MULE PALM BUTIA X SYAGRUS (QUEEN PALM)

MEDIUM SIZE MATURE HYBRID PALM
SUPER COLD HARDY – TO ABOUT 16 DEGREES

This popular inter-generic hybrid palm was probably first created by a man made cross of both parents about a hundred years ago. It has been given a trade name of “Butiagrus nabonnandii” but most people call it the Mule Palm. The latter name is utilized because it’s been found on most specimens to have sterile fruit or no fruit at all. Any seeds formed almost always won’t germinate to grow a new palm. Butia capitata is a monoecious species. This means that flower stocks have both male and female flowers.

To produce Mule Palm plants, it takes a tremendous amount of work to viable and true seeds. On the seed producing Butia flowerstock, all the male flowers must be meticulously removed manually to prevent self-pollination by itself. Only after this can the Queen pollen but put onto the receptive Butia blossoms. This takes a lot of experience, effort and time. This is one of the reasons this hybrid is so rare and usually pricey.

Mature height is up to thirty feet, much shorter than the Queen Palm. But, cold hardiness is better than a Queen as well. It’ll take temperatures down to about 16 degrees F. This species prefers a bright sun location and can be grown in the desert in full sun.

On special are our squat 25g plants. They are ten to twelve feet tall in their pots. They are ready for planting but we only have a few of them left.