If you are going to grow a date palm, do so in an area of the landscape that receives full sun and temperatures that never fall below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

When Will Date Palm Produce Dates?

Growing a date palm from seed is an exercise in patience. The tree will start to produce fruit within four to five years but won’t reach it’s full bearing capacity until it’s 10 years old, if you’re lucky. It isn’t uncommon for that process to take 15 years.

Imagine how much patience it takes if you’re a date seed from fruit that fell from the tree more than 2,000 years ago. Sarah Sallon, a doctor with Hadassah Medical Center in Israel, planted six date palm seeds that were among many unearthed during an archaeological dig near the Dead Sea. Five of the six seeds eventually sprouted.

“Around the time Romans were laying siege to Masada and the Dead Sea Scrolls were being written, these seeds were being formed,” marvels Sarah Zhang with The Atlantic online.

We gardeners, however, are very patient as well and love to experiment, so let’s get to learning how to grow one of these  majestic trees from not so ancient seed.

Step by Step: How to Germinate Date Palm Seeds

• Gather your date palm seeds. If you’ll be purchasing them, we like realpalmtrees.com. You can also find them at Amazon.com.
• Soak the seeds in room-temperature, distilled or boiled water (68 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit) for five days, changing the water every day.
• Pour the seeds into a sieve and wash them to ensure any clinging fruit material is removed. Allow the seeds to remain in the sieve to dry.
• Lightly moisten a paper towel with a spray bottle filled with distilled or boiled water.
• Lay the seeds on the moistened paper towel and cover them with another moistened paper towel.
• Slide the paper towels with the seeds inside into a plastic zip-lock type bag.
• Place the bag in an area that receives direct sunlight.
• Keep an eye on the seeds while they germinate, which should take from 10 to 18 days.
• When the sprouts reach 3/4 to 1.5 inches, it’s time to transplant them into a seedling media.

Growing the Date Palm Seedlings

• Combine equal parts of an airy, loose potting soil, perlite and coconut coir.
• Moisten the media completely and add to your choice of container (seedling tray, small nursery pots, etc.) Ensure that whatever you choose has holes in the bottom for drainage. 
• Plant the date palm seeds 1 inch deep into the media.
• Place the growing container in direct sunlight and ensure that the soil doesn’t dry out. It should consistently have the moisture content of a well-wrung sponge.
• Wait until the seedlings have four to six true leaves to plant them out.

Photo Courtesy: Creative Commons