How much water do date palms need?

[Victor G.]

Hey people! I have this and six other (smaller) date palms, which are watered twice a day - before sunrise and after sunset - for 10 minutes.

Would you say, that this is normal or too much water?

It was suggested to me in this forum that date palms need lots of water, but sources on the internet claimed that twice a week is enough (which is way less than my irrigation cycle).

Our high temperatures are around 33°C with about 11-12 hours of sunshine everyday and no rain.

I'd love to hear some opinions! Thanks!

PS: the soil is well draining. The instant you pour water somewhere, it disappears before you blink

[Merlyn]

I'm not sure about Greece, but @Phoenikakias probably knows how much water they want!  Here in swampy Florida they tolerate daily afternoon thunderstorms and highs generally around 30-35C.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like you may have planted that one too deep.  You don't want to cover the crown, and generally you want the "Root Initiation Zone" or RIZ at approximately ground level:

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-growing-tips-mounding/

[aztropic]

Looks like it's on drip irrigation. What is the emitter rated at?  Sounds like too little water applied too often... Would be much more beneficial to the plant to run the system for 2 hours at a time,twice a week,at this size. Deep planting is actually a good idea for this species as it will encourage the plant to make lots of new roots.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[Victor G.]

Thank you both for the replies!

@MerlynSo they seem to tolerate enough water without problems. I was worrying that I might be suffocating its roots, but if they thrive in Florida, I guess it's fine!
I planted this at a seeding stage - it only had one leaf - and it just grew like that. Now I'm afraid to do any digging around it, in case I damage its roots.

@aztropicWell, when the system starts watering, it doesn't drip - there's a small and constant stream of water for 10 minutes. It's not enough to fill the place around the crown though.
Unfortunately, every house in this area has water tanks (since there's no constant water supply) and if I leave it on for two hours, I will seriously drain the water supply. Maximum I can do is for half an hour. Would you say that half an hour every two days is a better configuration that my current?

Again, many thanks to both for your answers!