He has now become one with Long Island.

Awesome and all ready looking good. Mark the fronds with a sharpy so you can monitor the growth before the winter hits. This will be at least 1 zone below of its liking. Thank you for testing it.

It's my honor to test it. It came out of the box pushing out a new spear. Two nights in the low 40's, with highs in the low 60's with a cold wind. This little guy is tough. Even spent an hour teaching my Mastiff not to pee on it. Now he thinks he has to protect it! I'm buying a measuring stick this weekend so we can track it's height.

Duplicate post

This post was edited by Kokomo-JB on Wed, Apr 17, 13 at 7:53

Grass is off the charts

This post was edited by Kokomo-JB on Wed, Apr 17, 13 at 9:16

Pictures really don't do it justice

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing how it does. Butias and im guessing mule palms can be a little tricky in that they look alive for a long time after they die sometimes so if it doesn't make it, you might not find out until March or even early April (my butia had green fronds until the end of March when it's spear pulled. It had no damage last winter, but was completely fried this winter).
Good luck! I hope it does as well as your grass is!
-Alex

Having zero experience with Butia's...let alone Mules, I'm amazed at how strong the fronds are. It really looks and feels like a tough hardy fella. I guess it's that character which can leave it looking alive for so long as you mentioned. Nice day today today here in NY, right Alex?

Nice palm you got there. I got my fingers crossed for the little guy.

It was a beautiful day here! Got up to 70F in my yard, I definitely can't complain about temperatures like that. I wish that the 70s were more consistent, but they should be soon!
-Alex

Dang, that is some lush grass! I hope your palms do well with the metabolic solution you came up with.

Chadec: Thanks, I truly appreciate your well wishes. I must say that if this fella is a sample of Erik's quality, then he's got Top Shelf plants. It's so stout and green, it looks fake from 15 yards out. I'm curious as to how fast it will grow here.

Cliff98: The pictures don't do it justice. It's freaky to look at when you take into account the surrounding area. If this stuff worked on hair, I'd be richer than Bill Gates :)

JB With your formula your Mule palm should look like this one next year. On a serious note. Mule palms grow a foot and a half a year when in the ground in zone 9b that is the average. So I would assume you should get a foot a year. I have had spear pull on them in Washington and cut them back poured hydrogen peroxide down them and they have recovered.

Wow!!! That is one big boy! How old is that guy 15-17 years? The problem you had in Washington...was that DC or the State? Just curious. Eeyore's had one treatment of the formula and I plan to introduce it slowly as we are entering the warm months. I stopped treatment on the grass last week.

The Majesties, I'm sorry to report are dying but it has nothing to do with the formula or weather...one of MY DUMB-ASS Gardner's workers spread powdered weed killer all over my property during his spring clean up last week. The schmuck not only covered the test area but it got all over the Majesties-they've been fading to yellow ever since and even had a spear pull on one. I freaked out on him and when I saw him earlier today, I took him and his workers over to Eeyore and told them not to go near it. So if the Majesties possible death, prevented any harm to Eeyore by bringing his incompetence to my attention-then it was worth the loss. Either way, I will try to revive them.

Back to Eeyore, he seems to be doing just fine. The new spear he's pushing out seems to be halfway to fully out. (see pics) I ordered him a Knicks Jersey so he can root for them in their playoff run! He gives new meaning to the term "transplanted Floridian" :)

Top shot of Eeyore's new spear.

The tree pictured above was planted in 1981 as a 10 foot over all specimen at Epcot before opening its doors. Sorry to hear about your mishap with your gardeners.

Go Heat.

They'll be tough to beat but we have a chance.

Nothing but a Mastiff and his Mule...Palm

This post was edited by Kokomo-JB on Fri, Apr 19, 13 at 16:10

Nice looking Dog. Here is one of my guys with a baby Mule palm

Nice!

Let us know when it has survived on Long Island!
( ;
Good luck!

Where in LI are you? The only place I've seen the cold hardy palms survive reliably is along the south shore on the water. People on the canals or open bay in Merrick-Bellmore-Wantagh have some decent sized palms in pots. The microclimate here is more suitable since it rarely goes below about 18F. Most spots even just a little further north will get colder.

x

I'm on the North Shore, in Roslyn. Long Island is overall a zone 7-some parts 7a & some 7b. There are microclimates all over the place. The ones you named are definitely "mircoed" by the southern exposure coupled with the ocean's ambient temps. I was just on Club House Rd in Merrick this past week. Sandy killed almost all the Evergreens from the salt water flooding. I would assume the places you mentioned suffered the same fate if they were too big to bring indoors and provided the indoor weren't flooded out. None the less, I'm happy to here that there are palm enthusiast, in those towns because where there are some, there are usually more...good for business :). A lot of the Bars and restaurants a long the South Shore have them too. I know of one that I'm trying to do business with that lost over 20-15 footers. I think they were Washingtonia's or Mexican Fans(which are the wrong palms for this area) and the guy who sold them either had no idea or was not being a straight up salesman. It really is a nice looking place...for all who want to take a look...www.popsseafoodshack.com Please tell me what you think they are. Also, to keep them in such small pots almost seals their fate regardless.

This post was edited by Kokomo-JB on Sun, Apr 21, 13 at 10:25

Here are some pictures of Pops. From a business sense given there size, and the tiny pots they are in, I would have said they are wild grown Sabal Palmettos but the fronds in the pics are not costapalmate. Also Sabal's have a high salt tolerance and would basically have little to no root system which would place them in those small pots very easily but what would keep the erect and not falling over?
Also these fellas have a wide base which narrows as it gets higher.

