I noticed this shoot last year… and was about to pull it when I realized it looked like a mulberry maybe…?
This leaf was collected in the fall. Any advice on an ID is appreciated!
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Definitely looks like a mulberry seedling to me. Also, being at the base of a fence is common since they are “planted” by birds which often sit on a fence.
If you dig down a little bit in the soil and the roots are orangsih/yellowish in color, then I would call that confirmation. To me mulberries have distinctive coloring to the roots.
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Thanks zendog, I will check that ASAP! Now we have the weeping fruiting one in front. If a bird ate that one and it later became a seedling this is what I would get? a common upright mulberry?
Yeah mulberries seem to be very ‘weedy’ trees. They are everywhere in my neighborhood, most are very bland with no sugar.
While it’s still dormant (or just leafing out) you can probably transplant it to a more suitable area. I would also suggest look at around this forum and seeing if you couldn’t get some cuttings to graft onto it - because there’s no guarantee that the fruit the one you have produces is going to be any good.
I personally have a Gerardi dwarf mulberry, but it’s still too small for me to share any cuttings.
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No doubt in my mind… it’s a mulberry. If you want a mulberry, dig it up, pot it up or plant it in a more suitable location, then hit one of us up for budwood of a desirable fruiting variety!
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As Dimitri suggests, it is a good candidate for grafting. It is too late for me to get more scions from my Gerardi, but in past years I’ve grafted a bunch of seedlings over to Gerardi and given them away.
The way birds eat and distribute the berry seed, it is hard to say what the parents are, but the good news is you got a free tree if you want it.
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If from your mulberry how did the seed get pollenated? Do you usually have seeds in your mulberries? I ask because I have never seen a seed in mine.
It may be worth looking on the other side of the fence, perhaps it’s a rooting from a mother tree. It has a very similar appearance of my Illinois Everbearing.
Dennis
Kent, wa
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@DennisD There is no reg Mulberry on their side. They do have one like ours, a mature weeping mulberry about 15 feet away.
Good question, LOL I haven’t paid attention to any seeds.