King Mule Palm

[slpoolowner]

Hi All, 

New to the forum, and live in the Houston area, Sugar Land to be exact for my Houstonites.

I recognize that Moon Valley  Nursery has been well documented for being overpriced, but went there this weekend and was quoted 3k (each) for King Mule Palm at 4ft each, which are cold hardy (sp i am told).  I lost two queen piru palms during the freeze and hoping to replace them with something a little more hardy.   My gardener is able to find King Mule Palms at 2,500 dollars each installed.   Does anyone know anywhere else in the Houston area i could fint 4-6ft King Mule Palms that are cheaper?   

 

I ask because i came across the following link showing Mule Palms at Ty Ty nursery going for $750..

 

https://www.tytyga.com/Mule-Palm-p/palnor-mule.htm

[Gator]

I grew up near TyTy Georgia....and that place is incredible.

100s  of Acres of plant production

[buffy]

If that's what you want, go for it. You're better off just going to the big box and buying a couple there. The king piru mule is some marketing horse poop. In a couple of years you won't be able to tell the difference in size. F1s are variable.  Those pictures are their very best examples. If you go that route, make them send pictures and chose the ones you want. 

[KDubU]

Ty Ty is out of stock on the big ones if that is what you are looking for.

[Sabal_Louisiana]

Sounds like they have a hybrid between the contested Piru (a Queen) Palm and a Butia capitata.

3K sounds outrageous unless that thing could take 0F which I know it can't.

For a standard 4 ft mule you shouldn't have to pay more than $400 but I'm no expert on the market.

I've been quoted from landscape outfits generally about 80/ft outright 100/ft installed until you get to the 5-6 ft range and then exponentially more expensive from there.

Anyway, you need to start here before going somewhere else:

Mule palms of Mississippi

mulepalmsofmississippi.com

Talk to Mike.

[Jtee]

With some shopping around you might be able to find one at the big box stores. A regular mule palm that is and save lots of money

[Keys6505]

6 hours ago, slpoolowner said:

Does anyone know anywhere else in the Houston area i could fint 4-6ft King Mule Palms that are cheaper?   

4'-6' overall or clear trunk?  The League City Lowes still has a bunch of the $159 Mules that are 4' overall height from the top of the pot.  I don't know how many degrees colder a "King" Mule is worth (if any), but I'd bet it's not $3k worth

[Fusca]

7 hours ago, slpoolowner said:

My gardener is able to find King Mule Palms at 2,500 dollars each installed.

@buffy is right - those 'piru' queens are no different than ones that you would find at HEB, so their mules aren't anything special.  Just to give you an idea of their growth rate, I bought a 6" strap-leaf seedling in March 2017 for $15 and after 2.5 years in the ground it grew to about 7' overall height!  Welcome to PalmTalk!

 

[Dartolution]

*cough... If I may...*

@slpoolowner From their website directly: "Though not actually a new variety, its parentage features the most desirable aspects of Moon Valley Nurseries proprietary “Piru” strain of extra robust Queen palms blended with the grace, beauty, and exceptional durability of selectively bred Pindo palms, the King Piru takes it to the next level for unique palms."

This sounds like their way of saying, Hey - we took the fattest queen we got and crossed it with a regular ol' pindo and came up with a flashy new name! 

 

You sir, are being ripped off. Someone is attempting to take advantage of you. 

Please do yourself a favor and seek services and palms elsewhere. 

$3,000 for a mule palm is beyond outrageous its disgraceful. 

 

As others have suggested, get a good quality 2-4 ft Mule, feed, water, and take care of it (its easy) and within the course of a few years you will have a stunning specimen tree. Mine has doubled in size in a years time. Many others here likely have similar experiences.  

 

That being said, if you have the money and for whatever reason want the 4ft 3K$ one... you do you! haha 

[JLM]

Buy a $65 Mule seedling from MPOM, in probably just 2 years it will triple in size, if not more if it doesnt go through an extremely rough winter. Although MPOM is currently out of the seedlings, there are bigger sizes for higher prices. This is a very trustworthy source with reasonable prices IMO.

[Estlander]

Wow, those are some pretty outrageous prices. 
I’m not in the Houston area, so not sure about any nurseries selling Mules there. But just for comparison,  I bought these two from a nursery in Panama City Beach, FL for $125 each. Both had about 7-8ft. of overall height. 
Here they are right after I bought and planted them back in March 2018. 
Prices really do seem to vary on these from what I’ve seen. 

 

Edited May 13, 2021 by Estlander

[Estlander]

Here they are three years later. Both now have absolutely massive trunk bases. 

[JLM]

@Estlander your Mule is literally the Livistona decora of pinnate palms. Such a beautiful palm!

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

18 hours ago, Keys6505 said:

4'-6' overall or clear trunk?  The League City Lowes still has a bunch of the $159 Mules that are 4' overall height from the top of the pot.  I don't know how many degrees colder a "King" Mule is worth (if any), but I'd bet it's not $3k worth

I can back up this data , no reason to buy a big Mule. Once they get rooted in they are fast palm growers 

[PalmatierMeg]

The term "King Mule Palm" sounds like hokum, ridiculous and fraudulent.

[Dartolution]

@Estlander stunning! I am shooketh! 

@PalmatierMeg completely agree.