The Roman empire introduced water management techniques to Elche, but the 10th c. Islamic Caliphate of Córdoba and later rulers of Al-Andalus planted palm groves and garden-estates in huertos (rectangular base agricultural units).

[1] After Rome’s conquest of the Iberian peninsula in the 2nd century BCE, Roman settlers introduced the first elaborate forms of agricultural water management.

[2] To irrigate their cereal and olive tree crop fields, the Romans constructed a dam at the Vinalopó River bed in the mountains north of Elche.

[5] The palm trees prevented soil erosion, decreased water evaporation, provided shade, and protected crops from wind.

[6] Palm trees were planted in a grid pattern with single or double rows along the rectangular huerto edges.

[7] The palm trees enhanced agricultural production in an arid region with summer temperatures consistently above 30 °C and annual rainfall below 250 mm (9.8 in).

[8] The palm groves also provided construction material for wood, fibers (i.e., baskets, thatched house roofing), and ornamentation.

Huertas were bounded by cascabots (fences of plaited dried palm leaves) or 1–2 m high plastered walls of undressed stone.

[10] Elche residents prized gardens and orchards as respites from the arid conditions, offering an oasis of scents, sounds, touch, and visual beauty.

[12] The “desert castles” garden-estate concept first entered the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century CE when Umayyad amīr Abd al-Rahman I fled from Syria to Córdoba, Spain.

Elche residents planted linear walled gardens in which water channels established symmetrical plots, irrigating rectangular landscapes of fruit trees, flowers, vegetation, and often walkways flanked the sides.

The Caliphate of Córdoba constructed a comprehensive canal system for urban consumption, industrial production, and crop irrigation.

In 1529, Elche officials constructed the Contraséquia section to prevent Vinalopó river flooding and irrigate crop fields with the excess flow.

[21] The canal extension distributed water to a reservoir north of the town then south to the Séquia Major for crop irrigation.

Industrialization supplanted agricultural production economically, reducing palm groves to a cultural and landscape role.

By the second half of the 20th century, date harvesting (which still occurs between November and December) and "white palm" production became heritage activities reserved for the local marketplace.

[20] Limited land availability for the expanding footwear industry and a rising urban population resulted in the government seizing many huertas.

[26]  The Valencian General Urban Development Plan of 1962 permitted detached houses in huertos for education, hospitality, or parks.

[27] The reclassification allowed the construction of artistic gardens, schools, hotels, houses as well as health, sport, and religious facilities on specified palm groves.

The Regional Government of Valencia passed the Law of the Tutelage and Protection of the Palmeral of Elche in 1986, thereby replacing all previous regulations.

[28] The Valencian government formed a board of trustees, called the Patronato del Palmeral, to protect and promote the palm groves within and outside the Elche city limits.

To protect the palm groves for historical and cultural heritage, the 1998 General Urban Development Plan converted private huertas into public spaces.

[28] The plan added urban historical gardens to the palm grove protections and barred any intervention without approval from the Patronato del Palmeral.

UNESCO is currently discussing protection changes to grant a broader use of the palm trees opposed to just their leaves.

Inadequate sun, humidity, and wider temperature ranges from climate change curb the palm tree growth season.

[35] Today, the city of Elche contains 97 orchards composed of 70,000 date palms, concentrated in the east bank of the Vinalopó.

[37] The city Elche named the Palm after Elisabeth (Sissi), the Empress consort of Franz Joseph, who visited the plantation in 1894 by Chaplain Castaño.