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swallowtail_grower

Mulberry trees

swallowtail_grower
13 years ago

Hello, I have 2 seedlings of Mulberry trrees that have been growing since last winter. I protected them all those rainey months and both are doing very well, where I am we are heading into the hottest months here in zone 9 sometimes hitting 109 during the day hours should I wait till this fall to plant them where I have decided to put them. Thank You

Comments (9)

  • iris_gal
    13 years ago

    If you have acreage replant after the Oct. heat wave.

    If you're on a city lot, dump them.

    After pruning an established Mulberry down to the trunk it only took 6 months for new branches to be 20-25 feet long.

  • hosenemesis
    13 years ago

    You want mulberry trees? I had one that took up half of my huge lot. It was a nightmare- and it cost a fortune to have it removed. Smushed mulberries everywhere- birds pooping purple all over the place- ack!

    I guess if you can have them half an acre away from your house and cars they might be ok. But the fruit just isn't tasty enough to warrant so much space, IMHO.

    Renee

  • sautesmom Sacramento
    13 years ago

    Not tasty enough??? Wow, Renee, clearly you are not growing the right mulberry! Mine from my Morus Nigra Noir de Spain are up there with the best fruit of any kind I have ever tasted--a cross in flavor between sweet ripe blackberries and Merlot wine. I woke up the other morning to find some neighborhood joggers up in my tree having a snack. They looked at me picking up my newspaper and said, embarrassed, "Mulberries!!!"
    I said "Yes I know, I planted the tree!"
    A flavor so good, strangers will steal them!
    :)

    Carla in Sac

  • swallowtail_grower
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you for answering, I like the Mulberry because of the shade it offers and its a fast grower, yes it would be nice to find a tree that grows as fast and not so messy.

  • hosenemesis
    13 years ago

    Carla, that sounds wonderful. I'm on my way to join the joggers in your tree. Their expressions must have been priceless.

    Swallowtailgrower- all of the trees I can think of that grow really fast are messy and they reseed everywhere. I'll keep thinking.
    Renee

  • marshallz10
    13 years ago

    For a controllable mulberry, try Weeping type with small black fruit, very tasty and easy enough to harvest by laying down newspapers and shake the branches to dislodge the fruit.

    I grew on on my S.Barbara property for over 14 years, pruning back hard every winter the long canes and thinning interior branches.

    I am currently growing in a mixed small farm two unnamed Morus nigra, one annually limb-pruned and the other root pruned, a quarter section each year. These trees are remaining fairly small, in the range of 15-20 feet call and wide. Root pruning yields a tree with less vigor.

    Two specimens of Pakistani White or P.King (not M. nigra) are a lot more vigorous. One is heavily pruned each winter and lightly pruned in summer so as to maintain a reasonable crown from which to harvest the wonderful 2-3-inch long non-staining fruit. The other tree has been allowed to assume its broad crowning habit with "water sprouts" removed as needed and some lightening of scaffolding branches. I love the look and feel of the more natural form even though fruit production is less.

    Neither variety of tree has put up root sprouts of have yielded seedlings.

  • borderbarb
    13 years ago

    I've got a 2 year old Fruitless Mulberry tree in my front yard to replace the same variety that shaded my front yard, house, sidewalk, and driveway for 30 years. The leaves were a bit of a mess, but compost well. And the shade was worth every minute of raking.

    I need to look online for directions in how to POLL "Young Barry". A tree down the street from us is about 40 years old, has been polled every year and looks just wonderful. Plus I think that keeps it under control. I think uncontroled growth contributed to the demise of my old tree. Anyone familiar with this process?

  • hosenemesis
    13 years ago

    Borderbarb- we call it pollarding here. Maybe that would yield better search results.
    Renee