When to fertilize?

[JLM]

I need to know when would be the best time to fertilize my queens. Ill go ahead and fertilize my sagos because they look like they have a nutrient deficiency of some sort. They were last fertilized in November (i think, i hope). I will be going to Lowes sometime in the next month to look at palms selctions. Im up in the air between another queen or getting a mule. Main question is is when to fertilize next. Something to note: my smallest queen upon inspection has a baby spear!

[sonoranfans]

get a controlled(not slow or timed) release fertilizer and sulpomag(K, Mg in a ratio).  Queen palms are the most micro-nutrient and nutrient hungry palms you can grow there.  I would fertilize in a week or so up there, looks like daytime high temps will be in the 70's going forward.  I already have put down my fertilizer, but we are a bit warmer here.  On palm choices, I vote for the mule as they are more tropical looking and not so dependent on nutrients, they are actually pretty moderate on nutrient needs.  the mule will also self clean to a smooth, more attractive trunk when it is older.

[PalmatierMeg]

Fertilize mid-March (ground needs to warm up).

Buy a mule. Hardier and more attractive than a queen.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

I fertilize 4 times per year using a granular slow release All Organic 8-4-6 fertilizer that has over 70 minerals and micronutrients.  I fertilize Feb. 15, May 15, Aug. 15, and Nov. 15.  This seems to work well for me over hear in Corpus Christi on the South Texas Coast.

John

[JLM]

@sonoranfans @PalmatierMeg @Mr. Coconut Palm

Thank you all for this information. I think there is a mule in my neighborhood, kinda looks like a butia, but also kinds looks like a coconut. Its pretty small though. If i do another queen i will leave it in the pot for a while instead of throwing it straight into the ground. I have a little plan for the front yard instead of just a lonely queen. Some butias, mules, possibly another queen (up in the air), bananas, some flowers and small bushes, and some rock paths (subject to change). Make it look interesting besides a queen palm behind some old tree stumps. Though this is a project that will be started within a year or so when we have enough time on our hands. Right now we have a fence and roof to fix and or replace. Flooding issues in both front and backyards, so this will be put on hold for a while.

Edited March 4, 2020 by JLM

[GottmitAlex]

2 minutes ago, JLM said:

@sonoranfans @PalmatierMeg @Mr. Coconut Palm

Thank you all for this information. I think there is a mule in my neighborhood, kinda looks like a butia, but also kinds looks like a coconut. Its pretty small though. If i do another queen i will leave it in the pot for a while instead of throwing it straight into the ground. I have a little plan for the front yard instead of just a lonely queen. Some butias, mules, possibly another queen (up in the air), some flowers and small bushes, and some rock paths. Make it look interesting besides a queen palm behind some old tree stumps.

It could also be a Ravenea rivularis (Majesty palm). They look very coconutty especially when they're juveniles.

[JLM]

1 minute ago, GottmitAlex said:

It could also be a Ravenea rivularis (Majesty palm). They look very coconutty especially when they're juveniles.

The trunk almost looks like the trunk of a sabal, i cant get any pictures of it because its all the way on the other side of the neighborhood.

[Estlander]

21 hours ago, JLM said:

@sonoranfans @PalmatierMeg @Mr. Coconut Palm

Thank you all for this information. I think there is a mule in my neighborhood, kinda looks like a butia, but also kinds looks like a coconut. Its pretty small though. If i do another queen i will leave it in the pot for a while instead of throwing it straight into the ground. I have a little plan for the front yard instead of just a lonely queen. Some butias, mules, possibly another queen (up in the air), bananas, some flowers and small bushes, and some rock paths (subject to change). Make it look interesting besides a queen palm behind some old tree stumps. Though this is a project that will be started within a year or so when we have enough time on our hands. Right now we have a fence and roof to fix and or replace. Flooding issues in both front and backyards, so this will be put on hold for a while.

