please don’t cut them back, especially if it is a true nigra! Not only are these slow-growing, but just like pakistani’s and many alba’s, they fruit on branches(usually laterals) which are at least one year old. Which means you’ll be regressing to a waiting time of more than a year
This mulberry when I got it about 1.5 years ago was a bare root 6 foot tall tree. In its fist year it grew about 4 feet. It was pretty surprising. It is covered in flowers that have dried up and are falling off. No fruits. I thought that some black mulberries also fruit over an extended period of time and that occurrs later in the summer. So it’s strange that this one flowers so soon in the year the flowers developed actually before it leaves out.
Does anyone know about the dwarf everbearing black mulberry that is sold everywhere online like Amazon. It’s advertised at a bush that grows 2-6 feet high. But in other places I saw it advertised to grow 10-20 feet. Are these all the same plant? Is there some kind of a dwarf black everbearing mulberry bush and also a black dwarf tree as well. What’s the difference between a black beauty mulberry tree and the dwarf everbearing mulberry bush ? Does the black beauty bear the fruit all at one time or over an extended period of time? Everywhere I look things are advertised as different names and characteristics.
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I agree with everyone else a male catkin they are normally longer and thinner. My Black Beauty from Grow Organics is still alive but but doesn’t like the southeast. Not a real surprise but I hold out hope. My Geraldi on the other hand is a fine little tree Pic below from today Those nodes are close and last year I eat more from this tree than any other mulberry and at eye level. I really like the structure of this tree.The taste is not Nigra, but I enjoy it. I wonder about the albaXnigra I know UC Davis has changed what they list some Mulberry before. Am I the only one that seems to find inconsistency on that species they are listed as. I forget which one I was looking at a couple years ago and saw it listed as 3 different species
And I found a pic of Geraldi last summer
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gerardi’s and pakistani’s follow a similar sequence, bearing flowers/fruits ahead or concurrently with leaves, although gerardi’s wait at least a month later after pakistani’s have leafed out.
i will take some pix tomorrow.
i have this too, and it is another queer one. Definitely not a nigra, although it maintains its tiny leaves even at >6 feet tall, and seem to have relatively short internodes. Will also post pix tomorrow.
it grows pretty fast, and i don’t doubt it will reach 20 feet tall
LE Cooke sells it to retailers (likely where Peaceful Valley gets theirs) and the quality of their trees is excellent! But as noted, PV is out now. I think it safest you wait until next year and get your order in.
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And that’s the problem with Willis Orchard and why I would never buy from them under any circumstances. Even if you’re lucky enough to get live plants, there’s very good chance you didn’t get what you paid for. And, in many cases, you’ll be waiting 3 - 5 years to find out.
From what I recall, the folks that started Willis came over from TyTy. And, well, TyTy’s reputation is well known. I’m not knocking on anyone who’s bought from them, just want to see that others don’t make the same mistake.
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I read online that black mulberries can take many years to bear fruits sometimes over 15 years and many time don’t fruit if they are cultivated the wrong way. Sometime if they do fruit they can change later in life to stop fruiting and only make male catkins. It came from this article.
This seems to refer to black mulberries as doing this. Also I read that sometimes environmental conditions can influence weather the tree fruits or makes only male flowers.
That looks heavy duty!
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I too was taken by Willis. Here are microscopic images of nucleoli I took from Morus nigra leaf and compared it to nucleoli from Morus alba being sold as “Persian” by Willis. I use a very simple technique using a blender and silk screen to separate the nucleoli from the leaf matter. The nucleolus is the round body in the cell nucleus that contains the DNA. Morus nigra has eleven times the DNA material than Morus alba or rubra, making it easy to identify.
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Here is another comparison of nuclei between Morus nigra and Morus alba. Thanks to Jujubemulberry for graciously supplying the Morus nigra. Compared to alba, Morus nigra looks like it is beefed up on steroids.
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you’re welcome, and thank you for posting your findings!
considering that many(including reputable nurseries) find mulberry identification quite confusing, your study offers a reliable/consistent but relatively affordable aid with differentials.
Probably the next best thing to genetic studies 
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does nursery filter the female vs male before selling them? because then it just a chance when a person buys any tree.