Anyone growing Shangri La mulberry?

I got one from Burnt Ridge this year. I thought it was going to die and I pulled it out of the ground and potted it for intensive care. Just when I had given up it started to bud out. Just wondering if it is supposed to have leaves this large.

And I’m wondering about the taste of the fruit?

Katy

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Looks like mine which I thought was Florida Giant?? If it is one and the same, it is a pretty good alba.

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Yes it has large leaves, I like the taste best if picked when a little red showing still and shiny, when really ripe and the fruit starts to dull a little just to sweet for me no acid twang. It also leafs very early often gets froze back, and on 2 trees for me that weakened freeze damage invited Ambrosia Beetle which brought on the virus killed the tree roots and all.

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It is supposed to be an alba developed in Florida. It’s really looking good after a rocky start. I just put it back in the ground. Roots were much better so I hope it does okay.

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I’ll have to watch it in the spring then. I think I had same luck with an Issai. It was beetle struck too but I think it had some freeze damage first. It started getting brown/black rotten areas on it after it came back out from the roots and I just took it out. I might have to put some protection on it.

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There is a 20 year old grafted Shangri La here that looks similar, and it makes good berries each April. I agree on the slight trace of not-yet-black maroon color indicating a great time to harvest the fruit when they are mostly tart but getting some sugar. Waiting a few more days until they are no longer shiny and 100% black results in a flat tasting sweet berry that is underwhelming. Late freezes that show up after the tree has come out of dormancy and has begun to leaf out a bit can kill the baby leaves and baby fruit. The biggest problem here is when a few Cedar Waxwing birds happen by, enjoy the berries, and invite the rest of the flock that they run with. When I hear the faint sounding whistle of any of them high up in nearby trees, it is bad news for mulberry muffins, bowls of MB with cream and sugar, etc.

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Thanks to Strudeldog who sent me cuttings, I have a couple that rooted. It’s not really hardy here though, not sure how I will grow them?

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Glad they took. It’s certainly a early leaf out, but if you can avoid winter/early spring stretches of warm weather you might be okay. I think when dormant it handles cold pretty well. It was actually starting to break bud in Jan. for me when I gathered scion and you might have noticed that. We had very warm Jan-Feb this year.

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Thanks for the cuttings! I don’t need two, so anybody want a rooted cutting in trade for something, or postage, let me know. I can ship this fall when dormant, or late winter.

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yes, it can have leaves that large, and long-ish internodes. Berries are ok and worth growing if you’re not worried about tree size.

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We have one and it about 12 feet tall at only 4th season. I planted it so the birds might want to eat mulberries instead of blueberries. It ripens before most of the blueberries though, and our birds would much rather have blueberries. :thinking:

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Isn’t that the way it always goes!

I journeyed into the woods today to attempt an air layer on some wild mulbs there and the leaves on those mulbs are HUGE. I guess I really hadn’t looked at how big they can get.

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