I bought some mulberry trees from whitman farms. The varieties I bought were black beauty, King James the Second and Girardi Dwarf. I put the black beauty and King James The Second in 25’’ pots. I put the Girardi dwarf in a 22’’ pot. I am wondering if those will be big enough pots. I am zone 5 so I am hoping for some tips on growing the Morus Nigra varieties in my zone. I put them in the garage and have already had a -1 degree day where I live but has not gotten colder or even as cold since I planted them.
The nigras will need full sun. Be careful not to overwater. Keep moist all winter but not wet. No sun needed if no leaves. My nigra does not drink much and needs little water. Best way to tell if they need water is to lift the pot. Get to know how it feels wet and dry. When you put a plant in a way oversized pot you need to pay attention to the moisture of the first few inches of soil. Water lightly when surface soil is dry but the pot is still heavy. No roots in the lower pot tend to keep it wet. Once bigger and established. Water when pot becomes light.
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Good to know they need full sun. Do I need to do anything other than put them in the garage overwinter to protect them? Do you think they will outgrow their pots eventually?
Yes they will outgrow pots with time. You can up pot or root trim and keep it in old pot. You should repot every three years. I’m not sure how much cold they can take? My garage never becomes colder than about 25 degrees. So anything below that is unknown to me?
I’ve had Black Beauty in the same pot for over a decade. It is a very slow growing tree for me. It is very happy, pushing leaves and for the past 3 years a lot of fruit. Drew is right. I keep mine in an unheated basement canning room (temp does drop to freezing but only on the very coldest nights).
Mine is in a 10 gal pot. Right now it is dormant and in the room. This year I added a Pakistani Mulberry. It is sitting right next to the nigra and is in a 1 gal pot. It will get moved up next spring.
Scott
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Good to hear I will not have to trim the roots too often if at all. I plan to keep mine in a unheated garage. Like I said I am zone 5 so hopefully that is enough warmth. My pots I have the King James and Black Beauty in are 25’’ so I am guessing they are a 30 gallon pot. My Girardi dwarf is in a 22 or 23’’ pot so maybe a little less soil but I hear Girardi only gets to be 6’-0 anyway so I don’t think it will need that much space. I thought about getting a Pakistani Mulberry but from what I have read it grows fast and grows massive. I read that someone said in 4 years a Pakistani mulberry will grow to be 20 feet tall. For that reason I wonder if a Pakistani mulberry would be good for a pot. I have heard the Pakistani mulberry fruit is so sweet it tastes like candy though and the fruit is supposed to be massive hence why people call it king.
A member here grows a Pakistan in a pot and has massive yields. For fast growers you prune three times a year. Their is no reason ANY fruit tree should be over 7 feet tall. I have 8 year old peach and plum trees at 7 feet and even a sweet cherry that is under 8 feet. It’s six years old. All in ground.
Do you know what size of pot? I have a noir de spain coming in the spring and could end up replacing it with a Pakistani since I already have two Nigra growing with the black beauty and King James. I have heard all the Nigra are very similar so this would allow me to get some more variety I suppose.
I’ve had a Pakistan for over five years,beginning with a half whiskey barrel.After about 2-3 years,the roots filled that,so the tree was planted in the ground.
By pruning,the height is about 8 feet.
There is no way the thing will survive like mine right now in zone 5,except for some drastic protection,like a covering and heater in Winter.Even then it’s iffy.Mine even gets a little dieback occasionally.
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There is no way I can grow that than. Do you know if the white Pakistan would be any better? I hear the white grows in zone 6 kind of like a Nigra.