Date Palm Care Calendar: A Grower’s Year, Month by Month

A date palm asks for different things at different times of year, and missing the window for one job, pollination above all, can cost you the whole crop. This is the calendar we work to in our grove in Sky Valley, in California’s low desert. Dates shift a few weeks with variety and weather, and in cooler or coastal areas everything runs later.

Looking for when the fruit is in season to buy? That’s covered in When Are Medjool Dates in Season? This page is the grower’s side.

We grow these. Golden Zahidi Dates — Nutty, Less Sweet, Never Sticky | California Farm-Direct from our family farm in Sky Valley, California — from $15/lb, shipping included. See them →

The year at a glance

Month	What the palm needs
January	Clean up: remove dead fronds and old fruit stalks. Spread compost in the basins. Check drip lines. Water lightly.
February	Flower spathes start to push. Get pollen and tools ready. Dethorn the crown if you didn’t after harvest.
March	Pollination. Pollinate each female cluster within a few days of its spathe splitting, and keep going back as new ones open.
April	Finish pollinating late clusters. Begin thinning. Increase water as heat builds. Good month for offshoot removal and planting.
May	Thin fruit strands so the remaining dates size up. Bring bunches down and spread them so they hang freely.
June	Water demand climbs steeply. Support heavy bunches. Finish any offshoot work before the worst heat.
July	Bag or net bunches against birds, insects and late-summer rain. Deep, regular irrigation.
August	Peak heat and peak water. Early varieties color up; Barhi is picked crunchy-yellow at the khalal stage.
September	Harvest begins. Medjool ripens unevenly, so the same bunch is picked by hand in several passes.
October	Harvest continues. Ease off irrigation as the last fruit comes in.
November	Finish harvest. Cut spent fruit stalks. Second window for offshoot work while the soil is still warm.
December	The quiet month. Prune dead fronds, spread compost, water sparingly, plan next season.

The three jobs you can’t skip

1. Pollination, February to April

No pollination, no crop. In a backyard with no male palm nearby, the job falls to you, by hand. A female cluster is receptive only for a short window after its spathe opens, which is why we walk the rows every few days during bloom. The full method is in How Dates Are Pollinated by Hand, and the pollen you choose even changes the fruit (the pollen-parent effect).

2. Thinning, April and May

A date palm will happily set more fruit than it can size up. Removing some strands or fruit lets the rest grow large and soft, and keeps the palm from alternating between heavy and light years.

3. Summer water, June to September

Fruit sizes in the heat. A palm that goes dry in July gives you small, hard dates in September. Read how much water a date palm actually needs.

A note on pruning timing

UC Cooperative Extension advises pruning palms from December through March, when the invasive South American palm weevil is least active, because fresh cuts attract it. We follow that window. More in our palm weevil guide and pruning guide.

Quick Answers

When do date palms flower? In the low desert, late winter into spring, usually February through April.

When is the best time to plant a date palm? When the soil is warm: spring, or early fall after harvest. Avoid midsummer and cold snaps.

When should I prune my date palm? After harvest through winter, and in Southern California ideally December to March.

A whole year of work, in one box. This season’s fruit from the palms on this calendar, shipping included: Shop Medjool → · Golden Zahidi