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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] mulberries, apple pests

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  • From: "William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] mulberries, apple pests
  • Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:38:20 -0500


'Illinois Everbearing' is an interspecific cross between White Mulberry and
Red Mulberry, the native American species. If this cross is tasty, it makes
me wonder how the pure Red Mulberry would taste, undiluted by the bland White
Mulberry. Is anyone growing that?


The red mulberry and some white mulberries - and all sorts of crosses, I suppose - grow like weeds around here. I always loved the red mulberries as a kid (the whites, not so much), and I thought about planting one. But the problem is that they are really variable in taste. Some are excellent, most are pretty good, and some are lousy. Well, I've had white mulberries that were good, too, and others that were incredibly bland. Basically, if I just dug up a seedling somewhere - they sprout along every fence row - I wouldn't know what I got until it started bearing.

I heard such good things about the Illinois Everbearing mulberry that I planted one a couple of years ago. It never broke dormancy, so they sent me a replacement that grew like a weed. But after the first winter, that one never broke dormancy, either! I planted a third - in a different location this time - and it grew like crazy. Still don't know if it will break dormancy this year (though I accidentally split the trunk down the middle last fall, which probably won't help much).

I'm not having much luck, but I do love mulberries! Oh, yeah, I've got another on order this spring - a Geraldi dwarf mulberry, this time. :-)

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

--
We need a President who understands the fundamental truth that's been at the heart of America's economic success - that each American does better when all Americans do better; that the well-being of American business and the American people are aligned. - Sen. Barack Obama




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