Dactylifera explosive growth!

[Dimovi]

Only in 7.5 months!
Mar 11 2019 -  Oct 29 2019

I was hoping it would get to the current size in a couple of years, but it took just a little over half a year

It seems dates are perfect for Austin, which happens to have somewhat similar climate and identical solar exposure to the middle east. Also they don't seem to mind the alkaline soil.

By the way this is from a date I ate a few years back 

[Meangreen94z]

That is impressive. My dactylifera seedlings have been dramatically slower than my Sylvestris. Hopefully they pick up pace soon like yours, I’m in Houston.

[PhilippineExpat]

Wow do you use fertilizer? We just planted a bunch of seedlings in the ground and I hope they take off like yours!

[Dimovi]

I have used several, basically whatever I can find at Lowe's. Currently I'm using Palmgain, but I don't have a preference. I think the most important thing is to water very well. Dates love full sun and hot dry weather, but they grow much faster when also watered well. In Date farms they often flood the trees with canals. Just make sure the soil is well draining and does not become waterlogged. Also be extra careful with fertilizer on small seedlings, because it can cause fertilizer burn or a fungal infection.

[PhilippineExpat]

16 hours ago, Dimovi said:

I have used several, basically whatever I can find at Lowe's. Currently I'm using Palmgain, but I don't have a preference. I think the most important thing is to water very well. Dates love full sun and hot dry weather, but they grow much faster when also watered well. In Date farms they often flood the trees with canals. Just make sure the soil is well draining and does not become waterlogged. Also be extra careful with fertilizer on small seedlings, because it can cause fertilizer burn or a fungal infection.

Thanks! Rainy season is just starting up, so they will be very well irrigated until December at least. Our new lot where we planted them is totally clear so we're hoping for these date palms to fill in the space quickly with their big fronds. 

[howfam]

On 12/16/2019 at 4:39 PM, Dimovi said:

Only in 7.5 months!
Mar 11 2019 -  Oct 29 2019

I was hoping it would get to the current size in a couple of years, but it took just a little over half a year

It seems dates are perfect for Austin, which happens to have somewhat similar climate and identical solar exposure to the middle east. Also they don't seem to mind the alkaline soil.

By the way this is from a date I ate a few years back 

Good post. I planted some dates from a box I ate also. Two sprouted, but only one still lives. Here in Florida dates tend to struggle in the early stages until they get some size, getting spotty leaves. The large ones brought in from California adapt very well. I'm hoping my baby Dactylifera can grow into a large landscape size that my neighbors can marvel at.

[Antti]

Hello Dimovi! That's huge growth!

You shouldn't believe but my in year of 1977 (!) planted date palm is smaller.

I planted usual date seed when I was a small boy and it grew in the house of my parents, indoors. 

[Latinmtl67]

Wow awesome 

looks good 

[Palmfarmer]

that is insane, makes me want to plant some Date palms in the ground now. 

 

[JLM]

I shall try sometime. Always wanted to grow a palm from seed. My sabal seeds are being stuborn and havent moved anywhere, ive given cable box heat for the longest and nothing so far. Maybe i just have to forget about them 

[Palmfarmer]

Just planted a Normal Date Palm in my yard for fun. i will move it into outside my house once it gets too big. I dont expect any growth even near what the poster got, but i will give it some extra water to see what happens. I know CIDP grow super fast here so who knows. Reason for not doing that now is that it will be close to impossible to steal a medium sized date palm compared to a really small one. 

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Palmfarmer

[Dimovi]

On 5/18/2020 at 3:36 PM, Antti said:

Hello Dimovi! That's huge growth!

You shouldn't believe but my in year of 1977 (!) planted date palm is smaller.

I planted usual date seed when I was a small boy and it grew in the house of my parents, indoors. 

I know what you mean, my grandma planted some dates in the 90s and they are smaller than mine after 25 years. She kept them indoors and they barely got any sun. In the picture mine is 4 years old from the planting on the seed. The secret is lots of sun and well watered silty/sandy soil.

[jgi27]

Hi Dimovi, do you have any updated pics? I would assume your date palm is huge now. I just planted a seedling and it has a long way to go.

[Little Tex]

4 minutes ago, jgi27 said:

Hi Dimovi, do you have any updated pics? I would assume your date palm is huge now. I just planted a seedling and it has a long way to go.

he hasnt been online for a month

[Dimovi]

21 hours ago, jgi27 said:

Hi Dimovi, do you have any updated pics? I would assume your date palm is huge now. I just planted a seedling and it has a long way to go.

This is what it looked like in December. It got defoliated this winter, so now it has a few small fronds starting to come up, but the trunk is about 3 feet tall.

[Billeb]

2 hours ago, Dimovi said:

This is what it looked like in December. It got defoliated this winter, so now it has a few small fronds starting to come up, but the trunk is about 3 feet tall.

Solid growth! I really like when these are big enough so they can be cleaned up to expose the trunk. Looks like you are just about there. 
 

-dale