It really doesnt take that long to fruit. If you buy it as a seeding and plant it in the ground in a good climate it will fruit in 10 years. If you get one that is already maybe a 3-5 gallon plant, maybe you will get fruit in 5 years or so. They are usually considered to have slow growth rate, but I think that if given the right conditions they grow at least moderate.

True date palms are probably the fastest, but I dont have experience with any date palms except the pygmy date palm which puts out new leaves really often even indoors.

I think there's only 1 type of date palm that fruits. I don't mind if it takes a while, I like it for the appearance.

NEWGEN, where do u live in cali? if your inland cali theyll be perfect for u & if your near san diego i no a nursery that has a few in pots to big box ones!

From offshoot cuttings they take about 5 years to get fruit, longer in areas with cooler summers. If from seeds, they can take 10 years or more, and half will be male, so will not have fruit, but only pollen flowers.
If you want an offshoot, you can contact me.
Arthur
softmentor@aol.com

I'm in Bakersfield, where it gets pretty dry and hot in the summer.

Arthur: I sent you an email.
Thanks,

NEWGEN, ya bakersfield gets really hot same as me! a actually live there for a month durning work setting up a lowes store off of rosedale hwy. dates should be fine where u live! goodluck.

in the first decade of the 1900's there were some early attempts to grow dates for the fruit in the SJ valley south of Bakersfield. The palms grew well but did not have enough heat to produce good fruit. There is one grower who is currently experimenting with the varieties that are eaten in the crunchy khalal stage, rather than the later dry stage but that is still questionable because of rain. Still the palms do grow well, and a well tended tree may have some mixed results that would be ok for a home grower, even if not for commercial value. So, you may want to try one of the following varieties: Barhi, Samani, Zaglool, or Hayani.
Newgen, I also responded to your email.

Softmentor,

What is the best date palm tree for landscapers in the Southeast away from the ocean and near the ocean?

Stevea07 if you are asking about date palms, Deglet Noor are considered a poor choice because they have rather skimpy crown and fronds compared to most any other sort. There are a lot of Medjool available, and they are a more attractive tree. There are several other varieties also, most are attractive palms. The Khadrawi and the Dayri are both nice looking palms with the advantage that they are slower growing, usually only 6 inches per year, compared to 18 inches a year for Medjool. That means they can be manageable and better to scale for a lot longer. You may also want to consider male palms. Although they are a little harder to find, you don't have the mess of fruit drop. Males are usually large and very full, very nice looking trees too.
All will do well near the coast. As you get into the colder areas, frost tolerance becomes more an issue. One of the most cold hardy is Zahidi, and it is a very nice looking palm, dense, trouble free, and grows about 12 inches a year. Generally, date palms will take 18 degrees jut fine, some will take 12, but below that you will get serious damage and loose a lot of them.
For fan palms, the Washingtonia is better than the Robusta for the same reason. Robusta will grow 3 times as fast, Washingtonia are also, imo, a better looking palm.
Arthur the date palm guy

Softmentor, Thanks for the info. Do you know where I can obtain offshoots or seeds of the Zahidi variety?

I have both seeds and offshoots, but if you are looking for cold hardy, you definitely want an offshoot, not seed. Dates will produce a VERY wide variety of results from seed and are not even remotely true to type. you can email me at
softmentor@aol.com