Any nursery recommendations in the Corpus Christi area?

[Ben G.]

Since moving to the San Antonio area at the beginning of May, I haven't really left the area to explore any nearby cities yet. I would like check out Corpus Christi before too long though. Are there any interesting nurseries I should check out, if I am in the neighborhood?

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, Ben G. said:

Since moving to the San Antonio area at the beginning of May, I haven't really left the area to explore any nearby cities yet. I would like check out Corpus Christi before too long though. Are there any interesting nurseries I should check out, if I am in the neighborhood?

I think the best overall nursery in the area is Turner's at 6503 S. Padre Island Dr.  They always had a decent selection of palms when I lived there 7 years ago.

https://turnersgardenland.com/

Another would be Padre Palms - a few more miles down the road from Turner's in Flour Bluff at 10015 S.P.I.D.  Less than a mile from where I used to live so I visited there often.  They typically had a better selection of larger palms and often had coconut palms in stock.

https://padrepalms.com/

[Ben G.]

13 minutes ago, Fusca said:

I think the best overall nursery in the area is Turner's at 6503 S. Padre Island Dr.  They always had a decent selection of palms when I lived there 7 years ago.

https://turnersgardenland.com/

Another would be Padre Palms - a few more miles down the road from Turner's in Flour Bluff at 10015 S.P.I.D.  Less than a mile from where I used to live so I visited there often.  They typically had a better selection of larger palms and often had coconut palms in stock.

https://padrepalms.com/

Thank you for the recommendations. I will check them out when I make it down that way.

[Dwarf Fan]

On 7/4/2024 at 10:10 PM, Fusca said:

I think the best overall nursery in the area is Turner's at 6503 S. Padre Island Dr.  They always had a decent selection of palms when I lived there 7 years ago.

https://turnersgardenland.com/

Another would be Padre Palms - a few more miles down the road from Turner's in Flour Bluff at 10015 S.P.I.D.  Less than a mile from where I used to live so I visited there often.  They typically had a better selection of larger palms and often had coconut palms in stock.

https://padrepalms.com/

There is a place called Southern Paradise that currently has the best selection of Palms in Corpus. I have only lived here a few years, was it around when you lived here?

Southern Paradise Palm and Tree Sales

 3920 S Padre Island Dr,

Corpus Christi, TX 78415

[Fusca]

7 hours ago, Dwarf Fan said:

There is a place called Southern Paradise that currently has the best selection of Palms in Corpus. I have only lived here a few years, was it around when you lived here?

Southern Paradise Palm and Tree Sales

 3920 S Padre Island Dr,

Corpus Christi, TX 78415

Not that I'm aware of - it must be relatively new.  I haven't been in that area of Corpus in a few years.  Interesting that they have the best selection of palms.  That's encouraging.

[Dwarf Fan]

7 hours ago, Fusca said:

Not that I'm aware of - it must be relatively new.  I haven't been in that area of Corpus in a few years.  Interesting that they have the best selection of palms.  That's encouraging.

Yea that was my impression as well, it’s a very small square footage Nursery but  they pack in the plants and are VERY Palm heavy they even they have massive size Mules and even some more exotic stuff like Copernicas, they get all their Palms from the Valley here in Texas. Padre Palms gets them trucked in from Florida so this is also something to consider. I have chatted it up with the staff at both locations and pressed them for Palm origin info. Prices are high you could drive down to the valley and pick up the same palms for cheaper but great to browse. You better have a Victorian-era fainting couch nearby when you check out the prices on the large Mules though…

Turners had 2 CocoQueens a while back that were really pretty looking and large sized, not that I would take a chance on one here.

[Ben G.]

18 hours ago, Dwarf Fan said:

Yea that was my impression as well, it’s a very small square footage Nursery but  they pack in the plants and are VERY Palm heavy they even they have massive size Mules and even some more exotic stuff like Copernicas, they get all their Palms from the Valley here in Texas.

Do they have any mules in smaller sizes? I would still like to try one (and maybe a small P. sylvestris).

I just don't want to spend a fortune on something that stands a fair chance of dying in a bad winter. So, I am more interested in trying something fairly small if I can.

[Chester B]

I have only seen small mules once here in Texas.  $350 for a 7 gallon, I hope you have deep pockets.

[Ben G.]

13 minutes ago, Chester B said:

I have only seen small mules once here in Texas.  $350 for a 7 gallon, I hope you have deep pockets.

If I was convinced that a mule would thrive here long term, I would be more inclined to spend the money. 

Since I am not convinced that I can keep a mule happy here long term, I may just wait until I see some small (1 to 2 year old) seedlings available online again.

My dad drives to swap meets in south Georgia and Florida a few times a year. He drives his truck with a trailer (usually hauling a car to sell) each time. Maybe I should just find a good mule source somewhere there, so I could have my dad haul a few palms back for me.

I almost had him do it for a jubaea x butia in Tallahassee. I just didn't trust that the pics showed a true F1 hybrid. Looked too much like plain butia to me.

[Fusca]

35 minutes ago, Ben G. said:

If I was convinced that a mule would thrive here long term, I would be more inclined to spend the money. 

Since I am not convinced that I can keep a mule happy here long term, I may just wait until I see some small (1 to 2 year old) seedlings available online again.

My dad drives to swap meets in south Georgia and Florida a few times a year. He drives his truck with a trailer (usually hauling a car to sell) each time. Maybe I should just find a good mule source somewhere there, so I could have my dad haul a few palms back for me.

I almost had him do it for a jubaea x butia in Tallahassee. I just didn't trust that the pics showed a true F1 hybrid. Looked too much like plain butia to me.

I think it's smart to start small with mules because they grow so fast.  I bought this one as a strap-leaf seedling in 2018 and it grew to this size in two years in far west San Antonio.  It survived 9°F unprotected in February 2021 after a trunk cut and regrew to this size by the end of 2021.  My larger mule never saw leaf damage in 7 years until its death in 2/21.  Unless you're in the hill country I would definitely try one or two.

[Dwarf Fan]

7 hours ago, Ben G. said:

Do they have any mules in smaller sizes? I would still like to try one (and maybe a small P. sylvestris).

I just don't want to spend a fortune on something that stands a fair chance of dying in a bad winter. So, I am more interested in trying something fairly small if I can.

I am not sure haven’t been there in a while, call and ask they are fairly knowledgeable and if not they can have the guy who is call you back:

Southen Paradise

(361) 765-1150

Have you called Palm Buddha in San Antonio he usually has different sizes including some smaller Mules?

Palm Buddha

 (210) 520-6529

Other than the Valley or Houston those are the only other Mule dealers I know of in the region.

[Ben G.]

40 minutes ago, Dwarf Fan said:

I am not sure haven’t been there in a while, call and ask they are fairly knowledgeable and if not they can have the guy who is call you back:

Southen Paradise

(361) 765-1150

Have you called Palm Buddha in San Antonio he usually has different sizes including some smaller Mules?

Palm Buddha

 (210) 520-6529

Other than the Valley or Houston those are the only other Mule dealers I know of in the region.

Thanks for the info. I was at palm Buddha last month. They had plenty of mules, but none that were very small. The smallest ones there were something like 15 gallon maybe.

[Chester B]

The ones I saw were at Palm Professionals in Sugarland but that was back in December. No idea if they still have any or if the price has gone up. I noticed all the garden centers raised prices in late winter ahead of the spring rush.