'm not sure how he got them here, all I know is that they were fresh (and VERY good). I ate the fruit and saved a couple seeds. They sank well and am going to plant them. I previously had very good success germinating fresh P. canariensis seeds. Just well draining soil mix, heat, some sun, and consistent water. Will do the same here.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Opal92