Mulberry Tree Suggestion

@bleedingdirt: Notice that Morus alba is native to temperate areas of China, not the southern foothills of the Himalayas. :smile:

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@Richard I mean any mulberry at all. If there’s a mulberry that can fruit in frost free climates without the skewed bloom time and vigor struggles most stone fruits encounter then I’d be interested in growing it.

I saw two kinds labeled ‘Peruvian Mulberry’ and ‘White Mulberry’ today at the the hardware store in their plant nursery section, both labeled in the species part of the tag as Morus nigra.

@bleedingdirt would you say they need more chill than, say, fig trees? Or citrus?

White Mulberry = Morus alba.

Peruvian Mulberry … unknown to me.

Cultivars of Morus alba and Morus nigra will work. Now to find one with a correct label. :wink:

@Richard as I understand it all three species can produce fruits with various colors when ripe, so it could be correctly labeled as a White Mulberry while still being Morus nigra no? Agreed on the mystery of the Peruvian Mulberry, I half-wonder if the nursery didn’t just mislabel a Persian or Pakistan Mulberry.

So your consensus is both Morus alba and Morus nigra can fruit without chill hours? The prevailing opinion seems to be Morus nigra is better tasting than alba in general so preferably I can get ahold of one of those.

No. The berries of Morus nigra are dark purple to black when ripe. The berries of Morus rubra are never white when ripe.

That’s a good theory :slightly_smiling:

They are native to regions with record low temperatures in the low 40’s (F).

@BahamaDan, looking through the List of Mulberries (Morus) cataloged by NCGR I found Morus celtidifolia is native to regions of Central America plus naturalized in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.

the best tasting mulbs(pakistan and true nigras) will need not much more chill hours than fig trees. In reality, it is too much cold(or humidity), which prevent people from successfully growing them too far from the relatively dry and warm southwest/west(though am a bit intrigued nigras do pretty well in oregon and wa, but have not heard of anyone getting nigras established in tx).
albas and rubras, and supposed hybrids, are the most cosmopolitan-- growing in more extreme zones, way colder and more humid than the southwest, just as many of them will thrive in the southwest.

“Pakistan” is a trade name for a Morus alba cultivar. In my experience it is not among the best tasting Morus alba’s.

True. The native environments of M. alba and M. nigra include regions with zero chill hours.

Notice that this occurs in temperate areas, e.g. Portland OR and not Bend OR.

My understanding, from Dr. A.J. Bullard, the (former?) NAFEX Southern Mulberry Interest Group chair, is that the original ‘Pakistan’ mulberry, imported into the US (by Dr. Bullard and Mike McConkey at Edible Landscaping, IIRC) originated at Islamabad, Pakistan, where the coldest temp on record was 28F. Not sure how many chill hours it got in its place of origin, but I’ll bet it was relatively few.

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paks are much better than many albas have had, at least where am at. But not that it matters, because paks aren’t inclined to do well when grown too far from here.
so if we should suggest something which is feasible to the majority, suggesting good albas would be more relevant. I think i like oscar and shangrila among the albas, and this ‘dwarf everbearing blac beauty morus nigra’ which i am certain is not a nigra.

In my opinion, “chill hours” are not relevant to M. alba, M. nigra, nor other Morus species from temperate climates. To me, it is like inquiring about the chill hours of true Guava.

I believe it’s time to expand your experiences. :slightly_smiling:

thanks for the advice, but it is not really necessary in my case. I live and breathe the stuff, it boils down to subjective personal preferences.
incidentally, and since you seem generous with your advice, what albas-- to your taste, are the best? And do you grow any of them?

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Raf,

Check out this Geraldi new graft and all this catkins.

Tony

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very nice! Gerardi’s are the most precocious of mulbs, so don’t be surprised if some of these mature on the same year of grafting! Also quite cold-hardy.

However, I’ve heard from folks in the northern midwest and east coast that all M. albas “taste like straw” in their climate.

At my former home in Rancho Penasquitos I grew every variety carried by DWN at the time, plus a few more from the Wolfskill Collection. Most of these were sold as part of my nursery operation but a few of each I kept in 15 gallon containers for 3-4 years. When I purchased my present property in Vista I knew they would require too much room so I donated them to the San Diego CRFG chapter.

tried all manner of white-fruited and pink-fruited albas too, but to me, gerardi , shangrila, and oscar are much better. Evidently depends on where they are being grown, and possibly on how old the trees are, etc.

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How much different in taste is there between Geraldi and Shangrila or Oscar.

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Bob. v. Really like Oscar. If he chime in and fill Us in more about the taste.

Tony

As cataloged by Wolfskill:

Geraldi is Morus hybrid (DMOR 16).
Shagrila is also Morus hybrid (DMOR 18).
There are four Oscar’s Three are Morus hybrids (DMOR 26, 68, 76) and one is Morus nigra (DMOR 120).
NONE of them are Morus alba.

I have yet to taste a white mulberry that I really care for that much. It’s personal preference and I find most the white cultivars simply sweet lacking the balance of tartness with sweet I enjoy. I am the same way with Pomegranates. A Nafex member raved to me about Myatadzhy as his favorite and I did enjoy it but I found it just sweet lacking in complexity and balance. If there are light mulberries with the acid twang I’d be interested in which ones