The Date Gardens on Palm Circuit.
The shady grounds & BBQ inside.
It is now owned by Jim and Trudie Ludie and leased by Bruce Cotterill and Liz Martin.
It takes 20 years before a palm becomes fully fruit bearing, the first 10 years are spent in producing off-shoots, by which more palms are obtained.
Palms of both sexes must be grown, and every female flower needs to be hand-pollinated for satisfactory fruit production. A good male palm can produce enough pollen to fertilise the female blossoms of 50 palms. Consequently, many gardens are planted with a ratio of 50:1. Bees will rarely be attracted to the female bloom until it has been pollinated, preferring the more beautiful male scented flower.
Most of the palms in the garden are 30 to 45 years old, although the larger palms along the driveways range from 45 to 95.
Baron Von Mueller, Chief Government Botanist for South Australia, first saw the potential of dates in Australia, early in the century. Dried dates were the obvious food for inland travellers, being high in minerals, sugar and roughage. Used with salted meat, which is high in protein, they produced a reasonable diet. Von Mueller instructed early explorers to plant the seeds of their dates around waterholes for future travellers.
When the date garden commenced, the best of these palms were dug up and transferred to the garden. Most of them produced their full harvest the following season and were named after the place of origin, or the ladies who resided where they originally grew.
The palms produce flowers during September and October, and the fruit ripens during late February, March and April. A mature plant in full fruit is a beautiful sight, especially during late January and early February. Huge bunches of dates hang below the leaves, and the fruit changes from green to either yellow, or bright orange: or from pale pink to vivid scarlet.
There are now 26 varieties of palm growing at the date garden.
The Date Gardens is open daily except between the 24th Dec and 2nd January,from 9am to 6pm.
There ia a kiosk, picnic areas and a bush BBQ in the grounds. Peacocks, other birds and kangaroos will be seen in the shade of the palms.
Phone 8952 8493 to check tour times.