I have seen Date Palms with snow on them. They were fully grown ones so perhaps less cold sensitive. Smaller ones (and seedlings) would probably be more cold sensitive.

I would say so, but I would guess you would need some pretty heavy protection... I have never ventured to try it myself...

~palmsandsnow

I have date palms in zone 7 and they are fine. If you protect them for the first 1 - 3 winters and they get astablished, you won't have to worry about anything endless the tempature may go below zero (the lowest it has gotten here was about 4 degrees F).

But, I would recommend growing a Pindo Palm. Yes, they produce dates!

You could use this for rough estimating:

http://www.uspalms.com/page/417217662

I know it is more of a palm shopping site, but I like the chart and how it is useful for rough cold-hardiness estimates.

ayy im growing date palms from seed but they should be fine in the backyard