Joe,
How do you prepare the mulberry leaves? Cut into little peices or strips and use a dehydrator?
Tony
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There are many ways we use it. The easiest would be a Champion juicer where you feed it to a juicing machine that macerates the leaves at low rpm using ceramic auger.
We also toss the young leaves in the blender when making smoothie.
We also use the large leaves for wrapping fish when steaming or other types of recipe that calls for fish to be wrapped.
In the fall, just before the first frost, we harvest the leaves and air dry in the dehydrator and then wrap in brown papert bags and store in the pantry for use any time.
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I got a good solid harvest this year from my Issai dwarf Mulberry and although improved as an older plant its not good enough to keep. I picked a handful of them today along with a few cups of rasps and there were no comparison. My kids left the mulberries for me to eat at the end. They were dead ripe too. Shame, the plant has no disease pressure or even bugs for that matter. But if it’s not an enjoyable eat then no reason to grow. It’s not really decorative.
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It has been really interesting to me that mulberry cultivars rate so differently depending on the person and/or the location and growing conditions. Now don’t get me wrong, ‘Issai’ is not my idea of a superior tasting mulberry, but I would rate it on the same level as my ‘Shangri La’…different taste, but on the same level, and I’ve tasted much worse. But all the different ways I use mulberries, fresh eating off the tree is the only time taste becomes significant. I am one of those weird people that eat foods for their health benefits, and dark mulberries of all sorts fit the bill (I don’t believe that white fruited mulberries have quite the same benefit and so I don’t eat them). ‘Issai’ has some desirable traits…It is a dwarf mulberry that fits in small yards, it bears prolifically at a young age, it is disease resistant, and puts out small crops at intervals through the year.
‘Gerardi’ is a much better tasting dwarf cultivar that grows in wide range of zones (5-9), but it is a very slow grower. Thai dwarf mulberries are also a better option, but their range has not been fully tested.
How do others in the forum feel about ‘Issai’? Any comment?
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Do you have some information on the Thai dwarf mulberries? I see some nurseries in Florida offer it but that is the extent of my findings.
Forum member Botanical_Bryce sells a variety of Thai Dwarf mulberry he calls ‘World’s Best’. It grows only as a bush with a maximum height of about 12 to 15 feet. It is extremely prolific; its early spring crop is so heavy with mulberries covering the branches that they all are bent to the ground. It has a large mulberry the size of ‘Shangri La’s’ (1.5 inches) that is fairly firm and more blackberry tasting than most. Bryce’s mother has one growing in zone 6 with extremely abundant yields, but he doesn’t know yet how far north it can take. It comes out of hibernation at the same time as ‘Shangri La’, which is very early, so it must be protected if you have late hard freezes, but it can handle down to 30 degrees F without damage to new leaves and fruit. Someone on Facebook’s “Mulberry Growers USA” rated it a 6 (on a 1 to 10 scale)…I rate it at 7 (‘Shangri La’ I rate at 6, ‘Silk Hope’ and ‘Illinois Everbearing’ at 8, with the few true Morus nigra I’ve tasted being 10)…Everybody has their own taste and preferences.
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Our LE Cooke’s Pakistani mulberry leaves are huge! We’ve been using it as leaf wrapper in various recipes. After the mulberry fruits are harvested, the new leaves become very big!
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Thanks I picked up two “worlds best” and have three Geraldi I am trying different varieties here to see what does best. Also I may get a staggered harvest between the varieties. That’s why I was interested in the Thai dwarf I may just roll the dice to see how it does in zone 8.
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In my quest to trial fruitful mulberries in southern Finland, I have a question regarding the ripening point of berries, directed especially to those people living in zones 5-6 : do different cultivars ripen in different times of summer, so are there “early” cultivars, and “late” etc. ? And if so, I’d really appreciate some comparisons between cultivars that you have.
I have recently aquired Russian and Ukranian cultivars called:
Plodovaya 3
Galicia
Plack prince/Chernyy prints
Smuglianka
White honey/Belaya medovaya
Have any of you heard about them? One enthousiast and grower from Lithuania sent scions to me, and some of them have luckily rooted, so I have hopes to test them, and in the future maybe do some serious scion swapping.
Today we had a local resident call City Hall (where I work) to complain that the electric company had marked their favorite tree to be cut down. They acknowledge that the tree is on the right of way so there probably isn’t much they can do, but they wondered if we couldn’t try to get the electric company not to cut it.
I went to take a look at the tree and my heart was broken. It was the largest Mulberry Tree I have ever seen in my life, and it has more fruit than I’ve ever seen on any tree. I’m certainly going to do my best to save this tree!
Anyway, I’m posting here to get some of your opinions. I don’t know much about mulberries at all. I’m pretty sure this is just a wild mulberry and not something that was planted. That being said, I’ve seen wild mulberries all my life and I’ve never seen one close to this large. So my question is: Is this tree something really special, or is it just a typical mulberry? It is probably about 80 feel tall just guessing.
In the photo there are 2 of roughly equal size- both are giants to my limited experience.
In the photo below, the one with red is is to be cut. But the other tree just behind and to the right (you can only see the huge trunk) is also a mulberry. Its the next closest tree on the right of the X marked tree.
For perspective, here are both of the 2 mulberry trees. They are the 2 very large trees that are the first 2 trees in front of my car. these are the same trees that are in the photo above of the trunks only.
