When should we transfer our date palms to the ground?

[PhilippineExpat]

We have some date palm sprouts. I believe they are dactlyifera, but I've attached pics of the adult we snagged the seeds from. The sprouts are about 2-3 inches tall and very sturdy (pic of one attached). Rainy season is just about to start here and we're already getting our first tropical storm on Friday. Should we transfer the sprouts to the ground soon or should we wait until November/December when the typhoon season is over and the dry season begins? I was thinking it would be nice to plant them sooner than later so they can benefit from months of rain and get well established, but I'm also worried the typhoons might be too much for them to handle. We're planning to plant them in very exposed spots.

Edited May 11, 2020 by PhilippineExpat

[kinzyjr]

I planted mine when the first semi-pinnate fronds started appearing.

You can see a timeline on this thread: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/62531-is-this-normal-pics-included/&do=findComment&comment=922533

[PhilippineExpat]

3 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

I planted mine when the first semi-pinnate fronds started appearing.

You can see a timeline on this thread: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/62531-is-this-normal-pics-included/&do=findComment&comment=922533

Man I hope it grows faster here! We're zone 13a, but it's always very humid. I guess I am spoiled by the coconuts around here. Maybe I should wait until they start getting pinnate fronds, then. It might even make sense to plant them at the start of next year's rainy season. 

[kinzyjr]

6 minutes ago, PhilippineExpat said:

Man I hope it grows faster here! We're zone 13a, but it's always very humid. I guess I am spoiled by the coconuts around here. Maybe I should wait until they start getting pinnate fronds, then. It might even make sense to plant them at the start of next year's rainy season. 

If you can protect them from the critters that like to eat seedlings over there, you could put them in the ground now.  It seems their growth rate increases when the roots secure a source of groundwater. I'm not sure if you'll have issues with any types of leafspot there due to the humidity, but here in Florida we often have graphiola leaf spot on ours.

[PhilippineExpat]

4 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

If you can protect them from the critters that like to eat seedlings over there, you could put them in the ground now.  It seems their growth rate increases when the roots secure a source of groundwater. I'm not sure if you'll have issues with any types of leafspot there due to the humidity, but here in Florida we often have graphiola leaf spot on ours.

Yeah we get some leaf spot out here on some plants. Our bottle palm always seems to have it, but it's growing very well regardless. Some palms never seem to get it, though, like coconuts, arengas, and roebeleniis. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Try a compromise/experiment: plant some of the seedlings and leave some of them potted until next spring as backups. Generally, I don't plant newly germinated seedlings as they are vulnerable to disease, pests and damage from my clumsiness.

[Jim in Los Altos]

Many of the towering palms in my yard were either planted as tiny new seedlings like yours or were volunteer seedlings that I allowed to stay put. Rodents often are guilty of chewing down palm seedlings though so, even though your Phoenix palm seedlings are nearly tough as nails, a small cage around them when in the ground would be advisable. 

[PhilippineExpat]

26 minutes ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Many of the towering palms in my yard were either planted as tiny new seedlings like yours or were volunteer seedlings that I allowed to stay put. Rodents often are guilty of chewing down palm seedlings though so, even though your Phoenix palm seedlings are nearly tough as nails, a small cage around them when in the ground would be advisable. 

Oh very good point! I know for a fact there are rodents around because I've seen on in my garden. I'll see if there is some sort of protection I can give. 

16 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Try a compromise/experiment: plant some of the seedlings and leave some of them potted until next spring as backups. Generally, I don't plant newly germinated seedlings as they are vulnerable to disease, pests and damage from my clumsiness.

I like this idea! It's not like we have the room for all of our date palms anyways. I think we will plant a couple in the ground soon and hold onto the rest as back up. If the ones we plant first survive, then we can sell the back up ones. 

[PhilippineExpat]

We ended up planting 6 of them in the ground today because they were outgrowing their containers. The roots were all about 4-6 inches long and were making their way out of the drainage holes in the pots. We still have 4 or 5 left in deeper pots. It seems 1 or 2 more seeds spout leaves every day, so I think we will be fine if all of our transplants die.