Can You Grow Date Palms Outside the Desert? Yes, But the Fruit Needs Heat

Date palms will grow in many places outside the desert, but they only ripen good fruit where summers are long, dry and very hot. In our valley, summer highs run 110°F and above, and that heat is what turns a palm into a date farm. Here is what grows where, and why the fruit is the hard part.

The palm is tougher than the fruit

A date palm is a hardy, adaptable plant. It handles poor soil, wind and some cold once established, which is why you see them as ornamental palms well beyond the desert, including parts of the Gulf Coast, Florida, Texas and the milder pockets of the coast. Growing the tree is the easy part.

We grow these. Fresh Jumbo Medjool Dates — Shipping Included | California Farm-Direct from our family farm in Sky Valley, California — from $19/lb, shipping included. See them →

The fruit is the hard part

Dates ripen through several stages over the whole summer, and each stage needs heat. In the Coachella Valley, the sun and 110°F-plus summers do that work. In a cooler or more humid place, the same palm may flower and set fruit that never softens and sweetens. Humidity is its own problem. Rain or damp air near harvest can split, sour or rot the fruit before it is ripe.

Why the desert wins

Old growers describe the date palm as wanting feet in water, head in fire: water at the roots, and a hot, dry sky overhead. Our valley supplies both. Irrigation feeds the roots, and the desert supplies the heat and the dry air. That combination is rare in the United States, which is why nearly all American dates come from California’s low desert. See where California dates are grown.

What to expect if you plant one anyway

• You will likely get a handsome palm. It is a fine landscape tree in a warm climate.
• Fruit is a bonus, not a promise. Without enough heat and dry weather, expect little or no edible fruit.
• Pollination still matters. A female palm needs pollen from a male. See male vs. female date palms.
• Cold can set a young palm back. Protect young palms in a hard freeze.

If your palm is mature and still not fruiting, read why a date palm isn’t fruiting. Planning a planting? See how to plant a date palm offshoot and our care calendar.

Want the dates, not the wait?

If you’d rather taste a real California date than wait on a palm, we grow them in that heat and ship them from the farm: fresh jumbo Medjool dates, shipping included, or send a gift box. Read how Medjool dates grow, or head back to our home page.

Common questions

Can date palms grow in Florida or Texas?

Yes, as landscape palms in many areas. Fruiting is the issue, because humidity and rain near harvest and cooler summers work against ripe dates.

Why do dates grow in the desert?

The fruit needs long, very hot, dry summers to ripen, and the desert supplies that heat. Irrigation supplies the water the roots need.

Do date palms need 110 degree summers?

They need long, hot, dry summers to make good fruit. Our valley’s 110°F-plus summers are ideal. Cooler places can grow the palm, but ripening is much less reliable.