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Growing mule palms


Jtee

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There are several people on here in 8b with one.   It is not foolproof in 8b because under 20 it can start to take damage.  If you had a under zone event like Tx is having it could die.  But you have good odds of it making it many years.  Under 20 they will get hurt and they don’t like cold low 20’s ice/snow.  They are a awesome palm.  

Edited by Allen

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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6 hours ago, Jtee said:

Anyone growing mule palms in zone 8b? Anything I should know about them? I have one but haven’t found a place to plant. Any tips? 
 

They like a lot of sun. In 8b I'd try to site it in a southern / eastern location near your house. If you can site it where it has some canopy that will also help keep it happy (if you are in a wet 8b). There are some really nice specimens on here of members growing them in 8a / 8b so with a bit of work it's more than doable

Edited by DAVEinMB
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I have two, one in the ground and one in a pot.  I planted the one out this past spring, and don't really have much to report.  We're currently in the middle of a winter storm and will spend at least 36 hours below freezing, last night went down to 26F.  

I have noticed it has pretty much stopped growing with the cold weather and is starting to show a few black spots on the fronds from all the winter moisture.  This isn't unusual as my Butias will get them too, as well as some Yuccas.

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I’m in zone 8b south Alabama, and it’s a wet area. It’s been rainy for like a week straight already but I will plant in a southern location against the house. 

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17 hours ago, Jtee said:

I’m in zone 8b south Alabama, and it’s a wet area. It’s been rainy for like a week straight already but I will plant in a southern location against the house. 

Make sure to give it some breathing room, they get big in all directions

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43 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

Make sure to give it some breathing room, they get big in all directions

How far would you plant from the side of the house.? I’m planting one at my folks house this spring. Wondering how much room I should give it 

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@RJ I would say 3' - 5' should be safe assuming a nominal trunk diameter of 24" and that you don't mind foliage against the house. That said, i have 2 queens planted 2' away from the house which is going to make things tight down the road. I'll try to get a picture of my largest Mule later on, weather permitting. I want to say the frond span on it is around 10' right now. 

Edited by DAVEinMB
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53 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

@RJ I would say 3' - 5' should be safe assuming a nominal trunk diameter of 24" and that you don't mind foliage against the house. That said, i have 2 queens planted 2' away from the house which is going to make things tight down the road. I'll try to get a picture of my largest Mule later on, weather permitting. I want to say the frond span on it is around 10' right now. 

I have a mule planted about 5’ off the side of the north end of my house. I really wished I would have made it a solitary specimen so the house wouldn’t have taken to majesty away from it. Still a magnificent palm, I just wish I wouldn’t have to trim the fronds on one side (they have to be in excess of 12’ long).

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The picture doesn’t do it justice. I bought this palm in Jacksonville for, like, $120 or so dollars 4 years ago. It was huge then, and it barely made it back to Georgia on my small trailer. It’s bigger than this right now. 

F365BCAC-7849-4A58-8FE4-24430F53A2AD.jpeg

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I will caution you that mature mules can have a large canopy radius so take that into consideration when you decide to plant yours. I think the mature mule’s canopy is one of the nicest shade palms you can plant. Ones with more butia influenced will grow slower with wider trunks and have a bit more cold tolerance, more queen influence will grow faster and be taller. Mules are my favorite cold hardy palms.

We have two mature ones and one younger one. We’re in 9a-b however with plenty of summer high heat and winters not too wet (been in Calif. drought most recently). One year we did have a winter month where I think it rained almost every day and we subsequently saw a boron deficiency in ours (new fronds showed the typical Z leaflet structure). They are definitely happier in dry, hot weather and decent draining soil.

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Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

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We planted our mules’s trunks centered 5ft from our fences so we could get a ladder around it more comfortably and gave a good distance from the house. As mentioned they can have a wide canopy. I’d guess our mature fronds are 10-14’ in length. The fronds and the spathes are quite heavy as well. Keep in mind when they produce seeds they’ll go somewhere. I wouldn’t want them on our roof and in our gutters. As mentioned too close to the house and you’ll probably have a harder time pruning once they reach a certain height if you can’t get a ladder there. 

