Interest in cultivating date palms in North Florida is on the rise. Highly regarded by gardening enthusiasts, the date palm is grown as an ornamental and for its delicious fruits with the added bonus of medicinal properties.
Growing date palm in North Florida poses challenges due to the region’s moist and cooler climate with temperatures occasionally dipping below freezing. Date palms, which typically thrive in hot, arid conditions, include two notable species: True date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) renowned for its tasty fruit and the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), known for its substantial size and edible but less flavorful fruits. There is also (Phoenix sylvestris), known as the Sylvester date palm or wild date palm.
Date palm damaged by freezing temperatures. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
Characterized by a slow growth rate, date palms can, in certain environments, grow to towering heights of up to 80 feet. Their pinnately compound leaves, ranging from blue-green to gray-green, can stretch up to 20 feet in length, featuring leaflets of 1 to 2 feet that form a distinctive “V” shape along the rachis. Date palms possess ornamental appeal, thanks to its textured trunk, striking blue-green foliage, and vibrant orange inflorescences. However, date palms do generate some concern because of the litter created by its fallen fruits. Its wide crown offers limited shade due to its relatively sparse canopy.
To flourish, date palms require well-drained, neutral to acidic soil and an abundance of direct sunlight. A plus is their ability to thrive in confined root spaces. North Florida’s sporadic frost and cold spells necessitate protective measures for date palms during the colder months, such as covering them with frost cloth or employing mulch around the base to insulate the roots. Some palm enthusiast grows them in sheltered location but occasional freeze damage to foliage can be expected.
Alternatives
Gardeners in North Florida seeking a cold-hardy alternative might try the pindo palm (Butia odorata), which is an excellent choice. Although it isn’t a true date palm, its feathery fronds provide a tropical ambiance to the landscape. Other palm species adaptable to North Florida’s wintry conditions include windmill palms, needle palms, and sabal palms. These options vary in their ultimate height and visual characteristics.
While it’s possible to grow date palms in North Florida, it’s important to understand that success may not be guaranteed, and you may need to provide extra care and protection to help your trees thrive in the region’s climate.
For more information contact your local extension office or visit:
Some citrus is recovering from our December 2022 hard freeze and pruning will be needed. Learn to identify your tree’s graft and how to prune away any rootstock material with UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
Palms in North Florida suffered serious damage as a result of freezing weather in December 2022. As spring approaches, we will be looking to see if the palms will recover. Learn what to do now and what to expect from your palms with UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
There are important landscape lessons to learn from recent, early and widespread freezes.
First, know the average climate for the region you live in here in Florida. The work has already been done for you with the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Here is a link for the map: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. Find your zone on the map. Note that Northwest Florida includes zones 8a, 8b and 9a.
The newest map, with interactive features, was updated in 2012.
This map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature and is divided into 10°F zones. It can help you determine which plants are most likely to thrive in your zone. There are areas bordering Alabama, located in the extreme northern portions of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton and Holmes Counties, that are in Zone 8a, with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 10 to 15 degrees F. Most of these counties fall within zone 8b, with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 15 to 20 degrees F. The extreme southern portions of these same counties (bordering the Gulf) are in Zone 9a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 20 to 25 degrees F. As you go south in Florida, you move into Zones 9b, 10a, 10b, and 11a. Zone 10b has an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 35 to 40 degrees F. Zone 11a; which includes a small portion of West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, most of Miami and all of the Florida Keys; has an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 40 to 45 degrees F.
Most of the Panhandle is in USDA Hardiness zone 8b.
It seems that some people move to extreme north Florida and think they are in extreme south Florida. They move barely below Alabama or Georgia and want to plant the palms, citrus and tropical plants that thrive in extreme south Florida. If you live in Zone 9a, perhaps you might get by with growing a few plants that are well suited for 9b. But it is wise to mostly grow plants that are known to flourish in the Plant Hardiness Zone where you live.
Secondly, follow principle one, which is Right Plant, Right Place, as explained in the UF/IFAS Extension Florida-Friendly Landscape™ (FFL) Program. Following this principle results in developing a healthy, low-maintenance landscape by using Florida-Friendly plants that match your site’s soil, light, water and climatic conditions and that require limited supplemental irrigation, potentially less fertilizer and fewer pesticides.
More information on the FFL Program is available through this UF/IFAS Extension link (https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu) or from the Extension Office in your County.
Using these tools may be a great goal for 2023 as we replace cold-injured plants.
Temperatures in December 2022 were very damaging to many citrus in North Florida. It is necessary to give plants plenty of time into spring and summer to see if they will regrow and where that growth will occur. Learn how to care for your citrus that is suffering from cold temperature damage with Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
We gardeners in the Panhandle have been spoiled by several very mild winters recently. However, it appears that this pattern will change, at least for a few days, beginning Thursday night. While forecasts vary depending upon your preferred media outlet, all agree that Calhoun County is going to experience several freezing nights (temperatures in the low 20’s to high teens for hours at a time). That’s plenty cold to kill many cold-sensitive plants, so here are a few tips to keep your treasured plants alive until warmer conditions arrive next week.
Covering plants to protect from frost, cold snap, blanketing, potted plants, horticulture. UF/IFAS Photo: Sally Lanigan.
Bring cold-sensitive potted plants inside. You can’t dig up your citrus trees and bring them in the living room but bringing cold-sensitive potted plants inside for a couple of nights is a fail-proof freeze protection method.
Water outside plants the day before extreme cold hits. It’s natural, even good, for many tender plants (perennials, bulbs, etc.) to “die” back in cold weather. This encourages dormancy and reduces pest/disease populations. However, this week could get cold enough to kill “tops” of sensitive plants AND freeze root systems. To help prevent this, water the day before a freeze as moist soil loses heat less rapidly than dry. A few degrees can make all the difference!
Apply mulch around the base of plants. Mulch helps insulate the soil and reduces radiant heat losses. For plants with a graft – like most citrus, pile mulch up around the grafted area. If the top of the plant dies back, at least it will be able to recover from above the graft (the desirable part of a grafted plant).
Cover citrus and other plants that recover slowly from cold damage. Draping a non-plastic cloth or blanket mostly helps keep frost off and freezing wind off plants but can also insulate from freezing temperatures if it covers the entire plant to the ground. It’s better than nothing.
Build a “greenhouse” around plants. You can create a simple greenhouse structure of wooden stakes, pipe, or posts and cover with plastic (making sure the plastic doesn’t touch leaf or stem tissue). Be sure to get this structure up while the sun is still shining before the freeze event to capture as much solar heat as possible. For even better results, install a lightbulb, non-LED Christmas lights, or some other heat source inside the plastic structure.
Last ditch method –turn on the sprinkler. Continuouslyrunning a sprinkler over sensitive plants can help protect them. By running water, you “insulate” the plant to the water’s temperature (above 32 F). This method requires that the sprinkler begin running before the thermometer drops below 32 degrees and must continue uninterrupted until after the freeze event is over. If you stop before the freeze is over, the water left on the plant will freeze to whatever temperature the air is, injuring or killing the plant.
We don’t have many freeze events so take a little time this week to bring sensitive plants indoors and implement one or more of the above precautionary measures in your landscape! Don’t let a few hours of very cold weather set your plants back years! For more information about cold protection in the lawn and garden, contact your local UF/IFAS County Extension Office. Stay warm and Merry Christmas!
