Mule Palm Genetic variability, Nutrient Deficiency, Foliar Fertilizer

[kirkhutch]

I thought this might be of interest to some. I planted out these two standard mules in February of this year (2016) purchased as 15 from the same nursery in Phoenix. They both looked quite different when purchased. I assume however that they came from the same parents as the nursery bought these at the same time from the same source (I think Eric in FL). Palm #1 had leaves that were a darker green and had/has dark brown boots. Palm #2 is a lighter green leaves and green boots and wider leaflets. I amended the soil about 50% with bags of garden soil (to about 3') from a box store as the existing soil that I have is mostly rock and large sand. Since planting they have settled in well and both are growing great for new plantings. The one with the darker leaves, Palm 1 pushes about an inch a day, which is similar to my queen palms, which are also newly planted. Palm 2 is pushing spears at about 60% of that speed. Over time I noticed the lighter green leaves of Palm 2 have lightened even more, which I first attributed to the AZ sun in summer. However Palm 1 has remained dark green. Palm 2 also has some mottling that is present on the leaflets. I have been fertilizing with Miracle Grow (expensive as heck), which has chelated Fe to try and darken it up and this has not seemed to help much. I’ve also tried palm fertilizer for our region, which has similar micronutrients but not chelated Fe (3% standard Fe).

 

This week I tried something new. I mixed some of the azalea Miracle Grow for acid loving plants at a rate of 1tbs per gallon in my sprayer (this product has twice the chelated Fe at .325%). I sprayed one frond only in case I burned it. The result 2 days later is a noticeably darker green in the sprayed frond with no burn. I think now that I now it is safe for the remainder of the palm. I wanted to get thoughts on correcting this long term however in the root system. I mulch these palms with fine composted mulch so I am feeding the soil. Should I try some other type of root feeding other than Miracle grow or standard palm fertilizer? Should I mix in some elemental sulfur?

Picture 1 is are the palms side by side prior to planting in Feb

Picture 2 is a shot of Palm 1 from a distance

Picture 3 is a pic of Palm 2 from a distance

Picture 4 is a pic of the leaflets from Palm 2 that received the foliar fertilizer (left) and the leaflet that did not receive foliar application (right)

[Laaz]

Try a heavy dose of epsom salt.

[mcrawford]

I took the time to go thru the U of Az mastergardeners (1 semester) class when I retired 2 yrs ago.

The 1st thing they taught us is that our desert soils actually have a pretty good mineral profile, lacking

only nitrogen (ammonium sulfate <$20 per 50# bag).  For some tropical, you may need to supplement

manganese, but not often.  Our soils are very alkaline, so I put a pound or so of sulfur (equally cheap)

in each plant hole (any plant 5 gal size or bigger)  It will make the soil more acidic and is also a fungicide

for any root damaged  that may have occurred.  AND, the grubs hate the stuff-particularly useful for

agaves, etc.   You need to be buying your fertilizers at an ag supply instead of Home Depot.  Wilbur-Ellis

or Simplot are both in the Tempe/Mesa area and open to cash customers like us.  They even have a miracle grow

equivalent for about $22/ 25lbs.

 

Secondly, I assume you got your mules from Pacific Palms in N. Phx.  They are good guys, but you can buy

from their source in Fallbrook, Ca for the same (cash) price as they pay.  Look up Bill Early at Las Palmas Nursery.

 have gotten both pindo x queen and pindo x Jubaea from him and am very happy.

[kirkhutch]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply! I actually got the mule's from Treeland and overpaid by at least 2-fold (a bit embarrased at how much I paid). These were my first purchases really. I won't make that mistake again. I haven't bought any palms from Pacific and when I have called the prices seem pretty absurd. I did find super nice mules that are overgrown 15g at Whitfill nursery for $150 so I picked one up from them. I just bought a few more hybrids from Patric (BJxQ, Bp x PJ c, Yatay mule) and will see how those do..

I hope to take the MG class at some point as I hear it is great. The soils in So AZ are so variable; my soil is very new as I am in the foothills and it is super sandy. Just a few miles from me south of River rd in Tucson the soils are much more mature. They have a better mineral content and also water holding capacity. Then you have areas such as the West Valley in PHX where they have a beautiful loam. I think part of the issue for me was that I ammended the soil too much, if thats such a thing. Many of the garden soils have a high salt content and are not that great. I will try adding some sulfer and scratching it into the soil to see if that helps (I have a ton of grubs so that's a bonus).