Destin Lowe’s has Mule palms right now. They’re in 6.5 gallon pots and 7 feet tall with the pot for $79. I’m sure stores in Pensacola have them too. 

Since they can be expensive and hard to find sometimes, then perhaps it’s a good idea to buy one now and keep it in a pot till you’re ready to start your yard project. 

[JLM]

3 hours ago, Estlander said:

Destin Lowe’s has Mule palms right now. They’re in 6.5 gallon pots and 7 feet tall with the pot for $79. I’m sure stores in Pensacola have them too. 

Since they can be expensive and hard to find sometimes, then perhaps it’s a good idea to buy one now and keep it in a pot till you’re ready to start your yard project. 

Milton Lowes doesnt have any mules right now. They have plenty of majesties, variety of dates, and fan palms. They have 2 thirteen gallon queens, no mules in sight. Going to Home Depot to see what they have and weigh my options.

[Sean7979]

I can't say anything about the Lowe's in Pensacola but the Lowe's in Gulf Breeze had 5 of them.  I bought three of them and I know they go quickly and they only get one shipment a season.  At least that's what the kid that worked there told me.  I'd get as many as you can if you can find them at the big box store.  Otherwise, you're going to pay a fortune.  

[JLM]

@Estlander

I bought a 2.5 gal queen from Pensacola Lowes lastnight, i have pics of this little thing.  I also collected a few sabal seeds from Pensacola Beach yesterday, planing on getting the germination process started by tomorrow.

[JLM]

Still no mules though..... 

Although if i can get these sabals growing soon, once they get big enough, they can go out in the front yard aswell. This queen will be repotted really soon, roots have started to split the bottom of its current pot open.

[Estlander]

5 hours ago, JLM said:

@Estlander

I bought a 2.5 gal queen from Pensacola Lowes lastnight, i have pics of this little thing.  I also collected a few sabal seeds from Pensacola Beach yesterday, planing on getting the germination process started by tomorrow.

 

 

I planted another Queen back in February as well. I hope yours will grow well for you. If you stick around, we can compare how ours do in the winters to come.

When it comes to Sabals I wouldn't even bother with seeds. Just go dig up a few seedlings. You'd save a lot of time that way.  Or better yet, find one that's just out of a seedling stage with palmate leaves already and no more than 2 ft. tall or so.  That's what I did.

As you already probably know, Sabals can only be transplanted when real young, or have at least 6ft. of trunk on them. I wanted a Sabal in my yard, but was too cheap to buy a mature one, or wait forever with seeds and seedlings. So, I tried my luck with transplanting a few of them and seeing what's the largest one that can still be transplanted successfully. The one below is my success story. All the leaves had already gone palmate and it was close to 2 feet tall when I dug it up. I'm actually quite amazed how fast it's growing for a regular Florida Sabal.

I planted that thing in September 2017 when it was a little less than 2ft. tall, and it's now 7 ft. tall.

First pic is from Oct 2017, second from August 2018 and the last two pics are from tonight.

 

 

 

[kinzyjr]

@Sean7979 Welcome to the forums!

[JLM]

14 hours ago, Estlander said:

I planted another Queen back in February as well. I hope yours will grow well for you. If you stick around, we can compare how ours do in the winters to come.

Thanks for the tips on the sabals, although i wont be going many more places with bunches of sabals for a while. I got the seeds in a bag with a wet papaer towel, surprised i have them lol

I do think we should compare our queens, do you have a pic of you queen from february? I will be measuring height on this thing today.

[Estlander]

3 hours ago, JLM said:

Thanks for the tips on the sabals, although i wont be going many more places with bunches of sabals for a while. I got the seeds in a bag with a wet papaer towel, surprised i have them lol

I do think we should compare our queens, do you have a pic of you queen from february? I will be measuring height on this thing today.

No need to go to Pensacola Beach to find them. There are loads and loads of Sabals where you’re at in Pace.  Your seeds are probably not the freshest. And if you do get them to germinate, they will spend an eternity as seedlings. Ain’t nobody got time for that, lol. 

