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  • From: "Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [NAFEX] Mulberries, invasive? (and hardy?)
  • Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 09:50:19 -0600

Here in St. Paul, Minn., it's not unusual to see volunteer Russian
mulberry (M. alba) trees that have been planted by the birds. They seem
to fruit very well here, which is probably USDA Hardiness Zone 4b.

I've also seen a productive mulberry east of here, on a friend's farm in
Wisconsin, where it's colder--possibly Zone 4a or 3b. I don't know
whether that tree was M. alba, M. rubra or a hybrid of the two. I was
surprised to see the fruit on it ripen over a very extended period,
which leads me to think it may have been Illinois Everbearing.

In western Kansas (probably USDA Hardiness Zone 5b), we used Russian
mulberry in windbreaks because it tolerated the heat and periodic drouth
well. It's common to see volunteer Russian mulberry trees in the
ditches and in fencelines there also. However, with an annual rainfall
of only 19 inches, we were grateful for those weed trees and really
didn't have to worry about their infesting the woods (only places trees
grow naturally are in ravines, at the base of northern slopes, in
depressions, and in the bottomlands along creeks and rivers).

Russian mulberry's fruit characteristics are very variable. We had
three trees behind a chicken house and one had very large, pink berries;
another had medium-sizer dark purple berries; and the third had small
white berries. All the fruit were very sweet when fully ripe and a real
treat for us kids (but then we even ate wild plums, chokecherries and
hackberries with relish). We'd also pick mulberries for mom, who turned
them into pies or jam (sometimes mixed with rhubarb to give a little
tartness to the finished product). Some of our neighbors made mulberry
wine, used them on Kuchen and in filled dumplings similar to vareniki.

Someone mentioned having a mulberry tree from a nursery in South Dakota.
If it was from Gurney's, it is definitely M. alba. That species is
hardy at Yankton, where Gurney's has its production facilities. -- Sam
Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn.

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of tanis grif
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 8:59 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Mulberries, invasive? (and hardy?)


Morus alba are hardy at least into z4. Poor soil OK. They get a twig
die-back &/or stem canker sometimes, which can look like winter kill.


--- kieran or donna <> wrote:

> I thought that M. alba was borderline hardy here in Z6, so it seems
> unlikely that it would grow further north. Perhaps the native rubras
> do especially well around the edge of the prairies? That would make
> them invasive where Dave is, but not here where they have to compete
> with other trees and the soil is not so good. Just a thought. Helene,

> I would definitely get seeds, plenty of them to hedge your bets that
> you will get something as hardy as the original tree. Also, if you
> are there in summer to gather fruit for seeds, also take cuttings.
> Someone, maybe Lucky, once assured me that softwood cuttings of
> mulberry were very easy to root. Good luck! Donna
>

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  • RE: [NAFEX] Mulberries, invasive? (and hardy?), Brungardt, Sam, 02/17/2005

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