Resurrecting this discussion again, as the last one I pulled up from a year or so ago seems to have wandered all over the place and I never saw a definitive answer or concensus.
Was at Lowe’s today over the noon hour… they had a bunch of potted mulberries with the label ‘Dwarf Everbearing; Morus nigra’. I’ll admit that I don’t know who the supplier was… though our Lowe’s is selling a bunch of Monrovia stuff this year.
Multiple stems in each pot. No graft union that I can see. Looks like a M.alba to me.
Was there ever a concensus reached as to whether or not these mass-marketed ‘Dwarf Everbearing’ plants are actually M.nigra… or are they just a purple/black-fruited M.alba, and the sellers figure 99.999% of folks won’t have a clue…?
I bought three true M.nigras from Lucille Whitman this spring, 'cause my wife loves them and I’m committed to TRYING to grow them here for her, even though everything I’ve ever read suggests that they won’t like the climate here in Tuckessee.
I’m not inclined to plant a trashy M.alba when I’ve got superior fruiting selections grafted and producing here, but if this is indeed, a M.nigra… 12 bucks isn’t too much to pay to try another one.
here’s our dwarf everbearing from logees, or ison’s, forgotten which exactly.
the luscious appearance is a bit deceptive, especially after a rain. Berries get dull with extra moisture, and aren’t exactly stellar in water-controlled conditions. It is one of the earliest of mulbs though, so worthy of consideration if you want some berries early. Personally, am getting close to top working with paks and nigras instead.
Yes that’s what mine from Logees looks like. I got about 80 berries from the darn thing 1st yr in a 4 inch pot. It barely tastes like mulberry. I’ll be grafting over next yr as well. Or as soon as I get an evaluation of the other fruits.
Richard already answered the question correctly with a “No”…But this is a serious pet peeve of mine and I cannot stop myself from reinforcing that “No!”. I don’t know where it all started…what nursery or individual first started calling the ‘Dwarf Everbearing’ Morus nigra…but it seems everybody jumped on board. I have microscopically examined leaf cell nuclei from three different ‘Dwarf Everbearing’ (the last one I specifically ordered from Logee’s) and obtained the same results each time: The leaf cell nuclei was of the size (5 to 6 um) of Morus albas and rubras, NOT of the size of Morus nigra (15 to 17 um).
I was on a mission to correct that grievous error, and some of the nurseries I contacted have changed their description from Morus nigra to Morus Sp. (Agristarts, Just Fruits and Exotics), but it appears others (which I won’t trash) just ignored the information I presented to them (I assume because the name “Morus nigra” has a premium attached to it). Now, though, I realize that genetic testing will soon become commonplace, and the problem will resolve on its own accord.
I am sure I am not telling you anything you don’t already know, but I asked Dr. A.J. Bullard about mulberries for our area. He responded by saying that Hector Black had a true Morus Nigra that was cold-hardy up to Zone 7. When I followed-up with him, he said it was the “Noire of Spain” (Hidden Springs Nursery).
Might not be at all what you are looking for, but I wanted to pass along the information I had received.
If you give it a try, do you mind to let us know how it turns out?
While I am a neophyte to the fruit tree scene, I have gathered enough to learn that Hector Black is very well respected within Fruit Explorer circles, and when I asked his daughter what cultivars they would recommend for my area (7a), she suggested that they only sell material which can thrive under “benign neglect” in their nursery.
Given they are in a very similar climate zone to me, I took that as a good sign.
