mulberry and grape vine varieties

[samsmom]

was researching mulberry trees and came across several different varieties, are they all safe? is one better than the rest? can i feed fruit or just leaves? same questions for grape vines! btw-i have a 10 month old sulcata and live in east texas!

 

[Tom]

There are basically two mulberry tree types, the red and the white and then a few other varieties within the two species. There are some smaller varieties and a "weeping" variety. I would not feed the fruit to a sulcata. A little bit once in a while won't kill them, but all that sugar is not what they need. The leaves are great though.

Same thing with grape vines. There are all sort of varieties and I feed the leaves of them all. I have a bunch of different types. I pinch off the beginning grape clusters and supposedly that gives you more vine and leaf growth.

 

[lynnedit]

They are all good.
Traditional Mulberries have messy fruit.They also sell fruitless Mulberries, less messy. Depends on where in your yard it will be located.
You can also get dwarf fruitless Mulberries (seasonally from coastal silkworms, he's on this forum).
But a Sulcata can eat a lot, so maybe a dwarf version isn't practical, lol.

Grapevines are great, because once established, a Sulcata is your only hope for keeping it trimmed, lol. I cut mine down to an 18" stump every year and get plenty of vines (not interested in grapes).

 

[samsmom]

thanks tom and lynne! that helps me decide where to plant both. didn't think i wanted fruit to fall into enclosure but just making sure!