Berries from a mulberry tree:

The Black Mulberry comes from Iran and Armenia, where it can still be found in hilly and flat regions. It has been introduced in our regions since the Middle Ages and through the trade at that time between Northern and Southern Europe. The mulberry tree is found as a solitary tree in old monastery and castle gardens. You could also find this tree a lot in old rectory gardens. Usually they are crooked tall trees.

The inconspicuous flowers are unisexual and small. The males are arranged in round catkins and fall off after flowering. The females are arranged in more or less elongated catkins. The flowers are greenish, April-May. There are mulberry trees that ONLY bear male flowers and are therefore sterile (including the varieties ‘Fruitless’ and ‘Stribling’.

Botanical features of the Morus nigra:

Mulberries are very similar to blackberries and raspberries. They consist of small, separate berries that sit on a central cone. The color at maturity is dark red to almost black. The taste of a ripe mulberry is exceptionally sour-sweet and aromatic. It is truly a fruit with a fine taste. The fruits are very soft so that they lose their juice at the slightest touch and leave red marks on fingers and clothes that are difficult to remove.

The mulberry tree or shrub can grow quite old.

Mulberries sprout annually late in the spring.

The crown of the mulberry trees is half open.

Flowering is in May-June. The yellow-green flowers are not very conspicuous.

The black-red, tasty mulberry fruits ripen in August or September. Some mulberry varieties must be harvested in 1 week. There are also varieties that produce ripe fruits for 2-3 weeks.

The mulberry tree grows slowly and usually only bears fruit after 6 – 8 (10) years. The trees can become very old (100 years and more), provided the appropriate growing conditions.

Propagation of the Morus nigra:

You can buy sown and cut mulberry plants, but sometimes also trees grafted on the Morus alba (white mulberry) rootstock. With the grafted mulberry trees, the game storage must be regularly removed.

The black mulberry can be propagated by winter cuttings / twig cuttings / wood cuttings. Time: late November – early December. The cuttings for the winter cuttings must be very sturdy. You can even use perennial wood that has a thickness of 5 to 8 cm.

Cutting length 30-50 cm. Any side twigs are shortened at 1-2 eyes.

Place the winter cuttings individually or in pairs in a plastic pot filled with cuttings soil.

The pots with woody cuttings are placed in a slightly heated place until they are rooted after a few months. Target temperature for cuttings 8 to 14°C. The humidity must be sufficiently high.