WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Phoenix roebelenii, WUCOLS IV

How often to water pygmy date palm in California

In July on the north-central coast, established pygmy date palm in loam needs a deep soak only about once a month or less: about 55 gallons each time under a 10 foot canopy. Pygmy date palm is a small, slow-growing feather palm from southeast Asia, usually on a single slender trunk 6 to 10 feet tall. Its dense crown holds arching, glossy leaves of up to 100 fine leaflets, with sharp spines near the leaf base. It likes cool sun or part shade, well-drained soil and steady water in warm weather.

ShrubTreePalm or cycadRated for 4 of 6 zones

How often to water pygmy date palm, month by month

Your city
Canopy width
10 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for pygmy date palm and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area under the branches, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure canopy width

A tree with its canopy width marked across the widest branches and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the branches, from the tips of the outer leaves on one side to the tips on the other. A tape works, or pace it out.

Water the whole circle under the branches, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that circle.

A wider canopy means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While the tree is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry a few inches down around the trunk in warm weather means the palm is ready for a deep watering
  • Bleached or scorched fronds after hot afternoon sun show the palm wants shade at that time of day, not more water
  • Older fronds yellowing, or showing a yellow band with a green center, point to a nutrient shortage rather than thirst
  • Yellowing fronds over soil that stays wet point to overwatering, since palms are sensitive to poor drainage
  • Leaflets dying along one side of a lower frond, with a dark stain on its stalk, suggest a petiole blight infection

How to water it

  • Water with drip or a bubbler at the base, keeping sprinkler spray off the crown
  • Wet the root zone deeply, then let the top few inches dry before watering again
  • Plant in well-drained soil at the same depth it grew in the nursery, never deeper
  • Site it in cool sun or part shade, with afternoon shade in hot inland gardens
  • Leave a mulched, grass-free circle at least a foot wide around the trunk

Through the seasons

A new pygmy date palm needs evenly moist soil, never soggy, while it settles in. Established palms want steady water through the warm months, less on the cool north-central coast, and much less in winter, when palms grow slowly. Brief cold near 20 degrees can damage the fronds, so protect it from severe cold. WUCOLS rates pygmy date palm low water on the north-central coast. On the south coast, in South Inland and in the low desert it rates moderate water. WUCOLS marks it as not suited to the Central Valley or the high desert.

In pots

Pygmy date palm is one of the best palms for a container and is often grown indoors. Use a well-drained potting mix and a pot with drainage holes. Outdoors in summer, poke a finger 2 inches into the mix every few days. Once it feels dry at that depth, water until it escapes the drainage holes. Do not let the pot sit in a full saucer. Give it afternoon shade in hot areas. In winter, water less and move it under cover before a hard freeze.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Pygmy Date Palm for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Pygmy Date Palm as not suited to this region for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Pygmy Date Palm: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.15–0.780.78–0.78
Feb0.21–0.810.87–0.93
Mar0.35–1.151.3–1.52
Apr0.47–1.41.61–1.95
May0.58–1.611.95–2.45
Jun0.64–1.742.29–2.79
Jul0.64–1.982.51–2.85
Aug0.6–1.862.33–2.6
Sep0.5–1.491.86–2.08
Oct0.35–1.151.33–1.49
Nov0.19–0.840.9–0.96
Dec0.12–0.650.68–0.68
Year4.8–15.518.41–21.08

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated not suited to this region in the Central Valley, like pygmy date palm. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Chenille PlantAcalypha hispidanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCopperleafAcalypha wilkesiananot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingSugar MapleAcer saccharumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingQueensland KauriAgathis robustanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCherimoyaAnnona cherimolanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingYellow Bell BauhiniaBauhinia tomentosanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPurple Orchid TreeBauhinia variegata (purpurea)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingToogBischofia javanicanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMagic FlowerCantua buxifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingClustered Fishtail PalmCaryota mitisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingWhite SapoteCasimiroa edulisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingHawaiian TiCordyline fruticosa (Cordyline terminalis)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFilbertCorylus maximanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingSpotted GumCorymbia maculata (Eucalyptus maculata)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingDove TreeDavidia involucratanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingRoyal PoincianaDelonix regianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes pygmy date palm, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water pygmy date palm in summer?

In July, established pygmy date palm in loam needs a deep watering about every 11 days on the south coast and about every 9 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does pygmy date palm need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established pygmy date palm needs about 1.6 gallons a day under a 10 foot canopy and about 6.5 gallons a day under a 20 foot canopy. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for pygmy date palm change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates pygmy date palm separately for each of the six California climate zones: low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, not suited to this region in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, moderate water in the South Inland zone, not suited to this region in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, moderate water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

How tall does a pygmy date palm get?

It grows slowly to about 6 to 10 feet on a slender trunk. Its small size suits patios, courtyards and large containers.

Does pygmy date palm have spines?

Yes. Sharp spines 2 to 3 inches long replace the leaflets near the base of each frond. Wear gloves and take care when trimming.

How cold can a pygmy date palm take?

Brief drops to about 20 degrees usually leave it alive but damaged. Several nights in the upper teens can still hurt it, so protect it during cold snaps or keep potted plants under cover.

Can I grow a pygmy date palm indoors?

Yes. It is often grown as a houseplant, and its dark green fronds look elegant in a pot. Water when the top inch or two of mix is dry.

Does pygmy date palm produce dates?

Female plants bear small, purplish black fruits after creamy yellow flowers in spring. Male plants bear none.

Why does my pygmy date palm have yellow leaves?

Yellow older fronds usually point to a shortage of nitrogen, potassium or magnesium. Feed with a palm fertilizer that supplies them, since discolored leaves will not green up again. Soggy soil can also yellow the crown.

More plant watering guides

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Sources