What to do with a mulberry tree?

last year

A "Trader" mulberry tree came home with me the other day. I've wanted a mulberry tree for a while, for the fruit. I've tried twice before with small starts and mail order and failed both times. So when I stumbled on this nice tree that is indeed the size of a tree and not a starter whip I jumped on it.

My understanding is they grow pretty fast and they're big, so I'm not sure what to do with it. I could put in out on the property somewhere, maybe about halfway between the house and road so the fruit would drop on the grass where we don't walk often, or I could put it out in the back with the rest of the fruit trees. Teh problem there is the mulberry might end up shading out the others, the others will probably only top out at around 15' or so. Last option is to grow it in a large pot, I can store it in the barn over the winter.

I'm just not confident what my best option here is. Any advice?

Featured Answer

socalnolympia

last year

last modified: last year

Mulberry trees are beautiful with their big leaves and make great shade trees. But they can be very messy, dropping all the fruit which (if it is not the white variety) stains everything with its dark juice and gets squished under foot. The fruit is good to snack on but not really of the highest quality (in many people's opinion). Livestock like eating the leaves and there are many moth and butterfly caterpillars that eat the leaves. The leaves can also be made into a tea which is said to help lower blood sugar, though it's probably not good to drink too much of the tea and the flavor is just so-so.

Mulberry juice does mix well with elderberry juice, and the two flavors complement each other, since mulberry is a little more sweet, "bland" and muddled in taste, while pure elderberry can be too tart, acidic, tannic and "intense". (Realize that elderberry has to be slightly cooked before eaten)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

callirhoe123
last year
Put it out front where you don't walk. The fruit makes a real mess.
porkchop_z5b_MI thanked callirhoe123
cooper8828
last year
It really does. Neighbor has one that hangs over our driveway. We now have to park one car in the street until mulberry season is over. I do love the shade the rest of the summer, though. Also, the seedlings pop up everywhere.
porkchop_z5b_MI thanked cooper8828
Related Professionals
Greenville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Jackson Landscape Contractors · Dodge City Home Builders · Florence Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Idaho Falls Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Hilo Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Columbus Home Additions · San Bernardino Home Additions · San Francisco Home Additions · Shreveport Landscape Contractors · London Landscape Contractors · Starkville Home Additions · Enfield Home Additions · Flint Home Additions · Leamington Home Additions
lisaam
last year
Dogs like to eat mulberries, this can have unhappy effects.
porkchop_z5b_MI thanked lisaam
porkchop_z5b_MI
Original Author
last year
I figured out the perfect spot for it. I have to have a very large, mostly dead chokecherry removed that's at the back of the pasture -- the mulberry will be a perfect replacement since it will (supposedly) grow quickly, and I don't go back there all that often, though I can when I want some berries, so the messiness won't be a problem.
PRO
beesneeds
last year
I got them like wild in my yard, heh, weeds. The biggest one is behind the two story barn, and just a little bit taller than it. The smallest ones I've kept trimmed down and are shrubs that are knee to chest height. Got one that is the right size for snacking if one is tall, and another that has gotten too tall and I'll be giving it a hard lop off this dormant season.
porkchop_z5b_MI thanked beesneeds