Another thought about planting too close to the house — if you ever decide to get solar panels or roof, you’ll not want the palm casting shadows on any solar producing panels. I think mules depending on parentage (butia vs queen influence) will grow to around 20-30 feet generally. 

Here are a few photos of our tallest mule’s canopy and a photo of our youngest mule (couldn’t find a good recent photo without the garbage can :rolleyes:) but you can kind of judge the distance from the house.  Our pergola to the left was 10ft. In height.
 

D2AC7F0D-7926-4C52-AAAA-B65A402ED74E.jpeg

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CBAC0B35-F605-40CF-8750-839D616FA53D.jpeg
 

Our side yard is not very wide. Don’t remember exactly but thinking maybe 18 feet to fence and center of trunk 5 feet from that. Really strapped for space there but wanted the mule’s canopy to shade that southwest side of our stucco house to one day cool it down during our hot Summer afternoons. We’re hoping we won’t have the house facing fronds hitting the house wall or windows as it matures.

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Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

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I’m trying some in 8a/8b. They are just ending their first winter, however. Other than spear pull, they seem fine. So far, they’ve experienced a 9a winter. Discoloring is from the brutal summer, most of it was present before freezing temps started. The biggest one I planted about this time, last year. 

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8EB9E84B-1E58-4622-9A95-5008B7971738.jpeg

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On 2/12/2021 at 8:45 AM, Allen said:

There are several people on here in 8b with one.   It is not foolproof in 8b because under 20 it can start to take damage.  If you had a under zone event like Tx is having it could die.  But you have good odds of it making it many years.  Under 20 they will get hurt and they don’t like cold low 20’s ice/snow.  They are a awesome palm.  

I would say they are good for 8b. This large Robusta is in Dothan, Alabama 8b, which is very impressive. I send this since Robusta has a similar cold hardiness to mule palms, so this might be helpful. 

Screenshot_20210223-214441.jpg

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Nothing to say here. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm reviving this topic because I just made a run down to Mobile (8B) and was happy to see my mule was unfazed by the extended cold spell in the twenties this winter. 

20210315_173522.thumb.jpg.9e632d49d856e98804f28909ddced28c.jpg

 This palm came home with me on the floor of the car as a 3 gallon youngster two years ago.

Edited by Manalto
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36 minutes ago, Manalto said:

I'm reviving this topic because I just made a run down to Mobile (8B) and was happy to see my mule was unfazed by the extended cold spell in the twenties this winter. 

20210315_173522.thumb.jpg.9e632d49d856e98804f28909ddced28c.jpg

 This palm came home with me on the floor of the car as a 3 gallon youngster two years ago.

Mobile Regional dipped to 19F at its coldest this winter, which occured during the Texas freeze. The temperature gradient was pretty sharp in this part of the coast, upper teens around Mobile, low 20's here, and upper 20's around the Niceville area. I think Destin might have dipped below freezing as well.

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1 hour ago, JLM said:

Mobile Regional dipped to 19F at its coldest this winter...

Wow - I didn't realize, since I was up North at the time. That would explain the damage I saw on other plants. Oleander foliage was toast. The color of my newly-planted Livistona chinensis looked a little yellow but it, too, didn't appear to have any tissue damage.
 

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They will be killed by anything less than 14F, if it’s an advective event where you fail to go above 32F for more than 48 hours.

One night Below 18F they will defoliate and may have some trunk damage, but as long as temperature rebound during the next couple days they will look good by August.

Little to no damage at 18F and above, if it just a quick drop.

I am in Zone 8b, and had a few prior to Feb 2021. 

Edited by Collectorpalms
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Current Texas Gardening Zone 9a, Mean (1999-2024): 22F Low/104F High. Yearly Precipitation 39.17 inches.

Extremes: Low Min 4F 2021, 13.8F 2024. High Max 112F 2011/2023, Precipitation Max 58 inches 2015, Lowest 19 Inches 2011.

Weather Station: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KTXCOLLE465

Ryan (Paleoclimatologist Since 4 billion Years ago, Meteorologist/Earth Scientist/Physicist Since 1995, Savy Horticulturist Since Birth.)

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A Butia ordorata would be bulletproof where you live you can find some big specimens if you look hard enough.

"The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it."
~ Neil deGrasse Tyson

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