Mulberry
Mulberry trees are among the easiest trees to grow. They produce an abundance of fruit each year and usually start within a year or two. Prune them like other fruit trees to keep them down in size for ease of picking. No spraying and no pollinizer is required so only one tree is needed to produce fruit. We use Russian mulberry as the rootstock to maintain hardiness.
The 'Illinois Everbearing' mulberry is a hardy, very vigorous, productive tree, producing a long season of large black flavorful berries. It is considered to be a hybrid cross of the white and red native mulberry. Suited for zones 5b-8.
'Carman' is our sweetest large white mulberry. The fruit is large and ripens over a short period making it ideal for shaking the tree and collecting the sweet fruit on tarps for drying. Suited for zones 5b-8.
'Capsrun' is a hardy selection. It is a less vigorous grower than some but it makes up for it in production. The fruit is black medium size and needs to remain on the tree to sweeten. Suited for zones 5b-8.
'Ivory' is a sweet large white mulberry that turns pinkish as it ripens. The fruit is large and ripens over a short period making it ideal for shaking the tree and collecting the sweet fruit on tarps for drying. Suited for zones 5b-8.
Kokuso Mulberry has a large purple fruit that is 3-4 cm x .5 cm (1.5-2" x .5") that originated in Korea. It is early ripening, large, full flavoured and productive over a 3 week period. It is hardy for zone 5b-9.
'Italian' is a very productive, high quality, large, sweet purple fruit that ripens over a long season. Suited for zones 6b-9.
'Gerardi Dwarf' is a dark mulberry with fruit of good size. It was selected for its dwarf size of tree and tasty fruit, growing to about 3 m (12 feet) tall at maturity. Geradi Dwarf mulberry is originally from the Himalayas.
|
'Silk Hope' has excellent quality with a long fruiting season. It is widely adapted, tolerates drought or high humidity. Silk Hope Mulberry is similar to Illinois Everbearing, being a Morus alba x rubra hybrid. This is a North Carolina selection by A. J. Bullard. Zone 5-9. |
|
'Sweet Lavender' is a very sweet white fruit with a touch of lavender. Use 'Sweet Lavender' mulberry fresh or dried. On trial. Zone 6-9. |
The 'Pakistan' mulberry is a black variety that is also commonly referred to as the Himalayan mulberry. The fruit can be up to 10 cm long (4"). It is a dark fruit but non staining. It is hardy to zone 7b-10. In colder zones it should be pot grown and protected for the winter like a fig.
The red mulberry, Morus rubra is a native species on the endangered list in Canada, because it hybridizes readily with the white mulberry Morus alba that was inported from Asia. Red mulberry occurs in eastern North American forests. In Canada, it is only found in the Carolinian Zone, (the small area of Ontario southwest of Toronto to Sarnia down to the shores of Lake Erie). It is found near rivers, the shores of Lake Erie, and the slopes of the Niagara Escarpment. Suited for zone 6-8.
Our white mulberry seedlings, are used as a rootstock for our grafted cultivars. They are hardier than the native red mulberry originating in Russia. Though they are called "white" mulberry, the fruit can be dark or white. They are dioecious, that is they produce male and female flowers on separate plants. To produce viable seeds, a male tree is needed. Female trees will still produce fruit without a male.