Anybody want to venture a guess as to what they are?

Again, I might be wrong, but I don't think they are Sabal Palmettos...although they would make the most sense.

Anybody want to venture an opinion as to what they are. I think this last picture shows that the fronds are not costapalmate which means they are not Sabals

Re: Sandy, the salt water flooding essentially desiccated the root zones by reversing the osmotic gradient. Most deciduous plants and drought tolerant plants fared well. Evergreens were toasted because they need a constant moisture supply.

Everytime I'm at friends in Roslyn the soil seems wet, seems to me drainage stinks. Makes sure you amend your soil, LOL!

Never been to Pops. The Nautical Mile and all it's restaurants got hammered by Sandy. I haven't been boating yet to see how people's docks (and palms) survived post-storm.

x

North Shore is mostly clay and where I am the water table is very high.

Nice Looking Palms. They sure do look like Washingtonia filifera's or filibusta's. where is this place located at ?

Definitely a Washy of some sort. Hardier than most "annual" palms but not survive winters there unprotected.

I'm afraid the same would be true for your little mule palm. Everything I read about them is that they are notoriously finicky like Butia, and basically a solid 8b palm. While experimenting with this palm in a 7a/7b borderline area is very noble, you will need to protect it to get it to survive. You said you would protect it if it was showing signs o cold damage. Some cold hardy palms are very slow to show signs of damage or decline. Often those signs show up in early spring. So it would be wise to protect them when the weather is forecast to be near their limits and keep it wrapped/heated until spring, especially the first few winters when it is most vulnerable.

Jim: I'm starting with one foot in the grave given it's size. I really want this fella to have the "Fairest" shot of surviving but I think I might have to do what Wetsuiter suggested on extremely cold nights. Size wise, I probably can throw a large plastic garbage can over it in a jiffy.

xero: I spoke to Americana at Manhasset and suggested they try my Fortuneis. I'm still waiting to hear back from them. The Port Washington Yacht Club wanted them but the wind coming off the Sound was way too much for Fortuneis. I suggested Waggies but for the size they wanted, it would have cost too much.

Prinbama: That's what I thought they were. This place is located in Island Park which part of greater Long Beach on Long Island's south shore. Seems like a very young crowd...I'm married, in my mid-40's so I'm guessing they'd look at me like an old fart.

Wetsuiter: Great suggestion/compromise given the size. I'd say the general populus wants to see if my formula is for real sooner rather than later so I think I will have to follow your advice and make exceptions, just for specific weather events. In other words, I will leave it unprotected 95% of the time. When it gets bigger and reaches it's true cold hardiness, then we can see what it can take. I also agree that this place got bad advice as to which palms they should use. Plus, the pots that they are in seem to be 30-gallons at best, so what kind of healthy root system could ever be established-given it's size? Those babies must have cost a fortune, what a waste. The owner has another place on the water in Lindenhurst, and has another 20 there. He had to have spent a minimum of $1600 per palm at very cheap wholesale prices...probably more like $1800.00 to $2000.00 given what I know about pricing. He probably flushed close to $80K down the toilet.

I do believe in zone pushing myself a half zone or so. Skipping right over an entire zone or more is something else. The size of the mule palm is a big part of its hardiness issue, but so is the hybrid itself. Butias themselves are renowned for being finicky in wet winter climates. Even protected, mine failed this winter, after surviving last year's milder winter protected. Last year, it still dropped fronds, but did recover well. There are some larger specimens here in coastal Delaware that have done well protected, some unprotected and marginally well. Even my friends in Virginia Beach have issues with pindos in bad wers and offer them some protection during bad conditions. I'm personally facing the fact that Butias are a half zone out of my reach and will replace it with something that will do better in our 7b/8a borderline zone, like a larger pot grown palmetto.

It's a beautiful little palm. Give it a fighting chance be offering it consistent protection throughout the winter. On and off protection may induce too much temperature variation. We want to see you succeed, but you have to be honest with yourself and the conditions it will face.

Thanks for the advice and insight from your experiences. I'm hoping that my formula is a game changer...or should I say, a zone changer. : ) The odds are against me but the rewards far exceed the frustration of failure. The valid reasons you gave based on your experiences further demonstrate the barriers I need to over come. All the more amazing if this stuff works.

FYI: If you go on a site like TYTYGA, you would think that Pindo's can live in NY z7 with no issues. I think they are just a tad misleading and more concerned about moving product.

WHOOOOAAAA Do not got to TYTY GA.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ratevend/msg0518562923780.html

http://ty-ty-nursery.pissedconsumer.com/

http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/ty-ty-nursery.aspx

Erik, that is why I mentioned them. Good links. People should be aware.

Yes, many garden sites rate pindo was a zone 8 palm. Fair enough. But they don't really mention that they mean HIGH zone 8 without winter precipitation. They don't even like any winter rain. Marry that to a zone 9 queen palm, and the offspring is even finickier. Just curious, what made you chose a mule over a palm that could potentially thrive like a windmill?

Hey Wetsuiter!
Eriktampabay owns a Mule Palm Nursery and we thought that a Mule Palm would be a great test subject to see if my formula works. I'm in z 7b and the Mule is rated as you say z 8b. So we thought that if this formula could work, it would be best to try it on a specimen rated 1 zone up. It's basically the bare minimum we can test to see if I'm on to something and he and I obviously have a lot to gain should it work. We won't know unless we try. If it works, I know I can count on you buying it ;)