Watering a date palm

Question

How often do you water a date palm – every day or every other day? After fertilizing a date palm, is it required to water immediately after placing the fertilizer around the base of the tree? (I’m brand new at this. Thanks.)

Answer 1

A date palm grown outdoors should typically be watered 2-3 times a week. It may need to be watered more often than that when it is first getting established. Also, it will need less water during winter or wetter seasons and more water during summer or drought conditions. To check whether you’re watering correctly, feel the soil an inch down- it should be consistently moist there, but the surface doesn’t need to stay moist all the time. And yes, you should water well after fertilizing to avoid damage to the tree from salts in the fertilizer (this applies to conventional fertilizers, but not compost.)