And here is a little glimpse into how loaded they are with fruit!!! Every single branch and limb look just like this!
@jujubemulberry , @Livinginawe , and everyone else, I’d like to know if this is just an ordinary mulberry or something extra ordinary. I’m going to fight its removal either way, but it might be nice to say its an unusually large tree, etc. What species it it if you can tell from photo (and knowing its is growing here in TN). Thanks.
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Thanks Joe for posting that, I missed it till today. I could use the help with my health! I will be using them now!
Yeah but a lot of other mulberries out there. You could graft another unto it.
Wow! Yes save it! I never saw wilds that loaded! If wild it should be Morus rubra. Only rubra are native to USA. Alba has been found growing wild, naturalized but it is well an invasive species, not native. It kinda looks like an alba or alba/rubra hybrid. I would love cuttings!
I have a morus nigra that should grow fine in your zone. A very special tree from Bulgaria.
I doubt it will grow here even though it was found in zone 6. No other nigra can grow in zone 6. It is a lone tree and very famous. I have seeds from the tree I grew out. It produced both male and female flowers and pollinated itself. As no other nigras are close to this tree. A freak, and I have seedlings. Once bigger it would be great if you can test it in your zone. You need rootstock to graft unto.
Here is a photo of one of two seedlings. You can tell figs are in the same family with those leaves!
Both rubra and nigra have serrated edge leaves, I can’t tell them apart! Does your tree have them? From the photos it looks like it does, so you’re right it is a wild rubra. most likely.
clearly worth looking into, since the tree is loaded! Anyway, a taste test would be the most pertinent approach. Did you get to try some? If the berries are good quality, then it would be a shame to have the tree removed.
quite certain it is not of the nigra species, and likely to be alba or alba hybrid with rubra. Can also be rubra, from what i could eke out from what appear to be large nodes/buds and relatively fine-toothed leaf edges and venation, but some alba can have large nodes too(relative to stem thickness) and hybrids may have similar leaf patterns . The most important thing is to determine desirability of berries.
btw, if it is rubra, the tree should be granted some kind of ‘reprieve’ since rubra’s are relatively rare/endangered.
needless to say, if it were up to me and my utilitarian standpoint, the quality of the berries would be the most important characteristic to determine, as a positive identification can be difficult, apart from being ‘water under the bridge’.
Btw, really curious as to what city hall and the electric company will agree upon re: fate of those trees.
I wonder if it would come back from the roots if they cut it in the dormant season. Then they could prune it into more of a bush and not threaten the wires. Im no expert, but ive never seen a wild rubra loaded like that. If it tastes good it may be worth collecting some cuttings.
Come on now, give me a little credit! haha. You better believe I tried them! In fact, I stood out there 15 minutes holding limbs down so I could stuff my face with them! But of course I should have mentioned that. Now, my big problem is I haven’t had to the opportunity to try many mulberries in my time, so I can’t tell you how this one compares- if it matters. What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that these berries were absolutely delicious to me! Really, really good. Which as all 3 replys have mentioned, makes it much more tragic to loose this tree. The ripe ones don’t have any acid or sour notes at all to speak of, just pure sweet mostly. Not sure if that is typical for mulberry? For that reason, I almost preferred the ones that weren’t fully black/ripe. They had a bit more depth of flavor and a bit of “sourness” that made the taste even better. But don’t get me wrong, as someone who loves pure sweetness in fruit, I enjoyed the ripe ones very much as well. In short, they were just wonderful to eat. Several of you also commented on how loaded the tree was, which only makes me wish I could have shown that better with the photos. This tree had more fruit than probably any other fruit tree I’ve ever seen- certainly it had MUCH more fruit than my own mulberry tree (which is a “black beauty” from Willis orchards that is definitely NOT a black beauty). I should have taken photos of the fruit on the ground under the tree. Just unbelievable how much fruit this thing has produced already.
Anyway, one thing I don’t think I asked clearly and still want to know is, is the tree extraordinary in terms of SIZE alone? Do most wild mulberry get this large? The ones I’ve always seen in peoples yards have always been much smaller than these 2, but perhaps I just haven’t noticed or seen full grown ones. Again, this guy is 80 feet or more and true size can be seen in photo with my car above. Thanks for the great responses.
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Well most do not, but because of other factors. Do they have the potential? Yes. The biggest tree here I know of is 50 feet tall. The trunk is not as big as this one, as this one is probably older. It is rare for one to get as big as the one you show. Most only last about 75 years at most. That tree looks older to me. It is rare for them to live that long. It looks like it is 150 to me. Nigra’s can be a lot older, smaller trees, but grow as big as yours with time
My seedlings are from this nigra estimated to be over 100 years old. No photo though of the whole tree.
I think the tree is at least centenarian and definitely worth saving. Please fight for it!!!
Here is a. mulberry with both male and female blooms . male is center . Not all that rare . I know of 3 on my property .
Yes all can do it. I mentioned it in my post to let people know my seedling is 100% from one extremely rare tree. So the seedlings should have the same characteristics, just a little genetic shuffle.
Wow! Save that tree if you can. It is a specimen tree!
Yeah on tree size most trees are not grown where they originate from. Morus rubra is native to here, so it should be able to become quite large. So yes rare to see, but I’m sure others are as big, just not a lot of them. Like peach trees are said to live 25-30 years and become unproductive. In Asia where peaches are native, they can reach 350 years old.
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