Purple reign

suddenly craving for info about nigras and what old trees look like in uk, and intrigued that it is reported to grow in scotland as well.

http://www.moruslondinium.org/research/faq

and here’s one more for @Livinginawe

http://www.moruslondinium.org/map/identify

Nice website (moruslondinium.org)…I hadn’t run across it before…Thanks! Bold statement (cause it’s hard to prove): “Unlike the white mulberry, there is really only one variety and few cultivars of black mulberry.”
I’ve never read an explanation for nigras extremely gnarled trunk…Anybody know?

[quote=“Livinginawe, post:47, topic:5707”]
only one variety and few cultivars of black mulberry.
[/quote] that was confusing me too. Perhaps they meant to say there are few cutivars of just one species. We’re dealing with british english there, eh, @Carld ? :wink:

age and inclement weather are probaby major explanations. Those trees definitely experienced more than their fair share of windy weather, twistings, shearings and such, having lived for centuries. Maybe also gall, or something similar. Intriguing though that @Carld 's centenarian nigra seems not as gnarled as those oldies in uk. Definitely plays into the arguments about nigras coming in different cultivars.

many in the fig family do get gnarly naturally as they get older. Have seen really old stands of vegas fig trees looking like banyans in typhoon belts.

Well i believe very old nigras in Portugal are quite gnarled also. Mine isnt because as i said in a previous post 90% of the tree collapsed in a storm over 30y ago or so and so what was left of it i believe was a branch. The people we had to take care of our farm are now long gone, so I cant say for sure, but i would bet the tenant at the time just stuck one of the remaining branches deep in the soil with a tractor, but cant say for sure

morus nigra in the south of Portugal, Algarve

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morus nigra in the north of Portugal, Tras os Montes

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morus nigra in the centre if a very small little village in north of portugal

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My morus nigra :).






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i now see the tortuous joints. I guess it is universal regardless of location and climate

btw, beautiful pictures, and really nice sceneries with the semi-ruins and stonework.

when they say ‘old world’, timeless nigra trees sure come to mind.

Its beautiful to see the scenery, old stonework, visigoth and roman ruins and these old trees next to it, there are some pretty old chestnut and olive trees around also, their age no one knows, some say 2000 y old but who knows. Lol! Regarding nigras i really doubt at all there are any difference or cultivars between them. I think they get different names depending the region or farm or area they came from… Chelsea or king james, jerusalem, AGM, etc… all the same in my opinion…

http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/portugals-oldest-tree-rooted-in-the-algarve/1867

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Oldest olive tree in portugal 2850 years old or so they say, i bet there are older than this one in farms and villages https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_MDonHyvvgs

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am not doubting it. Olives seem quite capable!

The three ‘cultivars’ that i have, the berries taste the same. All excellent, that is. So will probably skip ordering chelsea if have to buy online, and just get one if find it being sold at nurseries here.

Beautiful pictures!
Are Nigras always grafted on seedlings or can they be grafted on non-Nigra rooted cuttings?

awesome thread that one, right? and yes, you could graft them on non-nigra rooted cuttings too.

When it comes to a novice grafter like myself, and with limited M. nigra scion wood at my disposal, what type of grafting would I have the most chance to succeed with, a bud graft in September to go dormant in the winter, or a cleft graft in late Spring using scion wood collected in winter and stored in the refrigerator?

imho, spring is the best time, primarily for graft union strength, since the graft will have a longer healing and growing period.

Well I finally “published” my mulberry website: growingmulberry.org
I wound up using a LOT of your outstanding photos…Most the photos I took were pathetic in comparison…But, if you for any reason want them removed, I will substitute them out. I gained a lot of knowledge (at least in my mind) from the people in this forum, and I am indebted to everyone here.

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kudos! I really like it! I am sure it will be helpful to many. And tell me if you need more photos-- “on the house” as always :slight_smile:

Amazing website. Great job!!!