Visited her today. Fruit was sweet and tart. Birds and Deer have been hitting it
If you ever figure out how to root one maybe you could spare me one. I was reading the other thread on the plane.
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beautiful tree. nice looking fruit. is that the color of the ripe fruit?
Yes she is magnificent i think. Ok heres the deal… the fruit gets darker from what i remember which is much sweeter and a lil more tart… probably in a a couple more weeks maybe a week depending on the weather.
However this is the only tree that i know of in this area that is a mulberry…let alone any other fruit trees.
The birds know… its like watching an Attenborough documentary… they know when the tree gets ripe and they come from everywhere.
Getting a ripe fruit that hasnt been half eaten is rare… and some birds pull the unripe fruit off and throw them on the ground.
There are also squirrels and chipmunks that come from the woods behind the house and also deer that eat the low hanging fruits and the ones that the birds reject.
My mom and grandma got great enjoyment out of the show… there is a gazing window on a porch right beside the tree.
So I always try to be honest- the most fruit i have gotten that was fully ripe was a handful or two and i had to really work and have the timing right to do that.
Its a full on Golden Corral feast for the local wildlife… all u can eat buffet.
As a human i really only got to eat what they rejected or hadnt found yet.
My mom bought a book of North American Birds just to identify the ones that show up… and i bought her a nice pair of small binoculars to watch them with.
So even though i think it has desirable fruit and is a great example of Morus Rubra… living there and owning that tree where it is located is a visual experience not so much a fruit tree for humans… it would have to be netted or something for that to happen… and its probably 30 feet tall now. Looking up into the canopy im guessing that the city or utilities lopped it half off probably while i was working out of state or something years ago… i dont remember and didnt really care much back then anyways.
I have no answer as to the fruit decline- im not sure if anyone knows. Does a 100 year old tree bear better or worse fruit over the years? Was the fruit better 50 years ago? I remember it being bigger and juicier… but maybe that was a very good spring and summer… and conditions were better?
I honestly dont know if a new graft or new example would be 2X better…5X better…10X better? Than fruit from an old tree living in the worst conditions that i can fathom.
Its curious and why i want to own a new example.
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sounds like someone needs some more mulberry trees