The commercial fruiting Date Palm
Mature Phoenix dactylifera location unknown
The date is an erect palm to 100 or 120 ft (30.5-36.5 m), . The feather-like leaves, up to 20 ft (6 m) long, are composed of a spiny petiole, a stout midrib, and slender, gray-green or bluish-green pinnae 8 to 16 in (20-40 cm) long, and folded in half lengthwise.. Small fragrant flowers (the female whitish, the male waxy and cream colored), are borne on a branched spadix ,One large inflorescence may have 6,000 to 10,000 flowers. The fruit is oblong, 1 to 3 in (2.5-7.5 cm) long, dark-brown, reddish, or yellowish-brown when, thick, sweet flesh and a single, cylindrical, slender, very hard stone grooved down one side.
The date palm is believed to have originated in the lands around the Persian Gulf and in ancient times was especially abundant between the Nile and Euphrates rivers. Alphonse de Candolle claimed that it ranged in prehistoric times from Senegal to the basin of the Indus River in northern India, especially between latitudes 15 and 30.
Grove of P.dactylifera Arizona USA
Dates in a market somewhere in North africa
There is archeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia in 4,000 B.C. It was much revered and regarded as a symbol of fertility, and depicted on coins. Literature devoted to its history and romance is voluminous. Nomads planted the date at oases in the deserts, as a food source, and the Moors introduced it into Spain, where it is grown extensively. It has long been grown on the French Riviera, in southern Italy, Sicily and Greece, though the fruit does not reach perfection in these areas as it needs 40C+ to ripen properly.
Iraq has always led the world in date production. There were 22 million date palms in that country producing nearly 600,000 tons of dates annually in 2003. The date has been traditionally a staple food in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, the Sudan, Arabia and Iran.
With so many commercially grown palms you would think it would be easy to get hold of a dactylifera, but that is not the case. Dates, like Citrus and Grapes, are propagated vegatatively to get the best fruit. Growing from seed gives variable results and is largely the domain of amatures.
Of caurse, P.dactylifera, is overshadowed by its hugely popular cousin P.canariensis the Canary Island Date, which has better cold tolerance, and a thicker crown of leaves.
Danny Date Palm 1995
The palm pictured left is Danny Date Palm which I grew from a date stone in 1986. Unfortunately, I lost him in a freeze in 1998. It wasn't extreme low temperatures that proved fatal, but the fact temperatures did not rise above freezing for 6 days. I also lost my planted out P.canariensis in the same freeze.
Date stones are easy to germinate and do not require high temperatures as do many palms 21C (70F) should be sufficient. Ensure all of the fruit is removed from the stone and pre-soak for 24 hours.
Many assume that the Date is a desert palm and can withstand drought. Yes, it is associated with the desert, but only at Oases where there is a plentiful water supply. The roots go very deep searching out water. This palm is only very happy in dry atmosphere, and it does not do well in high humidity.
It all started back in December 2002, on a Christmas shopping trip to Le Cite Europe in Coquelles, France. We picked up several packs of Daglet Noor Dates as they are less than half the price of the those in the UK. During the course of the winter and spring the dates were eaten, and unknown to me, the stones were thrown out of the conservatory door into the garden.
While weeding in July 2003, I noticed what looked like small palm seedlings. under shrubs. On closer investigation the date stones were still visible on the soil surface. It was then it came to light about the stones being thrown out. There were 4 seedlings in all, which have been potted up and brought on, under cover, during the winter months. The funniest thing is in August 2004 I discovered 5 more seedlings, but no-one has admitted to throwing out stones in that spring. Does this mean they survived over winter as date stones?