About
Phoenix dactylifera is a tall, delicate palm featuring gracefully arching fronds made up of numerous linear, grey-green leaflets. In its natural habitat, it generates flower spikes that can reach lengths of 1-2 meters from the tree's crown, which then give way to sweet, edible fruits known as dates.
About the genus
Phoenix consists of evergreen palms characterized by either single or grouped trunks. The leaves are narrow and oblong, featuring pinnate structures with linear leaflets. These palms produce hanging clusters of yellow flowers, which give way to fleshy, ellipsoid fruits.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H1A
Plant details
- Plant type
- Palms
- Habit
- Columnar upright
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Height
- Higher than 12 metres
- Spread
- 2.5-4 metres
- Time to full height
- 20-50 years
- Suggested uses
- Sub-tropical
- Native to
- Probably N. Africa and W.Asia
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Under glass, grow in peat-free, loam-based potting compost in full light. Water freely in growth and apply a balanced liquid fertiliser monthly; water sparingly in winter. See palm cultivation indoors for further information
- Pruning
- No pruning required
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed sown in spring
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite and scale insects
- Disease resistance
- Generally disease-free