Anybody else grow mulberries?

[Guernica]

Just wondering if anyone else grows mulberries. I'm about to close on the mini-farm and that's one of the things I'm hoping to do! I haven't ordered a tree yet b/c you can't plant 'em until after the last frost but you need to get 'em in the ground ASAP upon arrival. If anyone else is growing them, especially in the South, I'd love to know how you got them through the first couple of summers! Thanks!!

 

[Trefoil]

Sorry, I'm not from the South, but I grow mulberries,except last year when the early heat and late frost took out all my fruit. The birds love them, the good thing about mulberries is that they fruit so plentifully that you can still get mulberries too. I have given several people seedlings of my trees, here in Michigan they sprout and grow freely. I've tried a couple of varieties of nursery mulberries (weeping,ect.) and haven't had very good luck with them but my native red ones do great. They also usually have fruit most of the summer here. Unless you are trying for a grafted type, if you have bad luck with a nursery tree, try getting a sprout from someone that has a tree in your area or even planting from seed, they grow fast. Hopefully someone from the South will help you out.

 

[bb livestock]

They grow wild in iowa.

 

[thedollysmama]

Birds are your enemy. And finding a fruiting tree can be challenging, too, but the fruit is great and you can feed the leaves to critters, too.

 

[FlySammyJ]

I've heard birds love mulberries so much that some folks plant them as decoys for their main berry patch. Maybe if you can't keep the birds off, consider the mulberries an investment in insect control and go ahead and plant blackberries?

 

[nok13]

ugh. i would willingly ship u our 60 year old mulberry that is across from my stairs to my apartment; just now its flowers are falling all over my steps, and the bottom and on the side porch... the dogs are tracking them in as they cling to the dogs' fur; they srcunch under our shoes, they attract flies... and soon there will be tons of mulberries, the green/white variety. very sweet, but the fruit is high up since the tree has been pruned as its branches were interfereing with anyone trying to walk on our path to the neighbhorhood... however, it gives great shade, an important factor here, and fast fast grower, and now that i have chickens, well, the fruit will msot likely go to them (the fruit that is fallen, whish is most, some kids manage to climb and get to the fruit on the tree).... also, goats love their leaves, ans in the fall when all the leaves fall off on to my stairs and porch, i shove them in to the chicken yard, the chickens love them, and they are great compost.

i know that here, there are certain varieties and also the male trees that dont fruit so are not a nuisansce unless u want the fruit.

they grow really well here: jerusalem area, arid, high up, rain only some in winter, no rain in summer... cold nights, hot days in summer, cold days and nights in winter. (no real spring or fall).

 

[pmcatnip]

Not yet, but after trying the fruit I loved it and am adding it to the garden! I'm about to plant two contorted mulberry trees from a nursery. We'll see how they do.

 

[bandbaustin]

THey spread like mad, I have them all over here but my favorite is the weeping mulberry i have

 

[pmcatnip]

So how big is a typical mulberry at maturity? I've only found one source online for what I have (contorted mulberries) it says they get about 6-8 ft. But since it's only once source I'm a little uncertain.

 

[3riverschick]

Just wondering if anyone else grows mulberries. I'm about to close on the mini-farm and that's one of the things I'm hoping to do! I haven't ordered a tree yet b/c you can't plant 'em until after the last frost but you need to get 'em in the ground ASAP upon arrival. If anyone else is growing them, especially in the South, I'd love to know how you got them through the first couple of summers! Thanks!!

Hi,
When we bought our old farm house there was an old Mulberry tree outside the kicthen door. It was 20 ft. tall. We finally had it cut down the 2nd year we lived here because of all the fruit flies it attracted during berry season. If you get a tree, plant it far from dwellings so you can open your door durig berry season without being invaded by fruit flies! Yum, they sure were good, tho!
Karen in western PA, USa