Mutant Mule

[buffy]

So this is a strange one. Early in my palm love, I ordered a mule palm seedling from some random seller. I have no clue who it was. I soon purchased plenty of other palms as my connections improved. But this strange little one is intriguing. It is approximately 8 years old. In the ground for 5 years. And it's a baby. It hasn't been beat up with leaf damage. It's just super slow. But the strange thing is not it's slowness. It's that it would prefer not to go pinnate. The leaf tips want to remain fused. It's like a 'lisoid' mule. It's healthy, slow and strange. Thoughts?

 

[buffy]

Here's a bonus shot of my oldest Jubutygrus. It's a very graceful double.

[ErikSJI]

8 Years old? Wow what a runt.

[Alicehunter2000]

The "windows" aspect is not so strange as the no growth....I would dig it up...clean up the roots.....maybe wash all the soil off..... and put it in a different spot....it hates where it is now.

[buffy]

Placement is fine. It has always behaved this way. It's a genetic anomaly. I've watched plenty of palms transition to adults. This is different. Again, perfectly healthy and green. Just odd.

[Ben in Norcal]

I'd guess it is basically a "dud." Hybrid variability, anomaly as you say.  I'm so short on space I'd pull it after that amount of time.

[ErikSJI]

On 7/1/2016, 4:45:10, buffy said:

So this is a strange one. Early in my palm love, I ordered a mule palm seedling from some random seller. I have no clue who it was. I soon purchased plenty of other palms as my connections improved. But this strange little one is intriguing. It is approximately 8 years old. In the ground for 5 years. And it's a baby. It hasn't been beat up with leaf damage. It's just super slow. But the strange thing is not it's slowness. It's that it would prefer not to go pinnate. The leaf tips want to remain fused. It's like a 'lisoid' mule. It's healthy, slow and strange. Thoughts?

 

 

[ErikSJI]

From my experience that is not how a mule palm goes pinnate. That is how a Butia goes pinnate.

[DoomsDave]

Hang onto it and see what happens.

Sometimes oddballs can be cool!

[RJ]

Cameron, how has this little guy done? 

 

Edit: I ask because I have one that was purchased with 3 other mules that grows entirely different.  My thoughts are that it might be a regular butia

Edited January 29, 2020 by RJ

[buffy]

It's still an oddball. Still small. Still has pinnae pushed far distally along the petiole. Very cold hardy. Survived the 8F freeze unprotected. The pinnae still want to maintain their rein structure at the tips.  Just a weird little fella. 

[DAVEinMB]

6 hours ago, buffy said:

Survived the 8F freeze unprotected.

That's impressive! The range of individual mule hardiness is crazy.  I've been told by a number of people over my way that mules won't make it in myrtle and we haven't seen single digits (or really anything near them) since the 80s. Has me constantly second guessing one of my planting locations..

[Fusca]

7 hours ago, buffy said:

Survived the 8F freeze unprotected.

Impressive indeed - even for a well established mule palm.  The habit of the leaf tips remaining fused is similar to my Butia x Jubaea F2 seedling.

 

Its cold-hardiness makes me wonder if it is actually a B x J but my seedling isn't nearly as slow as yours.