Morus alba
White Mulberry
Common names: Mulberry tree, Silkworm mulberry
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Pruning
- Feb, Mar, Jul, Aug
- Harvest
- Jul–Aug
- Spacing
- 600 cm, rows 600 cm
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Raffi Kojian · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The White Mulberry (Morus alba) is a tall tree whose leaves once fed silkworms. Its fruits mature from white through pink to deep violet and taste honey‑sweet with a subtle acidity. The tree bears abundantly for weeks in midsummer (July, week 28 to August). It is heat‑tolerant, drought‑tolerant, and hardy in mild climates; young shoots may die back in late frost.
Care instructions
Plant the mulberry tree in spring (April, week 15) in a sunny, warm spot with well‑draining soil; a sheltered south wall is ideal. Water during the first years if dry. Prune sparingly in late winter (February, week 8), as heavy cuts can distort its shape. Expect berry stains on paths; avoid planting directly over a terrace.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
HarvestJul–Aug
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, well-drained, lime-loving, dry
The mulberry likes loose, free-draining soil; almost anything from sandy loam to loam is fine, preferably chalky. It tolerates dry and rather nutrient-poor conditions well, whereas waterlogging and permanently acidic soil do not suit it.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Mar, Apr, Jun
In early spring, as it shoots (March/April), put mature compost on the soil around the tree and rake it in shallowly, plus a little horn shavings for a nitrogen boost. A second light organic dose at the beginning of June helps fruit set. From mid-June, no more nitrogen, so fruit and wood ripen well.
Pruning
Prune your Morus alba only sparingly: in late winter (February/March, before it shoots), thin out dead wood, crossing branches and overly dense areas. Avoid heavier cuts and pruning in summer (except light thinning after harvest, week 28 to 32), because the cuts then bleed milky sap heavily.
Overwintering
Established white mulberries are hardy in the Central European lowlands and need no protection. Protect young trees in the first few years with a thick mulch layer of leaves or brushwood over the root zone and wrap the trunk in hessian; in a container they overwinter bright, cool and frost-free.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
- Layering
- Grafting
The white mulberry can be propagated in four ways, with cuttings the most dependable route for most hobby gardeners.
Cuttings (recommended): In summer, cut semi-ripe shoots 15 to 20 cm long, remove the lower leaves and leave only the top pair of leaves. Insert them into a sandy, peat-free substrate, because mulberries tolerate peat poorly. Keep the soil evenly moist, but without waterlogging. In a bright, warm spot roots form within a few weeks. Alternatively, hardwood cuttings in winter also work, or you can first root green shoots in a glass of water.
Layering: Bend a flexible young shoot into a shallow hollow in the ground, fix it there and cover the middle with soil so that the shoot tip sticks out. Since the layer stays connected to the mother plant, it cannot dry out. After a year roots have formed. Then separate it and transplant it.
Sowing: Obtain seeds from ripe fruits, wash off the flesh and dry the seeds. Before sowing, soak the seeds for 12 to 24 hours in lukewarm water, which improves the germination rate. Sow from May into a nutrient-poor, sandy, peat-free substrate. Mulberries are dark germinators, so cover the seeds lightly with soil. Keep the substrate constantly moist and warm; germination takes 2 to 4 weeks. Note: plants grown from seed often do not come true to the mother plant and need years to the first fruit. Sowing is mainly worthwhile for wild seedlings or for raising rootstocks.
Grafting: For named varieties and ornamental forms (e.g. the weeping ‘Pendula’), grafting onto a Morus alba rootstock is the only route that stays true to variety. Top grafting determines the later trunk height. Remove wild shoots from the rootstock immediately, otherwise they crowd out the graft. Best time: late winter to early spring, when the rootstock is growing but the scion is still dormant. For hobby gardeners, grafting is more demanding than cuttings or layering.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
For your garden
Grow White Mulberry yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
What other gardeners have written down about this variety, anonymous and voluntary.
No notes shared yet. Will you be the first to write one down?