Testimonial by horticulturist Chuck Hubbuch
Assistant Director, Physical Facilities, Landscape & Grounds for University of North Florida.
Living in the cold northeastern corner of Florida, serious palm enthusiasts will grow anything in the palm family that is cold hardy. Sometimes, it is hard for outsiders to understand our excitement about yet another Sabal or a plain-looking Phoenix hybrid.
The mule palm is one palm that stands out in our gardens. With a full crown of leaves over ten feet long and a 19 inch diameter (DBH) trunk, it is an impressive specimen. Hybrid vigor is evident. The mule palm grows faster than a pindo palm. A queen palm may grow taller faster still but the mule is more massive and holds more leaves in its crown. Chuck Hubbuch planted a three gallon plant about three feet tall in the summer of 2005. By winter 2006, the tallest leaf was over six feet tall and over his head. Matt Encinosa”s big specimen was a three gallon planted in 1993. In 2006, it has a clear trunk about ten feet tall. Neither of us has any problem with this hybrid. Kyle Brown, a little colder in Glen St. Mary, saw all of the local mule palms outright to a windy winter night that dropped to 7 degrees F in 1985. Ever optimistic, we call that single digit freeze, “The Freeze of the Century.” Kyle replanted and had severe foliage to some young mule palms but little damage to others at 15 degrees F in 1989.
Searching for mule palms, we find variability and even questionable parentage in the few available plants. The few palm enthusiasts who have discovered Frank and Elaine Lewis’ mule palms are thrilled by their nursery. The seedlings have a consistently good appearance and unquestionable parentage. For north Florida palm enthusiasts, this is the nursery at the end of the rainbow.