To get more info on Galicia i think we should ask Nick where he obtained his from.. also in time maybe colder climate reviews as Galicia was bred for frost tolerance..not so sure if it was bred for Z9 and tropical climates.
Then there is Shelli and Shelly.. and also confusion with Galicia/ Galicija..
Im not ready to judge a mulberry bred for colder climates that are reviewed by either Marta or Jan both in hot climates.
Nick at least gets good chill hours so not sure if that is why he gives a positive review or not..
If I get some scions from the variety Nick talks about I’d be happy to try it in my 5B climate. I know there could be lots of similar names or even mislabeled scions
Based on research on Jans best this week… seems that most agree it taste good has some tartness… produces lots of fruit.. but the berries can be on the smallish side when grown north of Florida.
I sincerely wonder if this is actually a tree age thing rather than a climate thing. I wonder the age of the trees that those growing the tree in cooler climates have.
I think Bryce’s best has the berries get larger as the tree becomes older, worth thinking about
Jan gets 3 crops of fruit per year from her Jan’s Best Mulberry in central Florida. [1]
Details on Jan’s Best Mulberry
Fruiting cycle: Jan cuts the tree back after each fruiting cycle (around 4 to 5 feet), which stimulates new growth and allows it to fruit again multiple times a season.
There has been very early stage success with Siam jumbo in Z7 too, that’s surely the best for recropping after pruning based on Fruitnut’s results. Just hack it back every year and it’ll stay small
@Phlogopite …. I thought Siam Jumbo would have to be grown in a container in zone 7… and even then it might break bud in Feb and get frosted to death in March.
The mulberries I have now Gerardi, Silk Hope, Oscar, Kip Parker, Lawson Dawson.. just barely squeak by our last hard frost.
If Siam Jumbo breaks bud earlier and I grew it in ground.. it would be toast here.
Fedco is saying that Jans Best leafs out later than most. If that is true… that would be a positive for me.
We often have warm ups in Feb, early March followed by hard frost mid to late March.
It seems like all these really tempting mulberries with huge fruit and an abundance of it.. have some kind of catch to them.. leaf out to early, flavor issues.
I think with siam jumbo that the early leafs get hit by frost it wouldn’t be too much of an issue, because it apparently just fruits on any new growth regardless.
I haven’t gone through a winter with Siam Jumbo yet, but I have with Valdosta which is a somewhat subtropical mulberry.
The issues aren’t just the coldest nights. Hard frosts early in the winter or late in the winter when daytime temperatures are still fairly warm and the tree isn’t entirely dormant can be a real killer, especially if they cause vascular damage or burst the cambium/cause bark splitting. And then spring comes. These things seem to leave out really fast, so late frosts can be a big problem.
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This was posted in the Siam Jumbo thread by someone growing it in 8b.
Year before last my Gerardi opened buds just before our last late frost… buds open with leaves and first flush of fruit…. I lost all that first flush of fruit and very little other fruiting happened that year.
I wonder if Siam Jumbo could lose all leaves and first flush of fruit… and then later on continue to grow and fruit. Or would it be toast.
Siam Jumbo/Austurkey has done okay for me in z7 southern IN, but definitely has dieback every year. Fruit has yet to be excellent(bland/grassy) the birds get them before they even ripen too. I think it is also in a bad spot in my yard and may do better elsewhere.
Another mulberry I am looking to add this spring is maple leaf, seems to root easily from cuttings, has a unique leaf shape, and a large fruit. If I dont like it ill just make it my rootstock variety.
@TNHunter I’m in the Chattanooga region. I planted Jan’s inground in Oct 2025. We had a week of snow with temps down to 3F, which is crazy for Zone 8A. Even though it was just planted, it survived the winter. I was very surprised it lived. There was some dieback on branches. In the spring, it leafed out late. The deer won’t leave it alone this year, so it hasn’t been able to grow as much as it should. I did have Bryce’s for a couple of years and then got rid of it because it would wake up in February. I’m still watching Jan’s to see how it will perform. Time will tell and I will know more next spring.
@2Angels … the coldest nights I have had here in zone 7b the past 10 years have been 2F and 3F.
Sounds like every now and then at least.. I would have some winter dieback with Jans best.
You seem to be confirming that (as Fedco said) it leafs out later in the spring. That is very important here to survive and produce first flush of fruit.
Thanks for the details… still considering Jans best.
I really don’t have enough data since I haven’t had it long. But that is what we observed. I can say that it roots from cuttings quite easily. It’s not one that must be grafted only.
I have Galicia here in VT, sourced from Ukraine by way if a friend. They are big berries and productivity is really good, but they are very much on the bland side- low sugar, no acid. Im hopeful about Black Prince. It seems strangely unprecocious for a mulberry. Ive had it grafted 3 seasons without a flower or fruit. Happy looking tree though. Kinda weird. Maybe next year!?!?
