Ive heard rumors of such things. David Fairchild, where are you when we need you?
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It is a controvesial one. In 1947 the rektor of Charles University in Prague received a sample of branches from a black mulberry tree growing in a village in the Trnava municipality (the village is right next to mine). He had insufficient material to compare it with and the leaves of the samples were mostly heart shaped and fuzzier than your more common nigras. He also had descriptions of fruit colour. (dark-purplish-red could be anything 
). He wrongly classified it as a morus nigra x morus rubra hybrid and named it Morus trnaviensis. Amazingly, this ghost of scientific misstep still haunts the world of information about morus subspecies…
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Im not at all amazed. Theres a noticeable “hall of mirrors” effect to taxonomy that is best observed at the fringes. There is a lot of convoluted and contradictory info in Morus. The clerical aspect of much botanical science means these classifications are often unchallenged and simply repeated ad infinitum
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Botany based on morphological characteristics is fundamentally unreliable, especially from one specimen. Like you said, once this gets into the literature it’s hard to get it out
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My local walmart and rural king sells these or you can buy direct. Says tree is small 10-15ft.
Maybe same as this stark tree?
There are literally dozens of “everbearing mulberry,” some dwarf, some not. I also don’t particularly trust Chestnut Hill.
I have what I think is called the Thai dwarf mulberry, it is small and very shrubby. The fruit is very small, but I have yet to try it as this is the first year it’s fruited but some are getting close. But as to it’s “dwarf ness” I can attest. It is happy to be pruned and immediately regrows and refruits
In line with what you all are saying, my black mulberries have grown very slowly at first. The one I’ve had for 20 years grows by leaps and bounds. I have to climb up 10’ off the ground with a chainsaw hacking away at it at the end of the summer some years. Sure enough, it comes back strong. It is not hardy for continental winters.
John S
PDX OR
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Anyone growing Jans Best ?
It obviously does really well for her… and she is quite consistent in her claims that it taste very delicious.
I have heard her and others here say that worlds best is not a great tasting mulberry. Not consistently good tasting. It is large and productive… but who wants that if it does not taste good.
Jan is in zone 9b. I am in 7b southern TN.
Anyone in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina growing it ?
Here is the point of Gerardi being a dwarfing variety.
This is just a bit of growth on my new graft, but you can easily see the spacing between the leaf petioles is very small.
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I want it. I don’t think it’s that it “doesn’t taste good” so much as it is sometimes less flavorful. That doesn’t mean it isn’t still pleasant tasting, just not going to win any contests for tastiest fruit.
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Indeed. You can still make all sorts of things with it beyond fresh eating I’d think. Wine, cobbler, jam, etc.
My little newly grafted Gerardi is only about 13 inches tall at the moment, but the graft is already throwing out flowers…which I’m removing of course.
Let’s see how much growth I get this first year. I also assume first fruit, whenever they is, may not be representative of the more mature trees fruit years from now.
In year 2… last year my Gerardi fruit started out… ok… and improved quite a bit the last half of fruiting period.
Not sure if it just needed more time or more heat… but it definately improved.
Year 3 this year… hopefully even better.
I tried some first year fruits… not much flavor.
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I am growing Jan’s best and worlds best on their second year and the fruit is very different. Worlds best is maybe 4 times larger. The fruit can be bland until it is good, then it is quite good. I believe it’s worth growing. Thai dwarf and worlds best are basically synonymous.
Jan’s best is a seedling or mutation of the dwarf everbearings that are mislabeled as morus nigra.
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The taste is the #1 difference between black, white and black alba.
Nigras taste extremely rich and very sweet and sour. Totally worth going around red-handed for a while.
White is just honey sweet - often gets dried for sweetening cakes or made into a honey-like jam.
Black alba’s taste is a bit more complex than white’s, but you have to get it just at the right time for fresh eating. When it’s about 3/4 ripe it has the most flavour and some tartness to it. Then it looses that acidity and the taste is mostly just sweet with a distant memory of dark fruit or a sweet elderberry… I try to pick them just as I still have to pull them off the branch but with zero effort.
If you want to dry them (nice and crunchy in cereal or yogurt) or jam them (something like dark fig jam with berry flavour after adding some lemon juice) you have to wait for the fully ripe stage.
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For the most part I’d agree. I have found a few trees in the neighborhood that retain a lot of flavor into the fully ripe stage. Since I’m in North America, there’s a chance that they have some M rubra in them, but I don’t know. A few of the white ones can have a date-like richness to them. I’ve also had some that taste sweet, but grassy.
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Jan has a few vids where ahe mentions the Valdosta mulberry… she says ok for zone 7-10.
Delicious Large fruit. Around 1.5 inch long x 3/4 inch diameter. That is a good sized berry.
She says they are fatter/thicker than worlds best.
Anyone have experience with that one ?
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You got the room, we need you to research haha
I’m waiting on your recommendation haha
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She bragged on it… and said she got hers from Just fruits and exotics.
I checked there… 50 bucks for rather large potted tree. They say for zones 7a-9b.
This is their fruit description…
About the Fruit
Indulge in the luscious taste of the Valdosta Mulberry, a treasure trove of flavor for berry enthusiasts. These elongated, dark fruits are a symphony of sweetness, with a hint of earthiness that captivates the palate. Bursting with juicy goodness, Valdosta Mulberries are perfect for fresh snacking, sumptuous jams, or adding a touch of decadence to desserts. A healthful delight, these berries are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making them a nutritious addition to any diet.
Another praise at Mulberry Varieties for Florida
" ‘Valdosta’ Mulberry – A Georgia Find! (M. alba X M. rubra)
The ‘Valdosta’ mulberry was passed onto us by a customer from Valdosta, GA. and we think it’s a winner! The ‘Valdosta’ produces HUGE 2 inch long mulberries with a rich, deliciously sweet flavor. It’s our new favorite! Fruit ripens in May. 1
Zones 7A-9B"
I think I’ll have to look at the names of the rubra hybrids and get one just out of curiosity. We are lucky if our nurseries get the alba/nigra species right. They don’t bother with hybrid info.
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