How Long Does a Date Palm Take to Bear Fruit?

A date palm grown from an offshoot usually starts bearing fruit about three to five years after planting, and reaches full production several years after that. A palm grown from seed takes longer and is unpredictable. Here is what shapes the timeline, from a working date farm in California’s Coachella Valley.

Offshoots fruit sooner than seeds

Commercial growers start new palms from offshoots, the small pups that grow at the base of a mature palm. An offshoot is a clone of its parent, so it is the same variety and the same sex. Planted and cared for well, it can flower within a few years. A seedling has to grow from scratch, takes longer, and roughly half of seedlings turn out male, which never make dates. See how to tell male from female.

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First fruit is not full production

The first crop is usually small. Yields build over the following years as the palm gets taller and stronger. Even in a mature grove, we thin each palm’s fruit by hand so what is left grows large. Read the fifteen touches for what a palm needs each year.

What can slow it down

• Not enough heat. Date palms need long, hot summers to ripen fruit.
• No pollination. A female palm needs pollen from a male.
• Poor planting or watering. A stressed young palm puts its energy into surviving.

If your palm is old enough and still not fruiting, read why a date palm isn’t fruiting.

Getting started

See how to plant a date palm offshoot and our care calendar.

Just want the dates?

Waiting a few years for your own crop is not for everyone. We grow fresh jumbo Medjool dates and ship them with shipping included. See also how Medjool dates grow and our home page.

Common questions

How long does it take to grow a date palm from a seed?

Longer than from an offshoot, and the result is uncertain. Seed-grown palms are not true to type and about half are male.

How many dates does one palm make?

It depends on variety, age and care. Young palms make little, and mature palms make much more.

Do date palms need a male palm nearby?

Female palms need pollen from a male to set fruit. In groves, pollen is applied by hand.