I hope my message to them gets them to figure out if there is any issue with whomever supplies/supplied them with the gerardi mulberry.
I liked the looks of what they sell because I am quite OK with spending less and letting the tree/plant mature in it’s final location. To me there is a bit less risk this way.
So to follow up, here is their response to my question about the Gerardi Mulberry
"It’s the right one. 4 years ago when the propagation company took cuttings from the small grafted plant we sent. Took also a root sprout from the tree we sent. The following year we culled out the rootstock, although some were sold and replaced as we became aware. That’s all in the past now.
Michael"
So if I’m reading this right, they sent some cuttings to be tested and it came back as the right cultivar. I think the second part indicates some rootstock was sold mistakenly as Gerardi but they fixed that.
Is that how you would interpret this?
Makes a bit of sense if the tree is a grafted tree.
For those who have commented on the speed of growth and the intern node spacing… I wonder if that changes as the tree grows…i.e. The spacing becomes closer after the initial trunk growth.
Just guessing…says the man who not only has never seen a mulberry tree but hasn’t even eaten a mulberry… 
Do they offer replacement if the mulberry is not the right variety later on.
So far my pear tree is looking great after dropping a few yellow leaves. The rest of the tiny pots also recover. Must be stress in transit.
I can’t even get a local nursery to honor that.
The best you can hope for is store credit, but I doubt anyone’s warranty lasts long enough for a mixup of a variety you can’t realize until a year or two later…or even more depending on the fruit.
Since you did voice your concern this early so I think it’s worth to mention it. Store credit is fine, you can buy other trees there, better than zero.
I won’t loose sleep over it regardless of what mulberry I get. Most of what I’ve read doesn’t mention a variety being sold that tastes bad. I just wanted a smaller tree. I can prune a larger form variety if needed.
And the tree was not expensive. #32.
So my Edible Landscape order managed to get shipped a whole 121 miles within VA and now is in timeout, uh, unknown delay.
My shipment is in Jackson, MS now. Should received it tomorrow.
I thinks it’s a bit funny I’m getting a persimmon and mulberry, neither of which I’ve ever eaten. I’ve never even seen a mulberry or tree before.
You are an adventurer, lol.
Trees and vine have arrived.
Soil was bone dry. Mulberry double over. Issai kiwi has some burnt leaves.
Just gave them a good water. Should be fine.
I’m surprised the soil is dry. They were packaged like every other nursery I’ve received plants/trees on soil.
3.5 days transit with 2 days hanging out not far from the nursery in Roanoke.
Ichi Ki Kei Jiro persimmon.
Girardi Mulberry. Had to tie it from flopping over. Is this how mulberries grow? Sort of limber limbs?
Issai Kiwi. Some leaves damaged from the heat I assume.
Brave!! I am always wondering about this- many talk about different fruits that sound cool, but I’ve never had them. Do I want to devote my time and years to a fruit I’ve never even tried? I admire all the people that do!
This fall I’d like to try going to some smaller farms that sell some of these fruits (eg. I know @blueberrythrill has muscadines) but it is hard to find places that have certain things available or know when I should look for them.
Pickyourown.org maintains a good list of PYO farms and farm stands by area.
The service is free to growers.
Here is the one for Virginia. Virginia Virginia U-Pick farms: Find a pick your own farm near you in Virginia for fruit, vegetables, pumpkins, organic foods,local produce and more!
For that website name, they could go with a 90’s, pixelated, blocky theme with Weird Al’s “Eat It” playing the background.
With this unprecedented (in my 59+ years) heat wave, I may try to shade my newly planted mulberry and persimmon. The persimmon looks like quite a sturdy little tree and the leaves look to be a bit ‘waxy’ and not ‘tender’, but the big floppy mulberry leaves and the new growth trunk look a lot more delicate.
It’s certainly not an optimal time to plant a new tree in the middle of summer, much less a heat wave.
Thanks for the link!
I was a bit sad to find that it is missing many fruits, nuts, and veggies that are available here. It’s also not got many of the mom and pop farm stands that I know are in my area.
