I finally had time to edit my video on my Morus Nigra Mulberry I hope it will be helpful for others who want to know more about the similarities of differences.
July 22, 2019
Dwarf Black Beauty Mulberry is exactly the same as Dwarf Persian. I think the name was created as the dwarf cultivar of the standard Persian variety. Yet, it makes it all so confusing. Lucky the size of the mulberry is not as small as others who grown it has mentioned.
Dwarf Persian Mulberry
There is a standard and this dwarf has a bush style growth habit
best when picked when black (less tart and sweeter)
if picked dark red will be tart-sweet
cold-hardy to zone 7
August 8, 2019
Updated review of Dwarf Persian and Dwarf Black Beauty Mulberry
When it turns black is the best time to pick. Excellent for juicing compared to other mulberry cultivars. It has a wine flavor to it compared to Morus Alba types of mulberries.
This makes me happy! I want to get a black Persian mulberry next season but am always looking to go for a dwarf to maximize the varieties in the area I can grow. I’m fusing my gardening to my reenactment/history interests and am hoping to grow my own ingredients for medieval recipes as well as just enjoy growing things that are delicious.
I see that they require you to also provide a control sample of known ploidy. I don’t think I have such a sample, since I’m not sure that all the albas I have are definitely diploid. Unless they all are always?
The wisdom seems to be that alba is almost always diploid, macroura is a most always tetraploid, and nigra is always 13-a-ploid (is what you might call it, er, I spose)
Do you have it in the ground? I’m wondering if I could keep one of this type in a pot for a good long time if it’s slow growing and still get good fruit. I just ordered one from Burnt Ridge. I usually get things small, cuttings and such, to watch the grow and it’s cheaper but I’m opting for one further along here.
I found good things for Burnt Ridge on the forms, that even if they have an error and send the wrong cultivar they make it right as best they can, so I went ahead and ordered from them. Fingers crossed
Is there much difference between the various Morus Nigra variants available today in fruit size, shape, flavor, size of tree etc? I just acquired (grafted) several varieties this year — Persian, Black Beauty, Kaester, and DMOR 78.
They all look approximately alike now when the grafts are about 4-6” long.
I read they were selling one they thought was a black beauty then realized it was a red and owned up to it. They even have it on the site that it was previously mislabeled. Seems a sign of integrity to me? Personal reports and experiences are mixed of course. I haven’t ordered from them before this, so, like I said, fingers crossed.
