Unlikely — Zone Mismatch
date palm (zones 8-11) does not overlap with Nebraska's zone range (4b-6a). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.
2 zones short — what would close it
Date Palm is hardy to zone 8, and the warmest ground in Nebraska is zone 6 — 2 zones short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a Nebraska winter. To grow it here, grow date palm in an earth-sheltered greenhouse — its modeled 2.5-zone lift covers this gap.
An earth-sheltered greenhouse is the lift this needs. How a greenhouse changes what you can grow →
Zone math from 8-11 (plant) against 4-6 (Nebraska). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['earth_sheltered'] (+2.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.
Date Palm in Nebraska — the short answer
Date Palm in Nebraska: hardy in zones 8–11, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 8-11
- Not verified
- Nebraska zones
- 4b-6a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 12 - Apr 26 – Oct 15 - Oct 21
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 134 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Nebraska spans zones 4b-6a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score date palm against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your parcel report in seconds — read in full free for your first 14 days
Nebraska is not one climate
Nebraska’s winter-low ladder runs across 93 counties, from zone 4.5 in Sioux County to zone 6 in Thayer County. That is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between date palm overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 93 counties runs 5–5.5 zones, with a median of 5.5 zones — a 1.5-zone span end to end.
Measured across 93 Nebraska counties. USDA PHZM 2023, per county. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where Date Palm Stands in Nebraska
Date Palm is rated for zones 8–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 10 to 20°F. No Nebraska county sits inside it, so in open ground this is a grown-under-cover plant here rather than a bed plant — which is a statement about Nebraska winters, not about date palm.
Below the zone 8 floor
93 counties
- Sioux County · zone 4b
- Antelope County · zone 5a
- Arthur County · zone 5a
3 of 93 shown
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant works in a container that comes under cover.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so the floor above is the band the plant's rating denotes, not a single measured kill point. Slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from its county figure — which is the part only your address resolves.
Zone Comparison
Date Palm Needs
- USDA Zones: 8-11
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 50 ft tallWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Drought tolerance: HighWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Nebraska Has
- USDA Zones: 4b-6a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 12 - Apr 26
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 15 - Oct 21
- Annual Rainfall: 15-34 inches
- Common Soils: Loess, Sandy loam (Sandhills), Silt loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 8-11)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Date Palm in Nebraska
The frost window
Across Nebraska, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 12 and Apr 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 15 and Oct 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 172-day window you can count on — up to 192 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
Winter standing
Nebraska runs as cold as USDA zone 4, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for date palm, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether date palm is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Nebraska; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Sioux County, not the statewide average.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Growing Season Fit
The zone check says date palm does not survive a Nebraska winter in the ground. The season figures below measure a different question — whether it could finish a season here at all — and they only bear on Nebraska under protection.
Growing degree days
Date Palm needs ~4500 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. The state median runs ~2648 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Nebraska's typical season runs short on heat — pick a south-facing site and consider season extension.
Chill hours
Date Palm has no winter-chill requirement — its listed minimum is 0 hours (Growable Ground Plant Database). Nebraska typically banks ~2500 chill hours per winter (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so chill is not a constraint on this plant here — and not evidence in its favour either. Winter survival and season length are what decide it.
GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Date Palm likes near-neutral soil (pH 6-8.5). That's the common-ground band across Nebraska's loess and sandy loam (sandhills) — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6.5 and 8 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Nebraska soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Nebraska site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost.
Your land, not the state average
Nebraska's soils run mostly silt loam, but SSURGO maps the series, texture, and drainage under your exact parcel. Date Palm needs about 59 inches of workable depth, so it is that horizon — not the surface — you are testing for. That map unit, not the state average, decides how date palm performs.
Check your parcel → Source: USDA NRCS SSURGO.
Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Nebraska soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant date palm for food
Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before date palm goes in. What follows is Nebraska’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across Nebraska — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Nebraska — 4,007 documented sites across 7 of the 8 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 162 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Nebraska carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds of imported, lab-tested soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across Nebraska
Severity Distribution
across Nebraska
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Nebraska, two things run higher than the national average across Nebraska — CAFO (700 sites) and Superfund (162 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Date Palm in Nebraska
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Nebraska growers also need to think about:
Low western rainfall (15 inches) requires irrigation
Extreme wind exposure on open plains
Hail damage during severe storm season
Growing date palm here specifically
Date Palm wants pH 6.0–8.5 and rates to USDA zones 8–11, but Nebraska's soils are dominantly silt loam — the fit is decided by your parcel's own map unit, not the state average.
Match date palm to your parcel's SSURGO map unit — test pH and texture, and amend toward its 6.0–8.5 range. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Nebraska grower, not just date palm — is covered on the Nebraska growing guide.
Timing shifts within Nebraska
Nebraska isn't one climate. In Sioux County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 14 — roughly 25 days later than the recorded state median — so plant date palm to your county's window, not the statewide date.
County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Where in Nebraska Date Palm Is Zone-Hardy
Date Palm is rated for USDA zones 8–11. No Nebraska county reaches it. Even Thayer County, the state’s mildest winter at zone 6a, sits below the plant’s zone 8 floor — so in open ground this one needs winter protection here, or a container that comes under cover.
Across those 93 counties Nebraska’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 4b in Sioux County to zone 6a in Thayer County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. None of that range reaches the band date palm needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Date Palm’s zone 8–11 band: Not verified. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Date Palm draws honeybees (low value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, date palm can only work that bloom inside Nebraska's frost window — roughly 181 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 12 - Apr 26) and closing at the first (Oct 15 - Oct 21), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Nebraska Cooperative Extension
For Nebraska-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for date palm, the canonical source is Nebraska Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Date Palm native to Nebraska?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Date Palm as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Nebraska's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Nebraska natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Nebraska growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Nebraska and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.
State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.
Common Questions About Growing Date Palm in Nebraska
When can I plant Date Palm in Nebraska?
Nebraska's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 12 and Apr 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 15 and Oct 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Date Palm, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Nebraska and publishes no fall establishment date for it — check its hardiness range against your own zone before treating it as a permanent planting.
What hardiness zone is Date Palm grown in across Nebraska?
Nebraska spans USDA hardiness zones 4b-6a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Date Palm is listed for zones 8-11, which do not overlap them, so there is no zone in Nebraska where this page can call outdoor growing reliable. A parcel report resolves your own address's zone.
How many frost-free days does a typical Nebraska site have?
A typical Nebraska site sees ~181 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Date Palm needs 365+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date. In cooler counties like Sioux, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Date Palm native to Nebraska?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Date Palm as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Nebraska's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Nebraska natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Date Palm in Nebraska?
Date Palm prefers pH 6-8.5 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Nebraska soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Date Palm actually grow on my specific land in Nebraska?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores date palm against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Nebraska
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores date palm against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Nebraska date palm averages can't show:
We read public map data around Nebraska — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Nebraska date palm average
Explore More
Growing guides for date palm
Explore Nebraska county by county
Nebraska carries 93 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for date palm there:
Where else date palm grows
Date Palm's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Nebraska in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in Nebraska
Nebraska has a growing page for 810 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
Analysis by the Growable Ground research team, grounded in USDA PLANTS, USDA NRCS SSURGO, NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020), and named Cooperative Extension sources. How we know →
Cite this dataset
Kirchick, M. (2026). Growable Ground Plant Database [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21435643
Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21435643
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