I’m like a kid in a candy store when I come across a mulberry tree laden with fruit ready to pick. Who wouldn’t just stand and eat their fill?
Many of us may have done this, since mulberry trees grow in a wide range of climates and soils. Some are native to China, while others are native in the Midwest. Lately I am asking myself – why I don’t grow my own? I’ve got plenty of room, but can’t help considering the messy parts.
Mulberries are fast-growing trees with aggressive roots that can lift sidewalks and strangle drains. The fruitless kind grown to feed silkworms are large shade trees that need frequent pruning. Not the best tree, ornamental-wise, when there are so many better-behaved trees to choose from.
Fruit-bearing mulberries are the ones worth growing. And there are a few that are easy to grow and do well in drought conditions.
Also read: The dish on the other berries
You do need to take into account that fruiting mulberries are heavy bearers. That means they can drop more fruit than you can eat, and sometimes all at once. And this fruit can stain when it grabs on to your shoes and finds its way indoors.
Planted way out of the way, pruned and picked, a fruiting mulberry can offer buckets of berries for a family, and a treat for neighborhood birds.
In fact, if you’re a backyard birder, you’ll attract a host of fruit-loving birds such as bluebirds, orioles, tanagers and warblers in spring and early summer when the trees are laden with berries.
Cornell University suggests laying a tarp under the tree during the fruit drop season so you can harvest from what falls from the tree. It could keep your fingers cleaner too, since mulberries are known to stain fingertips.
From new plantings, you won’t wait around for fruit. Mulberries begin bearing at an early age.
The fruit is similar to blackberries and you can use it the same way: for cobblers, muffins, sorbets, pies and pancakes. And throw them into your smoothies. Dr. Oz says the mulberry is a “super-food” that provides protein and antioxidants; and the leaves, made into tea, inhibit the digestion of sugar – a benefit for diabetics.
Gary Matsuoka of Laguna Hills Nursery recommends these trees:
Black Beauty: Large, black fruit with sweet, flavorful flesh. This semi-dwarf variety should stay under 15 feet but can be trained as a bush under 5 feet. Deciduous – it leafs out in midspring.
Pakistan Red: Maroon fruit up to 4 inches in length with very sweet flesh. Fruit can be eaten well before fully ripe. The juice doesn’t stain Ripens in late spring or early summer. The tree can grow 20-30 feet; heavy summer pruning controls size.
Teas Weeping: Small, sweet, black fruit of excellent quality; heavy production. This small tree will weep to the ground – it is a novelty, and popular in children’s gardens.
White: Medium-size, mildly sweet and creamy white fruit. This tree can grow well over 30 feet tall and wide.
Contact the writer: cmcnatt@ocregister.com
