Mule Palm Arrival

[Manalto 788]

Forgive me for hijacking this thread, but I was wondering what the term is for this papery, fibrous stuff on the petioles of mule palm.

[Swolte 1,060]

Nice picture, I bet it would make for some good natural-looking laundry lining. 

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

@Manalto @Dartolution I'm gonna slightly hijack the thread as well once I get better pics of the differences amongst my mules 

.... unless that's not allowed, in which case I'll be quiet haha

[Manalto 788]

2 hours ago, DAVEinMB said:

@Manalto @Dartolution I'm gonna slightly hijack the thread as well once I get better pics of the differences amongst my mules 

.... unless that's not allowed, in which case I'll be quiet haha

If we keep it going long enough, we can watch Dartolution's mules grow!

[Dartolution 990]

LOL You guys are nuts. I plan to keep this thread as a rolling journal of the palm. I like those. That way, all the information you need is in one neat thread haha. 

@Manalto I believe that paper material is referred to as lingules. So this species/hybrid has papery lingules. 

[Manalto 788]

Ligules, no "N." Thanks!

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

Here are my 5 in no particular order. What are your thoughts on the color/appearance 

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

Mule #1

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

Mule #2

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

Mule #3

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

Mule #4

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

Mule #5

[Chester B 3,244]

I really like the look of that second one.  Quite a bit of variability between them all though.

I have two that I've been growing from liner size but not much too look at currently.  One I planted out the other I'm growing on to a larger size just in case.

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

39 minutes ago, Chester B said:

I really like the look of that second one.  Quite a bit of variability between them all though.

I have two that I've been growing from liner size but not much too look at currently.  One I planted out the other I'm growing on to a larger size just in case.

I hope #2 is tough because it's in a very open spot. I'm excited to see as they all get bigger of any new appearance traits stand out. 

Throw yours up! The more the merrier

[Chester B 3,244]

Here's the one I put in the ground.

 

[Manalto 788]

Nice to see you caught your palm in time for it to recover! Good luck keeping it going; I think it has a good chance because it's a survivor.

[Dartolution 990]

Definitely can see the variability there for sure!

[JLM 1,342]

Lets hope Mule #2 has the hardiness of a butia!

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

@Chester B I hope that mule is happy where it's at, it'll be a really unique addition to your garden as it matures. With how small it is you could even use a 5 gallon bucket to protect it when needed until it gains some mass. 

[Chester B 3,244]

1 hour ago, DAVEinMB said:

@Chester B I hope that mule is happy where it's at, it'll be a really unique addition to your garden as it matures. With how small it is you could even use a 5 gallon bucket to protect it when needed until it gains some mass. 

Good point.  Most winters I don't go below 25F and freezes only last a few hours with daytime highs above freezing so chances are I can leave it on it's own.  I think I'm borderline 8b/9A as I have some more tender plants that I've never protected.  If geraniums can survive the winter I got to think this guy can.

I do have my back up mule just in case, but hopefully "in addition to".

[J from Fl 15]

Speaking of mules here is my 45 gallon I planted a few months ago here in coastal central florida. I have 2 other smaller ones in pots. Do you think I should trim the lowest fronds off? What are your thoughts?

[Swolte 1,060]

Beautiful specimen! Keep the lower fronds, I'd say.  The Palm uses these old fronds, even when they are yellowing,  for nutrients. You never know what hardship may be around the corner. Not to mention that yours was recently planted. 

[Dartolution 990]

I agree with @Swolte @J from Fl, let the lower fronds stay until they have yellowed and began to brown/dry up. 

I do not remove old fronds from palms until they have completely recycled them and they are no longer of use. 

 

[J from Fl 15]

Thanks Swolte and Dartolution.  I thinks is crazy how long the mule palms lower fronds remain healthy vs other palms I have seen.  The lowest fronds are nearly touching the ground.

[Chester B 3,244]

I agree keep the fronds. My big butia has never had a frond go yellow even when they grow out and touch the ground. 

[Dartolution 990]

Grabbed a better photo of mine today while cleaning and rearranging the patio.

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

8 hours ago, Dartolution said:

Grabbed a better photo of mine today while cleaning and rearranging the patio.

