Hello Everyone,

I've had this mule in the ground for about 3 years now.  It was doing great but now I'm seeing a frond that came out dead.  Also, a couple adjacent fronds are half dead and half green.  Any ideas?

49 minutes ago, AZJakeB said:

Hello Everyone,

I've had this mule in the ground for about 3 years now.  It was doing great but now I'm seeing a frond that came out dead.  Also, a couple adjacent fronds are half dead and half green.  Any ideas?

It could be a fungus causing bud rot.  

Do you know if fusarium wilt is in your area?

I HAD a mule this past summer…..RIP

anyways it was doing great, looked fantastic and grew fast and then all of a sudden the fronds one by one started doing what yours is doing. Half brown and half green. I’d cut one off and then within days another frond would start to do it, eventually it took over the whole tree. It’s gone now. Its wilt and unfortunately the damage is done, it will contaminate the soil around it even. 
where is the mule palm from? 

This is what it looked like 

I suspect fusarium wilt. I hope I’m wrong. The symptoms you describe are classic for this disease. Leaves start to die, one half at a time. The palm goes from green to dead in just a few weeks. I lost all my queens, mules and a Washy to this disease in 2015/16. It is often transmitted by contaminated pruning tools. It is always fatal. I stopped planting the Syagrus genus even though a few species of that genus survived unscathed (picrophylla, kellyana, schizophylla). 

I also believe it is due to contaminated pruning tools. My grandfather stressed cleaning after each use with rubbing alcohol.

Thanks for the responses.  I sure hope it isn't fusarium.  Typically how long before the whole palm dies?  

I got it from Pacific Palms here in Phoenix.  

1 hour ago, AZJakeB said:

Thanks for the responses.  I sure hope it isn't fusarium.  Typically how long before the whole palm dies?  

I got it from Pacific Palms here in Phoenix.  

From the time I noticed symptoms the palm was dead in about 3 weeks. I also noticed dead fronds were a peculiar grayish-brown color.

2 hours ago, AZJakeB said:

Thanks for the responses.  I sure hope it isn't fusarium.  Typically how long before the whole palm dies?  

I got it from Pacific Palms here in Phoenix.  

How is your mule palm looking now? 
 

i 

7 hours ago, Jtee said:

How is your mule palm looking now? 
 

i 

It looks about the same.  This palm is on the north side of my house.  I'm wondering if it's from too much shade.  

2 minutes ago, AZJakeB said:

It looks about the same.  This palm is on the north side of my house.  I'm wondering if it's from too much shade.  

By now you should be noticing other fronds doing the same thing, everytime I cut off a half green/brown frond, another would die off within a couple days. I’m not sure if wilt is a thing in dry areas but I know it’s fairly common in the Deep South. I hope it’s not wilt but it really does look like it. 

Well everyone I think it's a goner.  It is slowly declining.  Going to end up losing it when it warms up I think.  

I need to replace it but I'm afraid that whatever I put in will suffer the same fate.  Is there anything I can do or is this spot doomed for 2 years?