Preserving heirloom date varieties in the Coachella Valley

Date palms, native to the Middle East and Northern Africa, thrive in arid to semi-arid and hot climates with long summers and low humidity. They were brought to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s when the Department of Agriculture sponsored missions for men to find new crops to cultivate in America. In the U.S., they are cultivated in central and southern Arizona, including Phoenix and Yuma County, and in Southern California, in the Imperial Valley and the Coachella Valley.

For many years, after an initial heyday in the first half of the 20th century, the U.S. date market just trudged along. Then, dates started trending, an uptick in demand that Smith attributes to health-conscious social media influencers. Dates are packed with fiber and antioxidants, along with potassium, magnesium and other minerals; they also rank low on the glycemic index. The influencers were pushing them as unprocessed, nutrient-dense alternative sweeteners, binders and snacks — one of which went viral. “[Dates] totally hit the mark as a healthy Snickers,” Smith explains, “which is essentially caramel, peanut butter, peanuts and chocolate. We like to use the dates as a substitute for the caramel.” Social media has helped push dates into the spotlight, she says, but there is still more marketing and promotion to do: “For as popular as they are, it’s still not as mainstream as a banana … I’m inspired to continue to make dates fun and interesting and to continue to drive discovery.”

Three years ago, she pitched Walmart in an open call and was selected for her Grinders dates — essentially, imperfect Medjools that would otherwise be discarded — and encouraged the big-box giant to put dates front and center in the aisles. “We went from bottom shelf to the third from bottom” in that time, she says, describing their position in the dried fruits section. Joolies, another brand focused on bringing dates into the limelight with clever formats and bright turquoise packaging, sells dates and assorted flavors of energy bites; they’re also produced by a Coachella Valley-based family farm, La Quinta Date Growers.

Collectively, these efforts have pushed the date in the U.S. from a niche product into the mainstream. In 2024, the United States grew approximately 62,450 tons of dates, mostly of the commercial Deglet Noor and Medjool cultivars, valued at around $279 million, according to USDA statistics. That’s a dramatic expansion of the industry, which produced just 29,000 tons nationwide in 2014. As the fruit’s growing popularity pushes prices ever-higher (with growers earning 38 percent more for the fruit in 2024 than they did even two years earlier), groves have expanded significantly across Southern California and Arizona.

What makes heirloom dates unique?

All dates are categorized as drupes — fruits with a single pit or seed, such as olives or apricots. They vary in size, from small to large; color, from amber to dark brown; shape, from round to oblong; and texture, from plump and juicy to wrinkled and chewy (some are even dry). “The U.S. date industry predominantly focuses on Medjool and Deglet Noor varieties and most of the larger ranches grow none of the other varieties anymore,” says Smith. Heirloom varieties, which Smith describes as those “once grown, farmed or raised more prevalently in earlier times,” contribute to biodiversity and different flavor profiles.

Many large-scale date farmers don’t grow heirloom dates because there are too many uncontrollable variables that require more care, time and effort compared to growing commercialized date varieties. As Smith explains, some of these variables “can be lower yields; smaller-sized fruit; unremarkable flavor; propensity for crop-related issues like mold, skin checking, rot; or lack of suitability for the local climate.” In a nutshell, heirloom varieties don’t fit into the commercialized agriculture market because there are too many risks involved and they aren’t a guaranteed crop that can net a large sum. As dates become more commercialized, heirloom date varieties — like all heirlooms — are at risk of disappearing.

The value of living collections

Saving heirloom date varieties isn’t as simple as just planting their seeds. “Seeds from any variety of date palm will never grow the same type of palm,” explains Smith. This means Medjool seeds won’t grow Medjool palms. Date palms have to be grown from offshoots, or pups, to create the same variety. So while date seeds might be viable for centuries (scientists have germinated date seeds that were at least 2,000 years old), specific varieties can disappear if the last living plant dies without someone growing its offshoots. That means that heirloom varieties have to be preserved in living collections on farms or in gardens.

But even if most date palms are grown by offshoots, seeds still have a role to play when it comes to developing new varieties. “Seeds don’t grow true to the variety from which they come, so seeds from one of these varieties aren’t going to produce another tree of the same variety — it will be something totally different and new,” says Smith. “Each seed germinated will be a completely genetically unique variant.”