Pakistan Mulberry in Zone 7 possible? (+ trying & growing PawPaws, Persimmons etc.)

Let me add some Nordic influence into the fray also! Janne from Finland reporting in! And yes, that’s Janne with TWO n:s, unlike the fianceé of Tarzan (may I say I am also rather more hairy than Maureen O’Sullivan). But I digress, here’s my two cents on the subject:
I live in southern Finland, which might be something close to a 5b USDA climate…though I’d rather use Köppen-Geiger climate classification, for international purposes. There we are Dfb , characteristics:

  • description : Cold - Without dry season - Warm Summer
  • Number of months where the (average) temperature is above 10C = 4

Usually winters don’t go under -25C/-17F …and that very rarely (this winter not once it has gone under -20C…yet). Come march the night and day will be equally long, and summers have of course plenty of light. Some summers the heat goes over 30C/86F , for a short bursts.

And here I am, trying to grow pawpaw, Asimina triloba, as well! I planted last summer two seedlings (one from Alleghny and one from NC-1) that I got from Mustila arboretum, that is more inland and north…and they have two pawpaws that have survived everything, though growing slowly due being in almost full shade. So I have my hopes up, and ordered pawpaw seeds from Oikos yesterday. I also ordered Diospyros virginiana, american persimmon seeds as well, because if pawpaws can survive, so can persimmons, am I right?
But ahem, we are here to talk about mulberries…I happen to live near a botanical garden, where I walk almost every free day and…well…see If there is something to “borrow” to my home garden. There we have two fully mature morus alba trees, fruiting small but very tasty fruits to my taste. From wild seeds, not any cultivar. So that should definetely survive here, and so I am sowing in the days to come both white mulberry and black mulberry seeds for cold stratification, for mass seedlings production. In my hopes I either root a cutting from that botanical garden and graft to that some more noteworthy cultivar (that Sweet Lavender looked sooo yummy!), or graft to a seedling.
I got plenty of space at my dad’s farm, I can chop a piece of a field to my purpose any time, so I’ll be conducting seed trials, a la “survival of the fittest” on a field, because I’m hoping to cultivate my own cultivars of pawpaws, mulberries (even black), persimmons and various nut trees.
I am studying to be a professional gardener/green builder, and I plan to use all surviving hardy plants to benefit me also on that part (to be selling “exotic trees”).

Boy, you can’t believe how MUCH I spend times on internet trying to find forums to exchange scion wood, to talk to fellow growers, and of course to find SOME nurseries in europe that A) can speak in english and B) can ship to here with modernate costs.

I could talk for hours on walnuts alone, and grafting etc…but best to leave that for another topic.

I’ll stop this rant to say that my secret desire is to get some true morus rubras to grow near me, even without decent berries. And has anyone ever heard of a swedish variant of Morus accidosa ‘Mulle’ ?? It seems that it is there cultivated but only pages are in swedish. Said to quite like black mulberry, but can survive as north as Stockholm, which would be quite like my climate.
-Janne

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Got an answer from Dithmar:

In my collection I have: ciocolatino, vainiglia, Shogatsu, Nishimura
Wase, Mercatelli, Mandarino,…all have brown flesh when seeded.
Only ciocolatino, vainiglia are of the PVNA type.
They have brown flesh when pollinated but because these varieties have
male and female flowers they are always seeded. They are mostly used as
pollinators. Mercatelli is the best pollinator and ciocolatino is the
best fruit producer. Most monoecious varieties bear few fruit,
ciocolatino is an exception. DGDK1 also produces very well (also
monoecious) but has no brown flesh.
I do not regularly propagate these varieties because they are mostly
used as pollinators…If you would like one of these please tell me so
that I can prepare for this season.

I didnt know that he has Nishimura Wase

Nice!

I will also add Mercatelli to the list … a good pollinator is important!. (Removing the Hyakume)

I might swap the Chocolate for a Cioccolatino Persimmon. (I would get the Chocolate later)

This nursery has one with a good price and size.

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Thank you!

Are PVNA worth the try of including male pollinators and thus having seeds in your kaki fruits ? Seedlessness is such a good thing for a fruit :slight_smile:

Iam interested in the described spicy flavour of PVNA Persimmons. (When Seeded)

Seeds wouldnt be a problem for me.

I would either toss the seeds out with a knife or eat the fruit like a watermelon.

I cut open most fruits to see the quality. (Had a bad expierence with Medlars full of small Worms :grimacing:)

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Hey,

Iam trying to find the largest white to pink - lavender fruited mulberry for my sister. (Non staining)

I found a variety called “Tehama” … A variety with such a size would be great.

What do you guys think about this one?

Worth to try in Z7?

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zone 7 doesn’t sound too bad for most albas. Especially if your area doesn’t have too many late frosts.
albas are generally “late to bed and early to rise” compared to nigras, being more cold-tolerant, only caveat is that a hard late frost may ruin the crops or result in die-back

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Yeah,

Tehama is currently sold out (Demoerbeiboom) but thats not a problem :slight_smile:

I also thought about buying the “Eldorado” variety. (Hungarian variety)

This one stays white - yellowish, which is nice.

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What kind of red berries are those pictured?

Red Currants

OK, they looked like currents, but mine are not that big! What is the cultivar if you know?
Or maybe you have small hands? :heart_eyes:

Sorry i dont know which variety that is.

I guess the picture shows hands of a child, thats why the red currants seem to be large (And also the Mulberries)

I think i will collect a few more mulberry trees in 1 or 2 years. (Depends if we get a property for “the project”)

Alba:
Tehama
Eldorado
Aurefolia

Hybrid:
Silk Hope

Multicaulis:
Loud Georgus

We would use them …

For fresh eating, for making Juice and for making dried mulberries.

My father also wants to make Mulberry wine which is very interesting (though i dont drink alcohol, haha)

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Tehama looks interesting

Yes indeed.

The description is really nice!

Very large, plump fruit, 2 3/4 inches [6.985cm] in length and 1/2 inch [1.27cm] wide; very sweet, succulent, melting flesh. Attractive, large-leaved tree

I will try to get it this year from demoerbeiboom.

I have found this offer from Portugal …

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Giant-extra-large-White-Mulberry-extra-large-sweet-fruits-2-cuttings-/172160278881?hash=item28158d6161:g:hRkAAOSwUuFWxFxn

Would like to buy 4 cuttings and try to propagate them.

But what is the best way?

Put them inside water until some roots show up?

Or use rooting gel on the cut ( i ordered this

) and put them into a medium-light soil?

Or is it better to graft them?

Thats a lot of money, i admire the passion :slight_smile:

Due to price and low number of cuttings, i’d go for grafting using a budding technique so that you’ll have several grafts possible with each stick

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Thx I will try that next year.

Right now i have to find a property for all the plants.

But i will still collect some plants this year (PawPaws: VE-21, Halvin, Summer Delight, Kentucky Champion ; Persimmons: Super Rosijanka, Zenji Maru, Nishimura Wase ; Mulberries: Tehama , Aalst ; Jujubes: Honey Har, Sugar Cane)

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Thats a lot of good plants, congrats !

Hope we can trade some scionwood in the future :wink:

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If we get the property, sure!

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