There are fruits you never find in the supermarket, not because they are rare, but simply because they cannot be sold. The mulberry is such a fruit. Fully ripe it is so soft and juicy that it crushes at the slightest pressure and loses juice. For the trade that is a knockout criterion, for the gardener a gift, for the true, honey-sweet mulberry exists only fresh from your own tree.
Whoever has once nibbled a fully ripe mulberry straight from the twig understands the enthusiasm. Its flavour lies between blackberry and raspberry, with a special, honey-like sweetness. This article introduces the mulberry tree to you, a robust, long-lived nibble tree that stands in hardly any garden and should stand in many more.
The fruit you cannot buy
The reason the mulberry is hardly known lies in its tenderness. The fruit looks like an elongated blackberry and is similarly built, but fully ripe it is extremely soft and bursts at the smallest touch. Already when picking the fingers turn dark red. Transport across the wholesale market into the supermarket shelf is thus impossible, the fruit would arrive as puree.
For the home garden that is the best news of all. For this full ripeness, at which the mulberry develops its whole, honey-like sweetness, you experience only when you nibble it straight from the tree. Similar to the serviceberry, the mulberry is thus a secret pleasure reserved for your own garden.
White, red or black
There are three important mulberry species that differ in fruit and use. The choice is worthwhile, for each has its own character.
The three mulberry species
- Black mulberry
Morus nigra is considered the most aromatic. Its deep-dark fruits are sweet-sour and intense. It is a little more warmth-loving and grows rather slowly, but becomes very old.
- White mulberry
Morus alba bears white to pink or violet fruits that are very mild and honey-sweet but less spicy. It is robust, fast-growing and the classic food plant of the silkworm.
- Red mulberry
Morus rubra comes from North America and bears strongly coloured, aromatic fruits. It is rarer here but also a good nibble mulberry.
- As tree or shrub
All can be kept by pruning as a handy shrub or small tree. Unpruned, especially the white and red mulberry become large, spreading trees.
A glance at the leaf reveals the family and a botanical peculiarity: the leaves of the mulberry are differently shaped on the same tree, from entire-heart-shaped to deeply lobed. This leaf variety is typical. The white mulberry is moreover historically famous as the only food plant of the silkworm, which is why it was once planted everywhere silk was produced.
Robust, long-lived, easy-care
The mulberry tree is an uncomplicated fellow. It wants a full-sun, warm spot, but is otherwise little fussy, tolerates heat and drought well and copes with most soils. In times of hotter summers it is a future-proof garden tree that handles dry spells too.
Care it hardly needs. A cut is only necessary to limit the size or keep the tree in shape, for unpruned especially the white mulberry can grow large. Prune best in winter if needed, and reckon with some bleeding sap at the cuts. Diseases and pests play practically no role.
The best fruit is the one you cannot buy. Fully ripe too soft for the trade, honey-sweet only from your own tree: the mulberry is a robust, long-lived nibble tree for any sunny garden.
The core idea for the mulberry
Frequently asked questions
Why are there no mulberries in the supermarket?
Because fully ripe mulberries are extremely soft and pressure-sensitive and crush during transport. They cannot be stored and shipped. The full, honey-sweet ripeness you therefore experience only with your own tree, straight and fresh from the twig.
Which mulberry tastes best?
A matter of taste. The black mulberry (Morus nigra) is considered the most aromatic with a sweet-sour, intense flavour. The white mulberry is milder and honey-sweet, but less spicy. Both are excellent nibble fruits.
How big does a mulberry tree grow?
Very variable depending on species and pruning. Unpruned, especially white and red mulberry become large, spreading trees. By regular pruning, though, the mulberry can be kept well as a handy shrub or small tree.
When are mulberries ripe?
In summer, about weeks 28 to 34, over a long period, because the fruits ripen gradually. Ripe fruits are deep-dark coloured, soft and drop by themselves at a light shake. That is used with a cloth under the tree.
Is the mulberry easy-care?
Yes, very. It is robust, heat- and drought-tolerant, city-climate-proof and barely attacked by diseases. It needs only occasional pruning to limit size and grows very old and productive.
