Mule palm in part shade

[Paradise Found]

Mule palm BxS has a lot of queen in it and the lower part of the trunk is really thickening up.  Makes me want to try a real queen palm in this area. lol. So far it has been fairly hardy for me with very little damage. Get around 5-6 hrs of sunshine.  What I like about this one is the droopy leaves. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Paradise Found

[BeyondTheGarden]

Great looking fronds.  I brought 3 queens back from Orlando a few weeks ago.  Will put them in the ground when they get too big to move in and out of the greenhouse. 

What on earth is that gorgeous plant that looks something like a shefflera or Dizygotheca elegantissima on the bottom right of the second picture?  

I also have 2 mule palms but they're only a couple feet tall.  I left one outside and it took a light freeze and experienced a good bit of damage.  How does yours handle freezes? 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Jesse PNW

[Paradise Found]

Thanks Jesse.  Yeah I let them get some growth on them too before planting out a queen.  To bad the stores around here don't stock them otherwise I try one too.  

The siting is in a micro climate.  In between the two houses on the east side so it gets lots of mid morning sun and afternoon sun too.   The mule is very protected on all three sides with buildings and has overhead protection from a 100 year old holly tree.  with lots of plants planted it front from a distance to protect from cold winds. I have lost a few butia on the other side of the house before but this one keeps making it. If it goes into the low 20's I protect it but lately thats not very often. 

I can't believe your mules had damage but they'll get hardier as they get bigger and they are worth protected when needed with a blanket over them. 

The other plant you like is Schefflera tawaniana which I think is one of the more cooler one we can grow.  Click on the photo and you'll get a better picture of it.  

Anything new happening in your neck of the woods. 

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Paradise Found
more to add.

[BeyondTheGarden]

That looks amazing, I didn't realize the leaves get that big.  The hardy schefflera's are hard to come by, but I hear there are some available at Cistus down near Portland.  I can't remember if they have taiwaniana or delavayi.  I'm going to stop in next time I'm down that way.  

Sad to hear you're loosing Butia's.  You're near Seattle?  I'm in Rochester which is 8A or 8B depending on which map you look at.  This winter, our lowest was 25F, but we do get cold snaps down into the teens every few years.  I hope those cold snaps don't coincide with a business trip so I'm home and can protect my Butias and other palms.  

Mules are hard to find up here, where did you source yours from?  I mail-ordered mine from Mule palms of Mississippi.   I think they're out of about everything now though. 

[Paradise Found]

Wind Cliff nursery in WA has lots of different Schefflera's They do not do mail order. But do check out their website.  I got a few other types too....and sometimes in a blue moon Bark n Garden sells them in Olympia. BTW I am in Olympia. LOL! 

Yeah the big snow storm we had I was out of town visiting family and could not get home to protect anything. Palms were all OK! I got mine 10 years ago from a friend that pick it up from Southern California.  But the palm originated from FL And the queen was suppose to be one of the hardiness one in FL,  The guy that hybridized it, passed away quite a few years ago. 

Wind Cliff Nursery.... https://danieljhinkley.com/windcliff-plants/  Dan Hinkley is pretty famous plant explorer. 

[Chester B]

The small mules I have I got from @TexasColdHardyPalms a couple years back. One was planted out last year and is doing well. No overhead protection as I lost my street trees due to the ice storm. Took 24F and about 36+ hours below freezing with no damage other than some spotting which I see on my regular Butias.  Now it’s in full sun and takes the fierce afternoon sun so I hope it takes off this year. The other is still in a pot and after my greenhouse was destroyed by a large ice sheet it was fortunately spared but spent the remainder of the winter outdoors. So decent performance so far. 
 

I do have small queens seedlings and they did spend that ice storm outdoors in pots since the greenhouse was smashed. They don’t look so good, still waiting to see if they start growing new spears. I’m not sure you guys get the heat they really need up there. 2 years back Portland nursery had some 6+ foot tall queens for $100. I was tempted, if they were half that price I would attempt them. I have one spot they might last a few years.  

[Paradise Found]

Hey Chester as you can see I don't really have room for another palm, LOL! Queen for me would be a waste of money.

NO I don't have heat like you do.  My record for most 90F+ in one growing season is 16 days scatter through out the summer. Most summer its around 10. LOL. But thats not counting all the 88F-89F either. July and August are the hottest months here.  My all time record for heat is 104F.  

My smallest mule BxJ about 2' tall went through the arctic blast this winter with no problem and it has no overhead protection yet. lol.

with out overhead protection I would have spotted leaves too.  I hope your Queens make it and you can put them to the test. 

 

[Chester B]

Well, we've been off to a pretty warm spring and the mules are growing, albeit slowly.  Starting this long weekend we'll be in the upper 80's and possibly 90's so that will help some of the palms along.  I have two small Sabal "Riverside" that I hope will put on some size this year.

With our bad winter ice storm I am happy to report, that one of your favorites my seedling Chilean fire tree survived as well as one of my favorites, my Pohutakawa tree (NZ Christmas tree) made it through with flying colors.

[Paradise Found]

Yay finally some heat that will stay around, your palms are going to put on some growth thats for sure. 

Never though Pohutakawa tree would grow here even if it is hardy to z8, I look forward to see how it does. Making it through February freeze looks promising. 

[Trustandi]

The mule looks so pretty. Now I want to try growing a mule palm. I have a super mule just planted in the ground last month.  Hopefully, it will grow like weed this season. 

 

[BeyondTheGarden]

Where did you source this super mule from? 

[Swolte]

Krypton...
 

(sorry, couldn't resist)
Here you go for supermules: https://moultriepalms.com/super-mule/

EDIT: Cool they even have a little update on the 2021 freeze: 

2021 Texas Winter Storm

During the devastating 2021 Texas winter storm, many trees did not make it through the grueling temperatures. There were 5 nights below freezing, dropping as low as 21 degrees. In Harlingen, Texas at Simmons Oak Farm our Hybrid Mule Palm trees survived the freeze! Here are some images of our trees that made it through.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Swolte

[Trustandi]

Yes.. Moultrie palms. I got mine from NWpalmscapes and Exotics though.  

I think Patrick Schafer has a similar one - (butiaxjubaea)xsyagrus r.

 

 

[BeyondTheGarden]

This Patrick fellow has lots of cool things I'd love to get ahold of or see in person.  He's hard to get ahold of though.  I understand he's a hobbyist and not a commercial palm retailer though, so I can't really blame him for not replying to emails from random people he's never met. 

[Swolte]

10 hours ago, Jesse PNW said:

This Patrick fellow has lots of cool things I'd love to get ahold of or see in person.  He's hard to get ahold of though.  I understand he's a hobbyist and not a commercial palm retailer though, so I can't really blame him for not replying to emails from random people he's never met. 

Just be patient. He can be slow to respond (weeks). Try again in a month or two. Repeat.