I planted these in ground recently. A root grafted IL everbearing and a Trader I bought. Roots had reached the bottom of the pot. So it was time to plant.
2 Likes
I would think deer could reach their snouts through that fence, Hunter.
1 Like
@northwoodswis4 … no doubt they could.
That is a old concrete wire tomato cage my dad made 30 years ago. He used it… and I am still using it.
One more thing I need to get done… i know.
Thanks
2 Likes
My Gerardi graft was nearly defoliated. I thought maybe deer got to it, but upon closer inspection it looks like leafhoppers. Damage wasn’t too bad on any of the other mulberry grafts. I put some Sevin dust on it tonight.
1 Like
Aren’t they sap-sucking insects, not leaf-eating? Or do some leafhoppers do both? Maybe both deer and leafhoppers like the mulberry.
1 Like
I think you’re right. It must be multiple culprits that defoliated my Gerardi. The leafhoppers were all over a few of them though. I don’t think it was deer but its possible. I was a little late in catching it.
1 Like
anyone growing Varaha from Peaceful Heritage Nursery?
1 Like
I don’t have Varaha yet… but looking at Blake’s mulberry video tour, I’m pretty certain that it is not pure M.rubra, based on leaf morphology and fruiting pattern (multiple fruits at each node). Most likely a rubraXalba hybrid… but it looks good, regardless of genetics. Will be interesting to see what the genetic analysis reveals.
Having had adult children living in The Highlands area of Louisville (where Varaha originated) for a number of years, I would be surprised at someone finding a pure rubra there unless it was an very very very old tree… there’s a trashy alba seedling(s) in every untended fenceline or neglected flower bed or hedge in that part of town.
3 Likes
I picked up a Varaha during Peaceful Heritage’s summer sale a couple months ago — you have to be very quick because they sell out of them very fast. The plant was quite small, but healthy.
It must be very tasty, because in the 12-hour window between planting and caging, something got to it and almost completely devoured it. Thankfully, it sprouted back rapidly from above the graft and looks like it will be fine.
I am no mulberry expert, but based on my amateur comparisons, I agree with @Lucky_P that Varaha is probably not a pure rubra. I am still pretty excited about it, though, and it looks like it holds promise to be a great variety.
Here is a picture of the recovering tree — all of the green growth except for one leaf is new growth from after it was chomped on:
2 Likes
I asked Blake the question about genetic testing of Varaha. He said the testing project was aborted due to costs. I agree with others have stated here… It might not be a pure Rubra, but it has some of the good characteristics of it. Looking forward to tasting the berries. They look good on video and Blake swears by them.
I might put a couple of my extra grafted trees on sale some time next month.
4 Likes
On another note regarding Varaha, I was told that Varaha wouldn’t root. Well, I rammed down a bunch of leftover scions from my grafts and most of them rooted. I should have separated them from the tips of the Russian Mulberry rootstocks that I was using. Since those were mixed, I don’t trust that the little cuttings that rooted were true to type. I’ll be using those as rootstock.
That’s another indication that Varaha might not be a pure M. Rubra.
4 Likes
@Fishinjunky One is about 3-4 feet tall. The rest are 2-3 ft. My in ground tree is about 4-5 ft tall now. I’m still unsure whether I’d want to plant another Varaha or another Oscar in ground to replace my dead Kokuso. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to taste either one.
I’ll take a picture in the morning if I can remember.
2 Likes
@Fishinjunky Here you go… My in ground grafted Varaha and her 3 sisters in 4x9s. The Fig on the left is a Mercedes Gem.
4 Likes
The growth on my mulberry grafts needed support, so I screwed some limbs or fence posts to the trunk and used garden velcro to support them. I also removed some of the electrical tape after the pictures. I topped off Illinois Everbearing, because the growth got a bit too long to support. I’m thinking it’ll probably take a year or two of support, but we’ll see. I’ll open up the canopy a bit as time goes on.
Gerardi Dwarf (protected from deer up to about 5’ and with some limbs around it to make it harder to get to)
Corral
Illinois Everbearing
Stearns
Lawson Dawson
Silk Hope
Lawson Dawson #2
8 Likes
@Fishinjunky Inwent on vacation for a few weeks and my in ground grafted Varaha went from 4 feet to 7 feet! Check out my real time post from 3 weeks ago and look at them now! Unreal! What a beast!
5 Likes
Varaha looks to be vigorous. Mine was planted this summer and was gnawed almost to the ground (but above the graft) before I got the cage on. It had only a single damaged leaf remaining, and I didn’t know if it would be able to recover.
This is it after about four weeks in the ground with no care:
1 Like