Very nice! I like the arrangement. 

On a side note, your landscaping looks really good. 

[Dartolution 990]

Thanks @DAVEinMB. I just threw the tradescantia under it for some color on the patio (as if it doesn't have enough already). Kind of a bad idea though. When I fertilize the mule with PalmGain it burns the tradescantia. *shrug*

 

 

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

9 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

Thanks @DAVEinMB. I just threw the tradescantia under it for some color on the patio (as if it doesn't have enough already). Kind of a bad idea though. When I fertilize the mule with PalmGain it burns the tradescantia. *shrug*

 

 

I am running into the same issue with fertilizing in my jungle area, the lines are extremely blurred as far as where I need to apply what. I guess everything is just gonna have to be happy with what they get haha

[Dartolution 990]

@DAVEinMB I use a concoction of organic fertilizers on a 2 week schedule, this does not burn or hurt anything that I apply it to. The only issue I have noticed is underplanting palms in pots, and the use of palmgain. 

Every two weeks, I combine 1 gallon of distilled water, 1 box of MG performance organics fertilizer (11-3-8)[NOTE: this isn't exactly organic, its derived from organic ingredients, but its not OMRI CERTIFIED, rather just listed... tricky wording!], 200mL seaweed extract from BluePlantNutrients, 2 TBS blackstrap molasses, 150mL Dr. Earth Flower girl, and 100mL Humic/Fulvic acid from Simple Grow Solutions. 

Sounds like a lot, but this gets dissolved, and added to a hose adapter sprayer set on 2oz. 

I've had 0 issue with it, and tons of explosive growth. 

 

I think in the end you just have to experiment and find a happy median for everything. 

I still use palmgain on the palms in pots and in the ground every 2 months during the growing season. 

I basically just throw it around the base of the palms drip line and water it in well. 

Everything planted around it in the ground then gets a little. 

 

[DAVEinMB 2,076]

@Dartolution that does sound like a lot haha. For all my palms I use Pennington palm and hibiscus fertilizer which is a 9-4-9. Everything else i use a general fertilizer 12-12-12, however I may ditch that and use the Pennington throughout

[Dartolution 990]

@DAVEinMB I promise its not a lot lol. Just a fertilizer smoothie for the plants hahaha 

Ultimately, you have to do what works for you! 

[Dartolution 990]

These things really do grow so fast!

[Allen 1,422]

Cool!  nice planting.  I've got to get my mule thru winter soon 

[Dartolution 990]

@Allen Considering that last winter I had spear pull with this one, I believe that this year I will probably take more precautions with how much rain it gets in the cold months. 

I do however believe that the spear pull was just a result of a stressed palm. I received it in the winter BNB basically, and shipping and planting a palm in winter isn't ideal. 

The picture really doesn't do it justice. I can see the frond that was the center this spring, and it has grown so many more since. 

[Dartolution 990]

Muleie-Mule time. 

I wish I had a white concrete wall or something to photograph the potted palms in better... Going to have to think of something for next year! hmmm.

This mule has all but doubled in size in less than a year. 

Still shocks me how fast its grown and how much more large the base has gotten (doesn't show well in the photo).

Took it in for the nights we've had temps in the low - mid 20's because Im a scaredy cat and don't want it to get spear pull again this year (though I don't think it would).

 

[Chester B 3,244]

I'd err on the side of caution and bring it in for sure while it's still feasible.  Looks like next year it will want to be put in the ground.

[Dartolution 990]

@Chester B probably would, but I do not have the room, nor do I want to plant it here. 

It will stay in a pot(of some size) until, well, it doesn't. haha 

 

 

[Allen 1,422]

58 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

@Chester B probably would, but I do not have the room, nor do I want to plant it here. 

It will stay in a pot(of some size) until, well, it doesn't. haha 

 

 

To big for a pot after next year?  Mine started blowing the pot over.  And it has a ton of roots.

 

[Manalto 788]

5 minutes ago, Allen said:

To big for a pot after next year?  Mine started blowing the pot over.  And it has a ton of roots.

 

A ton? Just one palm? It must require a forklift to move.