My mule looks a bit yellow.

[Brad Mondel]

I finally replaced my mule that was destroyed by my local squirrels. The thing is, it is a bit yellow and I'm somewhat concerned about it. It came in the mail like this and I don't want to take any chances on keeping a sick palm or transferring disease to other palms in my garden. Can anyone please give me a diagnosis if any? I appreciate it.

Also here is my washy after the cold.... What is the grey on the petioles?

Thanks again.

[ErikSJI]

The Mule looks like it has been over watered to me.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Looks like a pretty standard nutritional deficiency, nothing to do with disease. Yellowing like that is most often associated with a K deficiency. It could also actually be a nitrogen deficiency. My experience with mules is that they inherit their intense thirst for nitrogen and a need for more acidity in the soil from the queen parent. Queens are prone to yellowing in higher pH and are greedy feeders.

The remedy here is simple: get a well balanced palm fertilizer along with a soil acidifier in the form of a sulfate, that should look like this:

1) Look for a Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) ratio of 8-0-12 if potted or 8-1-12 if in the ground

2) Both N and K should be in a 100% controlled release form otherwise you will get K defficiency

3) Provide other micro-nutrients in sulfate form to increase acidity: if the slow release formula is for palms it will probably have Manganese and Boron, in which case add iron sulfate only to bring down the pH. Granules are better for slower release.

[Brad Mondel]

Alright, I potted it up in a mix with time release fertilizer. I think it was confined in it's nursery pot for too long and I hope it greens up soon. Thanks guys.