One of the issues is that I want to try fruits that aren’t the most popular (and often don’t store well and have a short growing season). I assume it wouldn’t make sense for most growers to bother producing or harvesting them to sell to the public.
Some things I want to try because I’m curious, some because I want to decide if I like them enough to invest in growing them, some because I enjoy when it’s time for my favorite weird things to show up at the farm stand! In CA, I waited all year for the time when loquats would arrive as well as my favorite apricot and pluot - which had a very short season. I will spend time hunting down my favorites and driving to get them!
Here are some of the things I’d love to try:
Named paw-paw cultivars
Bush cherry (eg. Juliet, carmine jewel) - I generally like sour things so I might just buy some of these to see how they go.
Montmorency cherry
Gooseberry
Named cultivars of goumi/silverberry eg. sweet scarlet. - I have approximately a zillion autumn olive trees and some taste better than others but mostly they’re not worth the effort. However they grow SO WELL here I might as well try to make something of it - so I might just try to graft or get some of these without even trying them first.
Mulberry - named cultivars. I’ve tried some wild ones.
Muscadine grapes
Persimmons - especially improved American persimmons. I had an Asian persimmon once from the grocery store and it was fine, but actually I found it a bit bland.
Berry crosses - marion, tay, boysen, logan,…
Seaberry - a type of Elaeagnaceae that look sort of like autumn olive, but people like them more.
Quince - it shows up in lots of novels, but I’ve never managed to actually see one or try their famous jelly.
Dogwood cherry/Cornelian Cherry
Hardy kiwi
Things I could probably find growing around here but I need to put in a bit more effort:
Aronia (chokeberry)
serviceberry - seem to get taken out around here by rust but my SIL swears by them.
huckleberry
mayhaw - apparently they grow just south of me?
many kinds of nuts- shagbark, hican, butternut, etc.
If I’m missing anyone’s favorite unusual fruit/veg/nut that grows in temperate North America, let me know! =) I specify “temperate North America” because my significant other is Indian and lives in India part of the year, so I’ve gotten a chance to try loads of tropical things - none of which are very available or ship well. I’ve also tried some of the unusual citrus that grow in CA (eg. kumquat- disappointing because the name sounds like loquat but they aren’t alike at all).
Sorry to hear the list is missing many of the fruits you are interested in. It’s the most complete list I know of.
Where in the Shenandoah valley are you located? It’s a popular area for Apples and Peaches and two of the largest Apple growers in the US are located there. Lots of fruit in Albemarle and Nelson counties too. Mostly Apples and Peaches but also Cherries. One grower we know in Piney River grows Damson plums.
My wife was raised in that area and they had several Paw Paw trees in their back yard but I have not seen any fruit for sale when I was there. Lots of Muscadines are grown in eastern Virginia but I don’t know of any in the valley.
Have you been to Virginia Gold Orchard in Natural Bridge? They had many varieties of Asian Pears on several thousand trees and some Persimmons when we were there a few years ago.
No worries! It is a good list.
In between Harrisonburg and Staunton.
Sadly, everyone is talking about how poorly peaches did this year. I have been hitting up all the roadside stands hoping for good peaches and got my first really tasty one yesterday!!! These people probably think I’m a bit nuts because I come through and buy one peach on my way home from work and I usually don’t even make it home and eat it in the car.
Really!?! which are those?!?!
Huh. I was under the impression Cherries were super difficult to grow here! (I guess just cause people grow them, doesn’t mean they’re not difficult). It was something I’d pretty much written off as an option.
I also have a good number of paw-paw trees. Two which I’m pretty sure were planted on purpose as well as many, many offspring. I have been told that the quality and taste of pawpaw varies greatly between different varieties.
This place looks great! I will definitely be checking it out.
Might want to try hunting down some Eleagnus latifolia. Would be interesting to compare with goumi/silverberry. I believe it is larger and might be a higher quality fruit.
The folks at the JC Raulstom in Raleigh have tried growing that one with little success. You might have a better chance of it, though.