Thank you also for the tip on fertilizer. I am spending a good bit too much in that area! Which particular fertilizer are you buying from the PHX sources?

[ErikSJI]

Hello Kirk, Does the lime green Mule palm get more water with all the flowers being around it?

[kirkhutch]

34 minutes ago, ErikSJI said:

Hello Kirk, Does the lime green Mule palm get more water with all the flowers being around it?

Hi Erik,

Thank you for your question. I would say that this palm gets a bit more water than the darker green one. I have an extra micro-sprayer on that palm. For both palms I water for 25min every other day using the automatic system and then I deep water about once a week by hand.
 

Do you think the palm may be getting too much competition for water?

[mcrawford]

The past couple yrs I am applying a time release palm specific fertilizer (from the Ag supply house) in early spring.

Then every month, April thru Sept I am applying ammonium sulfate only.  I am having great results.  The pindo x queen

in particular needs lots of water.  June- Aug they get a thorough soaking 3x per week.  I have found the drip system I

initially installed is woefully inadequate when it is >110F and dry.  Being recently retired, I practice the Zen Watering Method...

a hose in one hand and a beer in the other.  It is time consuming, but oh so peaceful!  BYW...Treeland is a great nursery.

They are expensive, but what a beautiful display they have.  I got into the pilgrimage 12-15 yrs ago of going to S. Ca.

twice a growing season.  The $100+ it costs in fuel is vastly repaid by the savings in price.  The Fallbrook area in

particular is a goldmine!  There are many great small nurserymen, but my favorite are Bill Early (Las Palmas) and

George Sparkman (Cycads-n-Palms)...also Phil Bergman for harder to get items.

(Prior to the great recession, a couple friends and I went regularly...just like housewives at the mall!).

[mcrawford]

I forgot to mention the most valuable tool in my collection...

a watering probe.  This is a 3' long 1/4" steel dowel with

a radius'd end and a 4" T handle.  If you have watered

properly, the probe should penetrate 24-30" into the

soil (allowing for subterranean rocks, of course).

[kirkhutch]

11 minutes ago, mcrawford said:

The past couple yrs I am applying a time release palm specific fertilizer (from the Ag supply house) in early spring.

Then every month, April thru Sept I am applying ammonium sulfate only.  I am having great results.  The pindo x queen

in particular needs lots of water.  June- Aug they get a thorough soaking 3x per week.  I have found the drip system I

initially installed is woefully inadequate when it is >110F and dry.  Being recently retired, I practice the Zen Watering Method...

a hose in one hand and a beer in the other.  It is time consuming, but oh so peaceful!  BYW...Treeland is a great nursery.

They are expensive, but what a beautiful display they have.  I got into the pilgrimage 12-15 yrs ago of going to S. Ca.

twice a growing season.  The $100+ it costs in fuel is vastly repaid by the savings in price.  The Fallbrook area in

particular is a goldmine!  There are many great small nurserymen, but my favorite are Bill Early (Las Palmas) and

George Sparkman (Cycads-n-Palms)...also Phil Bergman for harder to get items.

(Prior to the great recession, a couple friends and I went regularly...just like housewives at the mall!).

Thank you for the advice! I will try that time released fertilizer! I think I probably play it a bit too safe with my fertilizing.  

I like the Zen Watering as well, haha. I just have less time than I would like. I definitely need to make a trip to CA for some palms. I'd also very much like to know more about which species you are growing. Have you tried some of the Parajubaea species? 

[mcrawford]

Contact Scott Walkowitz (Aztropic)

He has the most diverse palm collection

in the area!  He is on this group.

[ErikSJI]

Kirk. Lay off the water a bit. Save yourself a ton of money in all these fertilizers. You can even ask Bill Earley he is growing them in desert conditions no water or fertilizer. If your tree starts showing more issues contact me. I will help you out. Most of the Vendors mentioned above I or one of our growers supply.

[kirkhutch]

1 hour ago, ErikSJI said:

Kirk. Lay off the water a bit. Save yourself a ton of money in all these fertilizers. You can even ask Bill Earley he is growing them in desert conditions no water or fertilizer. If your tree starts showing more issues contact me. I will help you out. Most of the Vendors mentioned above I or one of our growers supply.

Thank you Erik. I appreciate the help! I will cut back on the watering and see how things go. I'll let you know. With mules what would be the earliest signs of drought stress?