Mulberry

Site and soil

Mulberry wants full sun and will grow almost anywhere else: loam, clay, sand, rocky ground, across a pH from about 5.5 to 7.5. It prefers well-drained soil but tolerates brief wet spells better than most fruit trees, and once established it is drought tolerant. Water needs are moderate.

Plant it away from walks, driveways and clotheslines, because the dark fruit stains everything it drops on and the birds that eat it spread the stain further. The white-fruited varieties, Early White and Lawson Dawson, are the answer near a patio. Mulberry roots are shallow and wide, so keep it 20 ft or more from foundations and septic fields.

Spacing

Standard mulberries run 20 to 40 ft tall and 20 to 35 ft wide, and they get there fast. Set them 20 to 30 ft apart, or 12 to 15 ft if you will prune them to picking height each year. Geraldi and other dwarfs stay 6 to 10 ft and can be planted 8 to 10 ft apart.

Planting

Plant in early spring while dormant, or in fall after leaf drop.

• Dig the hole as deep as the root system and twice as wide.
• Set the tree with the root flare level with the ground, or the graft union 2 to 4 inches above it on grafted trees.
• Backfill with native soil and water in well.
• Mulch 3 to 4 inches deep, kept back from the trunk.
• Guard the trunk against deer and rabbits for the first few winters.

Pollination

The named varieties in this listing are self-fertile and set fruit without a partner. Mulberry is wind-pollinated and many selections set fruit even without pollination. One tree is enough; a second is for a longer season or a different flavor.

First-year care

• Water deeply once a week through the first growing season. After that it manages on rainfall.
• Keep a mulched, grass-free circle around the trunk.
• No fertilizer in year one, and rarely after. Mulberry grows fast enough on its own.
• Expect 3 to 6 ft of growth a year once established. Train it early.

Pruning

Mulberry bears on new growth and on spurs along older wood, and it tolerates hard pruning. Train it to a single trunk with a few scaffold limbs in the first two or three years, then prune each winter to keep the top within picking reach, remove crossing and dead wood, and open the center. A standard mulberry left alone becomes a 40 ft tree you harvest with a tarp; a mulberry cut back hard each winter stays a 12 ft tree you harvest by hand.

Prune while the tree is fully dormant in late winter. Mulberry bleeds sap from cuts made in early spring. Keep cuts under 2 inches across when you can, since large wounds on mulberry heal slowly and can rot.

Harvest

Trees begin bearing in about 2 to 4 years. Fruit ripens from June into July, and everbearing types like Illinois Everbearing keep going into August. A mulberry is ripe when it is fully colored, soft, and lets go at a touch; the dark varieties go from red to glossy black, and the white ones turn from green to cream and soften. Taste as you go, since a mulberry picked firm is sour.

The farm method is to spread a clean sheet or tarp under the tree and shake the limbs; ripe fruit drops and unripe fruit stays. Pick every day or two through the season. Fresh mulberries keep only a day or two refrigerated, so eat them, freeze them, dry them or cook them into jam, syrup or wine the day you pick. A mature tree gives more than you can use, which is why it is such a good tree for chickens, pigs and the birds.