which is why am averse to pruning. Old wood and old nodes are where berries develop, so increasing the yield is put on hold when limiting/pruning new growth… there have been people requesting budwood from me, but strongly advised against it, and instead recommended to buy the biggest and oldest nigra they could find(human lives are too short—to be waiting on berries!). i would rather buy a 4 foot tall nigra specimen(that has been grafted low) worth 100$ than buy 4 grafted specimens at 1 ft tall and at 25$ each. We [quote=“murky, post:48, topic:4928”]
is nigra growth habit such that it will bush out without pruning? I’d like my trees to be full, not spindly, with significant canopy volume down low.
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if grafted low, true nigras assume a bushy/sprawling stance, and the trunk/s get gnarly with relatively short internodes(especially if grown under full sun), unlike many mulbs which shoot up and generally form straight trunks like regular trees. Nigras tend to grow too low for many people, so nurseries use faster- growing alba saplings and graft on top with nigra.
here are pics of a rather old nigra grafted high onto albas. The last photo shows some scale, with the mushroom-like nigra canopies conveniently formed over the lucky model feasting on the 20$/lb berries, and with an alba trunk visible
i say ‘convenient’ because nigras are easier to access from below than from above, and the harvester could gather while walking under the canopy. Only caveat is that nigra berries often have tight peduncles, so berries end up being squished and the harvester gets showered with purple rain.
I have a Geraldi, how should I prune? Are you pruning to control height or help create more branches?
@jujubemulberry, please post a current picture of your M. nigra plant(s) so we can visualize what you’re talking about.
we don’t prune our geraldi’s! it is another sloooooow-grower. Having shorter internodes than nigras, it equates to far less berries per unit length pruned…
Huh?
meant nigras and gerardi’s are mulbs we don’t prune.
as requested, attached some pix of our mulbs below. Will post more pics later.
Is this a Black Beauty? I bought it from a nursery that had three of them. Two had LE Cooke “Black Beauty” tags, the one I bought only had a handwritten tag that said “Black Beauty”. The leaves look much smaller than Richard’s, but it has only been in the ground a few months, after being in a root bound pot. Also, one set of leaves on it does look like it is growing larger… Maybe more mature wood? The leaves are also smaller than the tiny Black Beauty I bought from Whitman Farms… Transplant shock maybe?
Full shot
Fruit close up
The few larger leaves above the smaller leaves found on the rest of the bush
i can’t say if it is black beauty(i see vague differences between nigras), but the berries are definitely nigra. Has any of these berries turned black/purple?
looking at the specimen in its entirety, it looks like it is a two in one, as the branches seem not all nigra… makes me think some grew from rootstock. Either that or the pic is blurring my eyes a bit… Even the foliage shown up close seem to have differences, and appears not totally those of nigra.
@Tylt33 , is the graft union visible on your specimen? If so, would you be able to isolate the fruiting stems from the non-fruiting ones, and see if there are stems branching out from below the graft?
Yes.
By the way … the undersides of the leaves are a bit rough and contain a skin irritant similar to nettles - but not as strong as poison oak or poison ivy. Still, if you are pruning a whole tree I recommend either long sleeves or a tube of anti-inflammatory steroids.
My wife has decided that she doesn’t like the taste of the berries so I’m going to replace the shrub with her favorite deciduous flowering magnolia bush. There’s going to be lots of scionwood generated and some with attached rootball available to anyone who would like to pick it up, no charge. I am in a licensed quarantine zone and will not ship plant material.
So this is mulberry? I’ve seen these popping out of my yard all the time and I kept pulling them out. Hmm…
How big do they get at maturity?
IL847,
How to tell male from female in the mulberry world? Does it need both gender to get fruit or only female is needed?
Tom
There are many species, hybrids, and cultivars in the mulberry genus. This thread is about the hybrid Black Beauty. For others please see the list here: List of Mulberries (Morus) cataloged by NCGR with links
Black Beauty is seedless and self fruitful.
Not a expert,but I think it only needs female plant to produce fruits. I was told by someone that the female mulberriy leaves are heart shape and male mulberriy leaves shape like fig. Not sure how true this is though
I believe the advice you received was for M. rubra.
Yesterday I lowered the height by half to about 4 feet. I’ll be giving it away in a month or so – perhaps to the local CRFG chapter. I’m replacing it with an ornamental Magnolia bush that has sentimental value for my wife 
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Oh my gosh, Richard. It’s such a shame you can’t keep it! It is clearly completely healthy and vigorous! Is there not a special spot in the front yard for that lovely magnolia tree?? Man, that’s some major pruning for a tree that is supposed to stay “dwarf to 15 ft.” (which maybe is a relative term for a Mulberry??)
Yes, the rootstock is Morus alba. Notice the trunk diameter at the base below the graft. One positive thing about it … the root ball is likely hardy enough for a vigorous uprooting and transplant. 
That is the front yard 