mulberry

[CharlieM]

I bought a dwarf fruitless mulberry tree from a site that I think was called, coastal silkworms. something like that, sorry I can't remember the exact name. now if my tortoise would just figure out that she is supposed to eat the leaves I'd have it made

Coastal is a member here. I bought three weeping trees from him and gave one to Allegra. Mine are also slower to grow than other mulberry trees I have but they are in pots.

 

[Prairie Mom]

No, Prairie. I found it at a local nursery. It had been there so long that it blew out the bottom of the pot and had rooted deep in the ground. It looked really dead when I got it home. The fruit is black and tiny.

Darn! Thanks for letting me know. I can't believe it blew out the pot! Those are some roots! Hopefully it recovers for you.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Ebay sells them from time to time.

I'll check it out. Thanks!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I forgot to mention that our extra loud, bright green,wild parrots get most of the berries....and my grapes. Another animal from the pet trade that thrives here! They do attract birds.

 

[leopard777]

how tall does a dwarf mulberry grows ? and a normal one ?

 

[leigti]

how tall does a dwarf mulberry grows ? and a normal one ?

I don't really know, the dwarf one I bought is about 2 feet tall right now. I was told I can put it in a container if I want to. I would figure around five or 6 feet but you can keep them trimmed to whatever size you want. A regular mulberry tree gets 20 or 30 or more feet possibly.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My dwarf is in a very large pot and is about 6'. I think it is fully grown.

 

[dmmj]

Dwarf treees usually reach around 8 feet, normal ones can reach 15 to 20 feet, and more, If you plant the top knot of the tree, it will no longer be dwarf, and grow to full size.

 

[Jacqui]

The nice thing about the "normal" mulberry is it grows so fast and is easy to trim and train to what you want it to do. They don't have to grow tall, you can make the branches grow horizontally even.

 

[Prairie Mom]

The nice thing about the "normal" mulberry is it grows so fast and is easy to trim and train to what you want it to do. They don't have to grow tall, you can make the branches grow horizontally even.

Jacqui, do you think it would be possible to train the trees to be a shrub-like hedge? I'm also wondering if they would still fruit if I kept the tree cut back to be smaller (6-10 ft)?

 

[bouaboua]

I hope my are fruitless one. I bought three last year.

 

[Dizisdalife]

Mulberry leaves are one of the foods that my sulcata ate the very first time he saw them. No introduction necessary. He didn't sniff them once before starting to eat as much as I would feed him. I don't have a mulberry tree in my yard, but my neighbor has one of those 30' tall monsters. And I have a friend across town, about a 40 minute drive, that has several mature mulberry trees. Guess which leaves my sulcata prefers? Yes, the ones from my friends trees, 40 minutes from my house. In the spring when there is new growth my sulcata will eat from either tree. In summer or fall he will eat only what I bring him from my friends tree. The only difference in the two sources that I can find is that my neighbor never trims his tree and my friend cuts his all the way back to the trunk every year after the leaves have dropped. Maybe there are other differences, or my sulcata enjoys seeing my drive 40 minutes to get his food.

 

[Jacqui]

Jacqui, do you think it would be possible to train the trees to be a shrub-like hedge? I'm also wondering if they would still fruit if I kept the tree cut back to be smaller (6-10 ft)?

Yes, you could make them into a hedge, but remember you will loose all leaves in the fall. I had one I kept down to a ball shape on a trunk, but this year I let it grow out. I might try to get it back to a ball, so I could take pictures next year. I have one I have left as a shrubby bush, rather then a tree. I have several in my fence line that while not kept pruned to a hedge, are kept short to serve as a human view blocker. Each winter I cut them down to ground stubs and they come back in the spring. None of my short ones have yet fruited, so maybe because they never get any aged branches on them it stops that? Who knows. I can't recall at what height or age the one I let grow tall started producing. I don't eat mulberries, so I never paid attention.

 

[Jacqui]

. Maybe there are other differences, or my sulcata enjoys seeing my drive 40 minutes to get his food.

Maybe varieties too are different? I know I never really liked the mulberries I ever had, but when my daughter rented a house going to college, there was a mulberry tree with really good tasting fruit. I have never eaten the leaves, but I bet there is a difference in leaf taste, too.

 

[Tom]

Mulberry leaves are one of the foods that my sulcata ate the very first time he saw them. No introduction necessary. He didn't sniff them once before starting to eat as much as I would feed him. I don't have a mulberry tree in my yard, but my neighbor has one of those 30' tall monsters. And I have a friend across town, about a 40 minute drive, that has several mature mulberry trees. Guess which leaves my sulcata prefers? Yes, the ones from my friends trees, 40 minutes from my house. In the spring when there is new growth my sulcata will eat from either tree. In summer or fall he will eat only what I bring him from my friends tree. The only difference in the two sources that I can find is that my neighbor never trims his tree and my friend cuts his all the way back to the trunk every year after the leaves have dropped. Maybe there are other differences, or my sulcata enjoys seeing my drive 40 minutes to get his food.

Interesting observation Joe. My little piggies are so hungry in the summer that they gobble up any mulberry leaves I toss in. I've ben truing to figure out how much to trim my own trees back each year.

 

[Tom]

Maybe varieties too are different? I know I never really liked the mulberries I ever had, but when my daughter rented a house going to college, there was a mulberry tree with really good tasting fruit. I have never eaten the leaves, but I bet there is a difference in leaf taste, too.

I see a big difference in color, texture and tenderness from tree to tree. Never done a taste test though. Out here some trees stay green and hold their leaves much farther into the fall season too. Some out here grow big giant leaves too. Twice the size of my hand. My tortoises seem to like them all.

 

[Prairie Mom]

I've been curious about White Mulberries. If anyone has tasted them, please let me know! I would assume that the white would help with staining and I've heard they're really good for you. I want the leaves for my tortoises and am interested in having fruiting varieties to taste and share with my local birds and squirrels. I've read that animals love the berries so much that people will plant them as a way of keeping animals interest in their gardens low.

(p.s. @Jacqui thanks for answering every single question I had about pruning and fruiting. I'd be curious to see the pruning you do later)

 

[Yvonne G]

Jacqui:

The berries form on old growth. So when you cut the tree all the way back like that, you only have new growth, thus, no berries.

My tortoise partner, William, bought several of the "white" mulberry variety and planted them along the front of my Aldabran yard. He's trimming them and training them to grow horizontal branches along the fence line. The trees are not quite a year old in this picture:

 

[Prairie Mom]

Jacqui:

The berries form on old growth. So when you cut the tree all the way back like that, you only have new growth, thus, no berries.

My tortoise partner, William, bought several of the "white" mulberry variety and planted them along the front of my Aldabran yard. He's trimming them and training them to grow horizontal branches along the fence line. The trees are not quite a year old in this picture:

View attachment 105848

Interesting! Thanks for posting this. So, if you train the branches to grow horizontally the way you and Jacqui suggested, I would assume that they would stay small, but have old enough branches to bear fruit (?)---if it works out like that, I definitely want to do this! I have way too much shade in my yard and don't really need any more huge trees, but would love to try the fruit.

 

[leopard777]

wow , it grows so high , but it will take how many years ?
...looks like i have to choose a good spot to plant it into the ground .