Feet in Water, Head in Fire

Date palms are said to thrive with their "feet in water and heads in the sun" because they need plenty of ground water to drink, but high heat and arid weather to produce fruit. Therefore, date palms grow best in hot and arid climates on Earth. more information
 

Growing and Harvesting Dates

Commercially grown date palms are from offshoots to ensure desired date qualities. The scientific name, Phoenix dactylifera, refers to feather palms that may grow more than 100 feet and live more than 200 years.

Dates ripen in six to seven months, and are harvested from September through December. Date harvesters or palmeros climb up ladders or are lifted by mechanical lifts to either hand pick the fruit, or cut the ripened clusters into containers that vertically shake off the fruit.

Pollination

Date palms are dioecious - having male and female trees. Females bear the fruit, males produce pollen. Commercial date gardens typically have one male and fifty female trees planted per acre.  Natural pollination by wind is not efficient. Hand pollination is one of the oldest agricultural techniques. Mechanical pollination  mixes pollen collected from male flowers with a carrier such as flour, and is dusted on just-opened female flower clusters.