I’m one of those who said it is pretty bland. But, it is exactly what you are looking for with respect to size. After 5 years, mine is about 5 feet tall, though it is pretty wide and dense (a good thing I think, as there is more fruiting area then). I’m planning to graft over it this year and see if the new growth stays small, or if it goes for the sky.
Like you, I wanted to keep an IE small and grew it in a pot. I managed to kill mine, so I can only share what didn’t work. The only trace I still have of the IE is a single branch on a wild mulberry which I grafted from the potted plant soon before its demise. In 2012, when I did this, I kept better records than now of how I made my potting mixes:
10 gal pine bark- 42%
5 gal Turface- 22%
1.5 gal leaf mulch (LM)- 7%
1.5 gal garden soil (high in LM)- 7%
5 gal perlite- 22%
23 gal
This mix went towards the IE in a 15 gallon fabric container and a Karmmijn De Sonnaville (M27) in a 10 gallon Roottrapper II (white sided). Both trees died, though the KDS took longer and was more due to insufficient watering.
I got 2 from Whitman last year - both in one gallon containers. I planted them, they leafed out nice and healthy. Then surprisingly they both set fruit (a lot for the 2 foot size of the things) in their first leaf. The only problem was I was out of town when most of them ripened and the trees were almost bare and the birds were fat by the time I got back. The that I was able to protect when I got back did taste was promising, but certainly not enough for any verdict.
By the way, a deer wandered into the yard later in the summer and ate all the leaves off one so, just like most fruit trees, beware of deer pressure. Since they are short and always will be you’ll need to protect them. I used a raw egg and dish soap spray suggested by Alan and that seemed to keep them off.
Also, they are grafted on some type of root stock (probably just seedling alba, rubra or hybrids that pop up) so beware of anything coming up from below the graft because the shoots from the rootstock will grow much faster than the Geraldi and will quickly dwarf the dwarf. Seeing that they were grafted, I did snip a little wood off them when they were dormant and will try grafting it to chance seedlings the birds have generously planted in my strawberry bed. Perhaps they were paying me back for the fruit they had stolen.
I am a fan of mulberries but be advised that a mulberry too close to your house can lead to a car, deck , or sidewide covered with purple bird droppings.
Does anybody know if it is possible to keep a Illinois ever bearing Mulberry tree pruned into a bush shape rather than a standard single trunk three that will reach to the skies. I have one planted that is about 7 foot tall, and is growing fast but I want to keep it pickable from the ground .
You can but from what others have said be prepared to prune it 3 or 4 times a year. I’m growing some in containers, but also will be planting out and trying to keep it fairly small. What I did is buy some root stock and I have three cultivars on one rootstock. I’ll try and make three scaffolds. I have two like that. One will be in ground and one will stay in a container. They have different cultivars so 6 different ones. I may switch them around and put the three best tasting ones on one tree. Also see which can survive my winters, may limit my options. One huge experiment. I have a couple other trees in containers. Only room to plant one out.
I’m looking for IEB scion if anybody wants to trade. I have these to offer besides my stone fruit.
Kokusa Korean
Beautiful Day
Oscar
Silk Hope
Wellington
Geraldi Dwarf Mulberry
Sweet Lavender
Here’s something I found a few years ago.Most Mulberries like to grow a lot,so like Drew pointed out,they need to be pruned much to keep them at a desired height.
I just checked on YouTube and there seemed to be a number of videos about this.bb https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=TJQeNqwBls8
I am very keen to keep my mulbs pick-able and under 10’ tall. Is that possible? The ones I grow are so vigorous, producing shoots that can exceed 8’ in a season! Summer pruning strategies/pinching tips seem like a good bet to reduce vigor. I have also been thinking about a biannual pollarding plan, I would head back to a basic scaffold structure and get a good harvest every other year. By alternating which limbs were pruned, an annual bearing could perhaps be possible…
My local IE mulberry tree was planted in Buckfield 25-30 years ago by an ethusiastic octegenarian orchardist, David. I visited that tree to collect scion wood several times over the years, and also stopped by to collect some fruit. “The birds cant keep up with it,” David said. Which seemed true, as any time I came by between July and October the were alway fruit for the picking from this generous tree. Easy to get a couple quarts just from the lower hanging limbs on a 35’ tree.
The flavor is very good, comparable to blackberry.
I was somewhat surprised when I came by to find that the tree had been removed, all that was there was a 23" stump and later found out David had also passed away…
I heard the had been a windstorm that damaged the tree, which had already been ‘repaired’ with cables. I will miss David, and somehow feel that remembrance in the trees I have grafted from his tree…
A pick came across on the web. Somewhere ?
Mulberry .
Looks like a full time job !
They seem to fruit on new wood. (Current season growth)
So maybe cutting the new growth back to a few buds each winter would work ?
No, wish I could! All will produce fruit this year, but even first year fruit is not great for many fruits. I know my choices were based on what people like with the exception of Silk Hope. I have seen many negative responses to that one. And zero to the others. Silk Hope was gifted to me as it looked great from descriptions, but I saw a few personal accounts where it was stated to be rather bland. Sometimes you have bad years and I have learned I have to try myself. So sure what people say you should take into account, but final verdict needs to be your own taste. Many a fruit described as bland was great for me!
Oscar has been the most praised. Wellington and Kokusa Korean tied for second most praised. Of course excluding Morus nigra trees. Speaking of which I have a seedling that was produced by a nigra tree in an area farther north than my location in zone 6. In Bulgaria. The tree was in trouble and produced male and female flowers so all genetics come from this tree. It is one foot tall, going on 2nd leaf in the spring. This has potential for us in colder zones. All those in zone 7 should have no trouble growing. I grew it out from seed the tree is famous really with two articles about it on the net.
Tsarigradska mulberry seedling from Vratsa Bulgaria
It’s possible it could be a male plant. i will just have to wait and see…
For now I’m protecting it from temps lower than 25F. I have high hopes for this extremely rare mulberry. It for sure is a Morus nigra too!
