North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Sheridan Shumway <rattler_mt@yahoo.com>]

the weeping mulberry only gets as high as you train it.....it seems to be a 
very hardy variety surviving two of out brutal winters so far with the only 
real protection being it fairly close to the south side of the house so it 
doesnt get directly nailed by the north winds.....it has had a couple nights 
of -60 air temps(without counting windchill) and have only experienced about 
5-10% winter kill which isnt much given how fast it will grow....the berries 
however seem to be small so far but it produces alot......the flavor is good 
but kind of one dimensional as its mainly sweet with no tart like a raspberry 
has to balance it....i have not had a chance to compare it to any other 
mulberry as they arent native to the high plains and most cultivars say they 
arent hardy to zone 4 so i havent tried them....

i also have a contorted mulberry it suffers closer to 20-25% winter kill but 
to abundant quick growth in the spring its not a big issue and i think out 
winters are just to cold for it and the flower buds in the wood die and it 
never produces fruit here but its a cool looking bush that the grasshoppers 
refuse to eat so i think im going to keep it around, and who knows, if we get 
a mild winter one year i may get fruit...

both plants are from One Green World originally and if anyone has 
successfully fruited other good tasting mulberry varieties in zone 4 i would 
really be interested....

Sheridan S.
northeast Montana, zone 3 or 4