I planted my second Queen in the far end of the yard surrounded by native vegetation. I’m trying to give it an exotic wild look with the Queen growing out from the midst of it as if it’s part of the landscape. 

[Estlander]

Love how fast Queens are. You can almost see them grow if you stare them long enough, lol. My first one is getting some good size to it already.  Can’t believe it was the same size as my second one less than two and a half years ago. 

[Estlander]

My Sabal in daylight for better view. 

[JLM]

@Estlander

I love everything in your yard LOL. Although, i hate to ruin the drift, but i have a bad feeling about this coming hurricane season. I seem to be good at not feeling good about things, then it happens. I hope im wrong. Im working on trying to make a hypothetical hurricane season and then posting it to youtube. I am one with nature pretty much at this point, meteorology and now plants, i just saved a red maple(i think) by pulling it out from under my fence, that sucker was hard to get out of there. I do know its a maple of some sort.

[JLM]

@Estlander

For some reason i just now noticed you have a foxtail right next to that queen. Is it in the ground or in a pot? I have mine in a pot.

[Dartolution]

On 2/29/2020 at 9:46 PM, JLM said:

I need to know when would be the best time to fertilize my queens. Ill go ahead and fertilize my sagos because they look like they have a nutrient deficiency of some sort. They were last fertilized in November (i think, i hope). I will be going to Lowes sometime in the next month to look at palms selctions. Im up in the air between another queen or getting a mule. Main question is is when to fertilize next. Something to note: my smallest queen upon inspection has a baby spear!

@JLM I agree with most of those who have said 4 times a year for your location. 

 

Here, I fertilize all my palms with PalmGain every other month.

They also get a liquid fertilizer cocktail that I use every other week on everything in the yard, which is a mixture of different water soluble fertilizers. 

All my palms are drip irrigated as well. 

 

The fertilizer cocktail I use is 1 box of MG performance organics, 100mL seaweed extract from Blue Planet Nutrients, or 4 scoops of their easy weed (high in potassium), 100mL Dr. Earth Flower Girl liquid, 100mL Simple Grow Solutions Humic and Fulvic acids, 3 TBS blackstrap unsulfered molasses, and 1 gallon of distilled water to mix it all up in. 

This gets fed in a hose end sprayer set to 2-3 oz per gallon. 

I've used this cocktail on palms, tropicals, and basically everything and everything seems to love it. 

Best of all it helps build the soils, feed the microfauna, and in turn, feed the roots of the palms/plants. You cant throw a stick in my backyard without hitting a pile of earthworms. 

 

That being said, you have to do what works for you. 

I will say, I cant speak highly enough about PalmGain. 

 

ALSO, as far as the MULE goes, you could check out MPOM. Michael usually responds quickly to emails, and I can attest to his mules. The one I have has grown considerably this year, even after having spear pull this early spring as a result of a combination of transplant shock and extremely wet winter. Far from sickly now. Ill probably post an updated picture at the end of the year. 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Dartolution
additional information

[Estlander]

4 hours ago, JLM said:

@Estlander

For some reason i just now noticed you have a foxtail right next to that queen. Is it in the ground or in a pot? I have mine in a pot.

It’s in a pot. Not ready to risk losing it by planting it in ground. We’ve had two back to back 10A winters. But something tells me we won’t have another one this year, lol. 
 

Looking at those pics, I can’t believe how much everything has grown since March. 

[JLM]

16 hours ago, Estlander said:

It’s in a pot. Not ready to risk losing it by planting it in ground. We’ve had two back to back 10A winters. But something tells me we won’t have another one this year, lol. 
 

Looking at those pics, I can’t believe how much everything has grown since March. 

My potted foxtail is slowly but surely opening a fairly large spear. There is another one coming in right behind it! Cant wait to see it fully open.