i have this 5 yr old white mulberry i planted about 5 yrs ago that i thought never flowered or fruited. i assumed as its a white it needed another pollination partner. i was going around spraying today and i noticed this tree is loaded with 1/2in fruit that is partially ripened. now I’m pretty sure there aren’t any mulberries around me as no one has heard of them and there are only a few cultivars hardy enough to grow here. is it possible i got a self pollinating white mulberry? this was a bought as a $5 tree from cold stream farm in M.I. I’ve been trying to graft illinois everberring on it the last couple years to try to get fruit but none have took. its definitely a welcome surprise!
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When you say you have a “white,” do you mean white fruit, or do you mean Morus alba?
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Morus Alba. the fruit looks purple/ black. this tree has so far survived -35f here with no tip damage. i haven’t even watered or mulched it during this drought and its fruiting. never been fertilized either.
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Mulberries with seeds is not something we want. Mulberries will form fruit if pollinated or not. I actually never had a mulberry with seeds.
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Seeded mulberries are not unpleasant to the palate, sort of like figs, barely noticeable with a little crunch!
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Interesting. Makes sense since they are closely related. What about seedlings all over? Why I would think a seeded mulberry is not desirable. Easy enough to destroy male trees I suppose.
I get seeds in many of my mulberries. They are not objectionable at all. Seedlings are a constant issue, though.
Interestingly my morus nigra has 3 seedlings growing with it in its pot. I’m not sure what the seedlings are though. They could easily be seedlings from a number of muberry species or a cross among them. I should probably see if I can I’d them before too late though as if they aren’t interesting in some way I don’t want to stress my nigra by having these share the pot with them.
Scott
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Some trees have both male and female flowers . Wild mulberries are everywhere here . So seeds are normal here . Due to so many wild trees I have never had seedless fruit .
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In my little 1/8th acre yard (including the house and garage) I have 5 different mulberry varieties. Illinois Ever eating, Beautiful Day, World’s Greatest, Black Beauty nigra (potted) and Kokusa. Newly added is Pakistan (only about 12 inches tall now). There are also dozens of Alba growing in the neighborhood. I’m sure there’s plenty of male flowers pollenating my trees
Scott
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I’m not that far away from Scott, but no males or wild mulberries anywhere near here.
Moose you got one of the less-often-occurring monoecious Morus alba’s.
Dax
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