Can I graft Mulberry onto Osage Orange?

Hi All,

I am trying to find any information on Internet about grafting Mulberry (Morus Nigra, Morus Alba, and etc.) onto Maclura Pomifera (Osage Orange) and I cannot find any definitive source; but as I remember from my childhood (40 years ago) in Azerbaijan (former part of Persia/Russia) Morus Nigra (specifically, “Morus Nigra”) can be grafted on this “Monkey’s Bread” tree as we called it (I heard it from relative who specialized in agriculture); we had 15-meters high trees in a park with 6"-8" “monkey’s bread” on it.

Anyone tried to graft Mulberry on it?

I found only generic “Used as a root stock for the genus Morus”, and also big thread in this forum related to CHE grafting; and no any explicit references on grafting Mulberry onto Osage Orange.

Thanks,

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There is a huge thread on this topic, with experiments by members. Actually one of the more interesting threads I’ve seen.

Che, mulberry, osage orange, fig grafting.

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Thanks; I saw this thread and even posted the same question there on Sep 13 :slight_smile: noone responded so posting it here. Above mentioned thread is targeting CHE grafting; some people graft Osage Orange onto Mulberry, and Che onto Osage Orange. Because Morus Alba Tatarica, for instance, is hardy to zone 4 and maybe even 3, and Osage Orange to zone 5, and Che to zone 7; that’s why triple graft.

My goal is different: can I graft Mulberry (Morus Nigra specifically) onto Osage Orange, which benefits it may give? Are those compatible? Any experience to share? I’ve read somewhere that tree could be more upright (Morus Nigra is usually very “down” and branches of old trees need constant support)

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The trees are unfortunately incompatible in the experiments i did using seedlings only. I tried osage orange on mulberry but not mulberry on osage orange that i recall. I keep thorough notes and may look back if time permits. @tonyOmahaz5 my experience is limited to the experiments i did at the time of our last experiment and the years prior to that, ive not done experiments since then. Do you have additional experience since then? After my experiments were complete i am satisfied. Not all seedlings are genetically the same and someone may find one compatable some day Like winter banana apples can be grafted to some pears or vice versa there is a species of mulberry or osage orange out there that is the bridge tree to connect the mulberry and osage orange. Finding that tree can only be done by trial an error many times. Ive done that work with pears but am not commited to do it with mulberries. Someone will continue the experiment we did. We built on the experiments @Lucky_P had done years prior. Hopefully someone finds that tree soon but noone has had a good enough reason yet. That has been nearly 5 years ago since we did that last experiment. Once you find the compatible tree you can use it as an interstem Interstem aka interstock Pear Grafting. Im convinced it exists its a matter of finding it. Things like bread fruit and other tropicals are relatives but are not cold hardy or i would be looking hard at other similar members of the family of trees.

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Hi Bambarbia,
Maybe you have already conducted an experiment and know the result. Please share. I am also interested in whether it is possible to carry out a successful graft of mulberry on a maclura pomifera - “Monkey Bread tree”.
I am from Crimea years ago. We also had huge 15-20-meter “Monkey Bread” trees in the parks of my hometown Kerch, which were planted in the 20s of the 20th century by scientists from the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. The fruits there are not as huge as yours, but they are also very large. These trees thrive there without any signs of wilting or even aging

Thanks.

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