https://www.fedcoseeds.com/trees/search?item=521
I’m not sure how much experience even Fedco has, but the description sounds good–if it was Raintree or Jungs, I wouldn’t pay much attention to the descriptors (every one of our trees is the very best possible tree imaginable…) but Fedco seems pretty measured in their comments.
Anyone tried this tree yet and able to comment? Also, if it is in fact a pure rubra, would it graft to wild alba understock?
I purchased one from twisted tree Farm last year. Still young for me yet but it did produce a few fruit its first year, as mulberries often do, but i got no taste as the birds got to them first.
Akiva says that he thinks it is probably a wild cross of Rubra and Alba rather than, as Fedco lists, a pure Rubra. So I believe it will graft just fine.
Maybe @Chestnut can speak more about it.
I purchased a contorted mulberry from One Green World two years ago. I was interested because it’s supposed to only get eight feet tall and I figured it would work well at the edge of my garden as a distraction plant. No fruit yet, and it’s in kind of a poor location that gets lots of shade towards the end of summer, but it’s definitely eye catching.
I don’t believe this variety is actually contorted at all, I believe it (Twisted) refers to the farm of the guy who donated wood to Fedco.
Good catch. I think you’re right.
Agree that from the glossy appearance of the leaves and the clustering of fruit, this is more likely a rubraXalba hybrid than a pure M.rubra. The lengthy bearing period is more consistent with a hybrid, as well.
I found the ‘Twisted Tree’ mulberry growing wild in upstate NY. I grew it for Fedco the past two years. I can honestly say that I have never had a mulberry that compares. They taste as good or better than Illinois and it is ever bearing with dark fruits from late June through end of Sept. One nice quality it has, is that the fruits drop easily when the tree is shaken which makes it easy to harvest. I do believe it is a cross between rubra and alba, but am not 100% sure. I called it twisted tree mulberry because i couldn’t think of a better name. It has curving trunks and the name of my nursery is twisted tree farm. I’ve been watching this tree for the past 8 years and its been amazing every year. I think it is a real treasure. I wish I was better at propagating it, it has proven difficult so far.
This isn’t anything like Nuclear Blast (Itoguwa) mulberry, or thread-leaved mulberry? BTW! Not my picture, it’s from Louis the Plant Geek
Does anyone know if the thread leaved mulberry fruits?
There’s also a variegated one, but I’ve never seen any mention of fruit…
Scott
You have any photos of the tree?
is it available anywhere this year?
Fedco has been sold out since January, so your only chance is Twisted Tree farm:
He’s not listing them, but if you email he may have a few seconds left over from Fedco’s order.
Fwiw i believe he does not
Thanks for the photo, I will add this down the road for sure!! I have been looking at many cultivars. Oscar, and Silk Hope seem like excellent choices for my area too. Although I’ll try any.
Yeah I use a large tarp, and shake the tree, only way to harvest! I only harvest wild trees, as I don’t have any yet!
ok, I’ll look into getting it next year. I like the everbearing types, my Illinois Everbearing had fruit from june to september last year,
Great to have the introducer of this mulberry chime in, too bad there’s none left!
I would debate adding it here because I already have IE and don’t want seeded fruit…
I would debate adding it here because I already have IE and don’t want seeded fruit…
Jesse, are you saying Illinois Everbearing has no seeds? I have tried growing it twice now, and both times the tree died the first summer. Have another one coming this spring.
Pretty much seedless, and won’t spread by seed unless there was male nearby, which makes me reassess my earlier statement…
Is there an issue with grafting rubras? What’s the best way to propagate albas vs. rubras vs. crosses?
It seems that there is some variability with various morus sp. in getting cuttings to root, though IE is often grown that way from summer cuttings under mist. Grafting has also been a little spotty, I tried IE on rubra a couple years back without success, then last year I grafted IE onto pure m alba tatarica stock and got a good percentage of takes. The difficulty is getting then them through the winter up here in the north, seems that the callus tissue is a bit cold sensitive for the first year or so. I will know better in a couple months! I used veneer grafts and tried to graft as low as I could. I did get a few Northrup Mulberry cuttings to strike the year before, using summer wood, hormone in semi-shade, and these made it through last winter alright.
