Mulberry trees can be managed in a number of different ways.Here is another,with the guy talking about some and showing how they do it.bb
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=tightropetb&p=pruning+mulberries+into+a+bush#action=view&id=1&vid=8b4d7829757a85d1a6d60fd8bd351e60
I’ve only tasted shangri la and silk hope so far so I’m no judge, but when picked at the reddish black, sweet with a bit of sour stage I think the silk hope is outstanding.
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I think it may depend on year, and your environment. Like I can’t grow Shangri la as it is not very cold hardy. I have silk Hope and will try for myself for sure. Three now like it, that’s enough to try it. I though already decided that. I will have berries this year.
Something interesting to note on pruning is nigra unlike alba, fruits on old wood, not new wood. They are quite a different species.
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in your zone illni. everbearing or something even more cold hardy like Northrop or a select russian cultivar. i have northrop i put in last spring and a 4 yr old unnamed alba. i tried to graft I.E to it but both grafts didn’t take. theres some other dwarfs that are z4 hardy and have good berries as well.
Do you know if they’re better grafted or on their own roots? I know where there are some wild ones growing by the creek I could probably find seedlings of.
that I’m not sure. i think the ones they sell online are on their own roots and or on russian rootstock for more cold hardiness. someone with more knowledge will probably chime in.
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Named cultivars are mostly grafted onto red mulberry rootstock. Most everything not grafted is considered rootstock. A list of which will grow there will make your choice much easier. It’s going to be a short list and you may be able to plant them all.
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I’d hazard a guess that M.alba or hybrid M.albaXrubra seedlings are used as rootstocks under named mulberry cultivars several orders of magnitude greater than are M.rubra seedlings.
Every one ive ever bought or seen offered are on M.alba understock.
I can’t even get true M.rubra seedlings from my state forestry nursery…Every one of hundreds I’ve received when ordering ‘Red Mulberry’ has been a hybrid.
I find an occasional M.rubra seedling out around the farm, but all the seedlings thst pop up here around the house, orchard, barnlot are hybrids or straight M.alba.
Mine are all on red seedling but I do agree with what your saying. I believe white mulberry are banned in several locations for their invasive nature. Soon there will not be a true red or white anywhere. Out of all the wild whites you have what percentage would you say produce good fruit? I was looking at getting a couple. Are any actually white?
I appreciate all the feedback. Sounds like they’re worth trying, but I need to do a little more research on which varieties would be hardy here.
Hi Travis,
I’d recommend looking into Kokuso, Collier, Oscar and Illinois Everbearing. I agree with what some have said about Illinois Ev. being outstanding. Kokuso is cold hardy, a good producer and the berries are bigger than average but in my trials the flavor is pretty mediocre. Illinois should be hardy in your area and it’s certainly hard to beat all things considered. Good named mulberries are far, far superior to most wild ones. Where I grew up (Louisville, KY,) there was a wild Morus alba or hybrid mulberry tree every 50-100 ft it seemed and most were decent-bland. A few obviously better and superior ones we have selected from there and sell through our nursery. These include Madhava, Varaha and Honeydrops. Mulberries are one of the best fruits to grow for human and also animal food (high protein). So easy, so productive, so resilient and hardy and multi-purpose. You just have to come to terms with their vigorous, colorful and wild ways.
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When are the Varaha and Madhava mulberry tree going to be available?
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White mulberry is Eurasian and quite weedy. Morus rubra is (was?–before genetic pollution turned it into a hybrid swarm with M. alba?) native to the eastern half of North America, so really shouldn’t be banned east of the Rockies.
June of this year.