Well, I think my Morus Nigra is going to die. Again. I tried 2 container mulberries 2 years ago and I thought the freak warm period in December killed them.
Now my container mullberry is refusing to bud out, the visible buds are kind of sappy or withered, and there is 0 growth. I kept this one in the garage over winter and my zone is 7a, so it should have been ok. I don’t know if it was the cold or something else, though. I’ve read they are quite disease resistant and I’m not having any problems with anything else. I have no idea what is going on.
So, anybody have a mulberry suggestion for a container that will actually survive my area?
Maybe the Dwarf Everbearing. It’s not really that dwarf. Thanks for that info as I’m in 6a/5b. It’s is called a nigra, but some disagree. I’m going to try some in containers this year. I got some cuttings of various plants, and some are rated to zone 7, so they have to go in my garage. We get warm spells but they have less impact, are milder, and the plants are usually deep in dormancy from the single digit cold. It can go as low as -16F here.I rooted Wacissa, and Shangri La that are not really hardy here. I rooted others I can plant out here.
Also if your plant dries in the winter, not good, it has to be kept watered, once a month works here. Either it didn’t get enough water, or it’s not hardy enough I would think?
Maybe others have more experience will chime in. I’m interested in learning as much as I can too. As I will be growing container mulberries too.Not ideal, I would much rather plant them in the ground, these were free so no big deal if it doesn’t work.
Thats too bad. I think my dwarfing Issai mulberry might be a goner as well. I had it potted in my garage. It started leafing late this winter and we had those multiple nights of 16 degrees. I noticed the leaves turned brown and shriveled. I transplanted it in the ground thinking it would just push new growth and so far nothing. It’s been over a month.
I had problems with Southern Highbush blueberries coming out of dormancy early in the garage. This winter I kept them outside with overhead protection and it worked better. Some dieback on Sweetcrisp, but Indigocrisp had none, and looks excellent. Next year with Sweetcrisp I going to take a page from the fig growers and put a square tomato cage over it and fill with straw. This will keep it cold longer in the spring and less chance of it coming out of dormancy. It didn’t come out but had some tip dieback. What this does is stop the freeze thaw cycle, or at least slow it down. When I uncovered my figs it was very cold deep in the straw compared to outside temps. I had very little if any dieback on my figs. One is 5 feet tall, and still is!
In the winter when sunny the plant tissues warm up and lose hardiness, when it freezes again the tissue is damaged. Covered in straw the sun can’t hit them, so the tissues never warm up, also even when temps are warm it takes some time to penetrate the straw. The idea is not to keep them warm, but to keep them at a constant temp.
Now with mulberries such a different plant. Maybe outside with overheard protection. If you can’t do that, an option is just outside in a fabric container. If the plant is rated to your zone or colder it should work. Best is rated one or two zones colder. Fabric containers are a lot different they breath, will not stay soaking wet, but roots can freeze all the same. Root pouches are cheap, and will last about 4 years.
A 15 gallon root pouch at greenhouse Megastore is $6.00. $49.00 for 10.
a 200 gallon (yes 200!) is $24.00. Hey you’re not moving it anyway. Smallest size is 1 gallon for a buck. Largest is 600 gallons.
I have to wonder what a 600 gal or even a 200 gal fabric pot would be used for particularly since they need replacement after a few years. Considering the cost of the 200 or 600 gals of potting soil the cost of the container seems a small part.
How low was the temperature in your garage? Was it watered too little or too much?
Smart pots advertise to use as a patio vegetable garden. The biggest I bought are 30 gallon. I have no plans ever to buy bigger. i can move 30 gallon ones, but I don’t. I use them for tomato plants, leave pot on patio all winter. I’m going on 3 years and the pot is about done, still using it though, not sure it will make it to 4 years. Some will others no. I have more than one.I have about 8 10 gallon pots that have currant or gooseberries in them, and I just leave them all winter. The plants are huge now, I’m going to get a giant crop. All are leafing out right now. I also have serviceberries, and honeyberries in these pots, and just leave them out all winter.
I suppose it is possible it is still dormant, but all the buds on it kind of withered away. Like I said, some turned sappy and others got a kind of whitish coating.
Everything else I stored in the garage lived and did well. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, black currants, and gooseberries. Only the mulberry had this issue. It happens to be the Logee’s Dwarf Everbearing Morus Nigra. Everything else is growing, and many are flowering. Even the currants and gooseberries that nearly died to mildew over the summer are leafing out.
The pots I use are a line of 20 inch by 17 inch Dynamic Design plastic pots that Home Depot carries. I forget what they convert to in volume but I expect they are as large as anything I’ll be able to fit in the garage.
I have that one planted out in my orchard, and we’re in the same zone. Mine leafed out and got fried by late frost, but it’s putting out green again already.
Plant that variety in-ground, imo. Mine definitely doesn’t die from the temps, but I can’t say that the frost issue doesn’t hurt the early crop. Mine has never cropped yet It’s still just getting quite tall! And chomped on by deer. But it doesn’t die
That cultivar looks pretty darned dead when its leaves get frost-fried or it’s fully dormant. You might see if the one you have greens up again. The sap issue may be a minor thing like an insect attack (I’d just prune it out?).
My Issai lost almost all of last years growth. It’s been in ground in a raised bed and woke up in February. Similar story to yours… the nodes got hit with low temps, died and never came back. I recently cut out the dead growth and it’s leafing out down below now. I wonder if Issai just leafs out early compared to other mulbs. If that’s the case… I’m considering getting rid of mine. I do want to find out if this variety “flowers and fruits most of the year in repeating cycles.” According to Logee’s that’s what this guy does.
Well, it’s dead. I went out to prune a bunch of growth in hopes that it would leaf out at least a little. The interiors of the branches weren’t the bright green of a health plant but kind of off-green, and it STILL has no leaves. Every single bud turned sappy or withered.
It’s still just getting quite tall! And chomped on by deer. But it doesn’t die 