You can't grow dates in the Canberra region - except three years ago our date tree suddenly produced a mass of fruit, the first in the decade or two it's been growing on the bank below the house, and it's flowered and fruited each year since. I haven't actually eaten the dates - that bank is steep and the tree is now tall. I'd need a ladder, or the long extension fruit picker I've just bought to get them - but they looked extremely edible, and the fruit bats certainly enjoyed them.
Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue I was given the date palm to grow indoors, and only planted it outside when it grew too big for its pot. To my surprise it grew even better outside than indoors, so I planted two others, as dates need male and female.
I did plan on planting five, but by then the first date was getting so enormous that five of them would have meant we had a mini date farm, not a garden, with no room for roses, grevilleas, native limes, herbs and hellebores and other plants I love having nearby. Our garden's climate is probably just a bit colder than yours, though it's protected from cold winds. But if I can grow and harvest dates, so can you.
Just be aware that a date palm looks much bigger in your garden .