Mulberry tree, a great tree for shade in the summer

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Leaves that can be mistaken for grapevine, and blackberry-like fruits that stain everything they touch: the mulberry (Morus) is grown above all for the deep shade it casts on hot summer days. Give it full sun, shelter from strong winds and mulch over its frost-tender roots, and it asks for almost no pruning.

A very easy tree to grow, it will in time become one of the most beautiful shade trees of your garden.

Planting a mulberry tree

Mulberry must be planted in a mix of soil mix and garden soil in a sun-covered spot of the garden. Ideally, this spot is also well sheltered against strong winds.

• It is recommended to plant your mulberry tree in fall, but planting in spring is still perfectly possible as long as you water well at the beginning.
  
• Take care to protect roots from the cold in winter with mulch, especially at the beginning, because they’re vulnerable to freezing.

• Dig the planting hole about twice the width of the root ball but no deeper than it, so the tree settles at the same level it grew at in its pot.
• Mulberry roots run shallow and wide, and in time they lift nearby paving.
• Avoid hollows where winter rain collects, because mulberry copes with ordinary soil but not with roots standing in water.

Pruning mulberry trees

Pruning isn’t necessary at all, all the more that its growth is quite slow…

Your mulberry tree will be most beautiful if you let it grow naturally. The shape it takes on if left unattended is often the shape that suits it best, it will be beautiful!

• Mulberry wood bleeds sap freely from fresh wounds, so if a cut is unavoidable, make it after the leaves have fallen rather than as the buds swell.
• As a low-risk default for routine maintenance pruning of established woody plants, confine cuts to dead, damaged, diseased or crossing branches; formative, renewal and fruit-production pruning legitimately require more extensive removal.
• If you plan to mow or set a chair under the canopy, lift the crown by taking off the lowest branches early, while the tree is young.

Mulberry tree species and varieties

There are three main types of mulberry, and each branches out into dozens of sub-varieties and hybrid cultivars.

White, Red and Black Mulberry… and more!

The most famed species are the following:

• White mulberry – not related to fruit color! Soft young buds are whitish in color, which gives the name. Native to China and SouthEast Asia, now found across the planet. Grows rather shorter than the other mulberry types. Leaves are rarely all identical, ranging in shape from grapevine to only a single, oval shape.
• Red mulberry – native to the SouthEast of the North American continent, encompassing everywhere from Texas to Florida to the lower Great Lakes. Currently losing its genetic uniqueness because it hybridizes easily with other non-native mulberry tree varieties.
• Black mulberry – has been cultivated for centuries in the Middle East. Distinctive trait is the the underside of leaves is fuzzy or hairy (similar to downy mildew in appearance). Perhaps the only species with consistently black fruits.

Mulberry cultivars available in garden stores

These are other cultivars (clones) of species that also belong to the Morus family.

• Morus australis and the closely related Morus kagayamae Koidz. (short for Koidzumi) – one of the hardiest mulberry varieties, surviving down to -30°F (-34°C). Often called the “plane mulberry” because its leaves and bearing resemble that of the plane tree.
• Morus bombycis ‘Unryu’ – a small variety that doesn’t grow much taller than a dozen feet (three meters). It’s amazing branches twirl out like a corkscrew, much like those of the Kilmarnock willow.
• Pakistan mulberry – a hybrid of the Black mulberry. Fruits are about 4 inches (10 cm) long, and tasty delicious!
• Dwarf mulberry – Many cultivars and hybrids grow small enough to be perfect for container growing.
• Fruitless mulberry – These are cultivars grown from a mulberry that is consistently male: it won’t bear any fruit. This makes it ideal for roadside settings and such, where people might slip and fall or ruin their clothes.

Which mulberry to choose

The three main types and the cultivars sold in garden stores differ in origin, size and, above all, in what they drop on the ground. This table gathers what the article says about each.

In short, pick a fruiting type for the harvest and a male or fruitless one for clean paving.

Learn more about mulberry trees

Surprising mulberry sexuality

Each mulberry tree can be either male or female. Male mulberry trees don’t produce any fruits whereas female trees bear fruits. There are also sterile cultivars that, of course, also don’t bear any fruit.

However, some mulberry species require cross-pollination to bear fruit. Check with your local garden store if purchasing a given variety.

Lastly, some species and varieties change gender in the course of their life. In addition, it may happen that a single tree will carry both male and female branches! Although it sounds odd, it also happens with other common shrubs and plants such as yew.

Delicious mulberry fruit

Mulberry fruits look similar to those of blackberry bush that often grow in our hinterland, and for sure they stain clothes just as much!

• Mulberries are edible. They’re very juicy and sweet.
• Red and Black are sweet, tangy and tasty, although White mulberry is sweet but doesn’t have a special taste.

Be careful! If you’ve purchased a female mulberry tree, avoid planting it near your terrace or deck. With all the falling fruit, you won’t be able to rest under the shade without staining your garden quilt! Better not try dressing a picnic table with your favorite nice tablecloth…

If you select a male mulberry specimen, you’ll be able to relax without any afterthought in under its deep green foliage, and the shade it will offer on hot summer days will feel more than welcome.

Diseases and parasites that frequently attack mulberry trees

• Scale insects – Techniques and organic treatments to avoid them
• Of course, caterpillars! After all, mulberry leaf is a favored fodder for silk worms! Learn all about natural caterpillar control.

• Watch for fruits that swell into pale, popcorn-like lobes: this is popcorn disease, and picking off every infected mulberry plus the windfalls breaks the cycle.
• Should you ever need to remove a branch, wait until the tree is fully dormant, because mulberry wood bleeds sap freely from fresh cuts.