Medjool Dates

[Unicyclemike]

Anyone growing Medjool Dates in ground in zone 7a?  If so how winter hardy are they?

Mike Adams

[fruitnut1944]

I've got two Medjool seedlings planted in zone 7/8. But this is their first year in ground. I expect them to eventually freeze out here. And the season isn't long enough to mature fruit. Near here, Presidio Texas, and about 2000 ft lower elevation I think they'd survive and maybe produce. They take a lot of heat to mature fruit. Tucson is about the coldest that I think they'd be a fairly good crop. We're below 20 every winter and sometimes below 10. 15F is what I've heard as the limit of hardiness.

[Galatians522]

I went to college in Pensacola (8b). They had some Medjool Date Palms on campus. Every winter the grounds department had to build a tent like structure around the trunk. On cold nights, they put a heater at the base of the "tent" so that the hot air would be funneled up the tent by a chimney effect to keep the bud warm. They kept those palms alive through son pretty rough winters--even one with snow. I don't think it would be feasible for the average person. To me, it was a waste, because I could never get the dates to ripen properly in my dorm room. 

[MountDoraOllie]

I went to college in Pensacola (8b). They had some Medjool Date Palms on campus. Every winter the grounds department had to build a tent like structure around the trunk. On cold nights, they put a heater at the base of the "tent" so that the hot air would be funneled up the tent by a chimney effect to keep the bud warm. They kept those palms alive through son pretty rough winters--even one with snow. I don't think it would be feasible for the average person. To me, it was a waste, because I could never get the dates to ripen properly in my dorm room. 

Clever trick there to keep the bud alive through a freeze. That's the reason I haven't tried to grow coconut palms, but maybe I could try that technique.

Central Florida gets huge piles of dropped dates each summer, and they all just rot on the ground. I wish someone could find a way to get them to ripen, like in a dehydrator or something. Medjools are so delicious.

[K-Rimes]

Keeping the palm alive isn't such a big deal, but getting it to fruit and properly ripen is. You need very high nighttime temps. Even here in Santa Barbara we can't get medjool to ripen. The quoted "best conditions" for Medjool ripening is 100 days over 100f.

[pineflatwoods]

The only place I had medjool dates was when I was driving through the Imperial valley when I lived in CA. I was told they need very dry climates. Humidity ruins the fruit

[johnb51]

The only place I had medjool dates was when I was driving through the Imperial valley when I lived in CA. I was told they need very dry climates. Humidity ruins the fruit

Yes, the desert, whether in California or North Africa/Middle East.

[Jaboticaba45]

The farthest north I've seen them is in South GA.
I may have seen some along the eastern seaboard all the way up to 8a.
But pulling them in 7a just seems like too big a task.
I've seen windmills here die after some cold lol

[Galatians522]

I went to college in Pensacola (8b). They had some Medjool Date Palms on campus. Every winter the grounds department had to build a tent like structure around the trunk. On cold nights, they put a heater at the base of the "tent" so that the hot air would be funneled up the tent by a chimney effect to keep the bud warm. They kept those palms alive through son pretty rough winters--even one with snow. I don't think it would be feasible for the average person. To me, it was a waste, because I could never get the dates to ripen properly in my dorm room. 

Clever trick there to keep the bud alive through a freeze. That's the reason I haven't tried to grow coconut palms, but maybe I could try that technique.

Central Florida gets huge piles of dropped dates each summer, and they all just rot on the ground. I wish someone could find a way to get them to ripen, like in a dehydrator or something. Medjools are so delicious.

Medjool is probably the worst date to try growing in Florida. We can get them to the Khalal state no problem. After that stage, our humidity causes problems. One solution is to grow dates that have been bred to be eaten in the Khalal stage like they do in Thailand. Medjool is consumed in the Rutab and Tamr stage. Its astringent in the Khalal stage in my personal experience. The other option is to try curing them indoors after the Khalal stage. I did some research on that at one point and concluded that they needed to be frozen first to begin the breakdown necessary for proper curing. After that, they could possibly be cured in a dehydrator set at 105. I have never gotten the chance to try it, though, because my source of dates disappeared thanks to Texas Phoenix Palm Decline.

[MountDoraOllie]

I went to college in Pensacola (8b). They had some Medjool Date Palms on campus. Every winter the grounds department had to build a tent like structure around the trunk. On cold nights, they put a heater at the base of the "tent" so that the hot air would be funneled up the tent by a chimney effect to keep the bud warm. They kept those palms alive through son pretty rough winters--even one with snow. I don't think it would be feasible for the average person. To me, it was a waste, because I could never get the dates to ripen properly in my dorm room. 

Clever trick there to keep the bud alive through a freeze. That's the reason I haven't tried to grow coconut palms, but maybe I could try that technique.

Central Florida gets huge piles of dropped dates each summer, and they all just rot on the ground. I wish someone could find a way to get them to ripen, like in a dehydrator or something. Medjools are so delicious.

Medjool is probably the worst date to try growing in Florida. We can get them to the Khalal state no problem. After that stage, our humidity causes problems. One solution is to grow dates that have been bred to be eaten in the Khalal stage like they do in Thailand. Medjool is consumed in the Rutab and Tamr stage. Its astringent in the Khalal stage in my personal experience. The other option is to try curing them indoors after the Khalal stage. I did some research on that at one point and concluded that they needed to be frozen first to begin the breakdown necessary for proper curing. After that, they could possibly be cured in a dehydrator set at 105. I have never gotten the chance to try it, though, because my source of dates disappeared thanks to Texas Phoenix Palm Decline.

You made me look up both "Khalal" and "Texas Phoenix Palm Decline." And I'm glad you did. I'm gonna try your idea of freezing and dehydrating dates in the Khalal stage. And TPPD... wow, that's scary. It affects literally 90% of the palm species that grow here in central Florida: Sabal, Phoenix, and Syagrus. Sabals in particular are a huge part of the ecosystem in all of Florida. Would be devastating to see them affected by this.

[Lumi-Ukko]

Have several Medjool seedlings growing well here in Yucatan as an experiment. Long way to go with them but seems they'll likely never ripen properly due to the summer humidity. We do have long very hot dry seasons in spring, and remain warm to extremely hot all year. Can't imagine me getting too far with them as we are also prone to flooding. Just a fun little project for me for now.

[Galatians522]

You made me look up both "Khalal" and "Texas Phoenix Palm Decline." And I'm glad you did. I'm gonna try your idea of freezing and dehydrating dates in the Khalal stage. And TPPD... wow, that's scary. It affects literally 90% of the palm species that grow here in central Florida: Sabal, Phoenix, and Syagrus. Sabals in particular are a huge part of the ecosystem in all of Florida. Would be devastating to see them affected by this.

Please let me know if you get freezing and then drying to work. I will have to see if I can find the article where I got the idea again. Interestingly enough, Wild Date Palms aka Sylvester palms (Phoenix sylvestris) don't seem to have trouble ripening here. Fruits are bout 10% of Medjool size and only have about 1/8" of flesh over the seed. So, I assume they can ripen because the flesh is so thin. They taste very similar to regular dates--particularly the lower quality chopped kind that is all grainy. I imagine they vary quite a bit from tree to tree, though. I have not tried the Canary Island or Senegal Date palm fruits. TPPD or Lethal Bronzing is serious bad news for palms in Florida. I already see it killing Sabal palms all over my county. I even see it killing saw palmetto and that is REALLY scary.