Mulberry trees

[Trinity]

I have never seen them for sale. I think it is a case of finding a tree and picking them ourselves. They seem to be few and far between though :

Last year I was in Glastonbury Abbey with my son and his enthusiastic friend. After wondering why I hadn't heard from them for a half hour or so, they gleefully came out from under a huge tree - covered in a red substance. For some bizzare reason they'd decided that it would be cool to camofage their bodies with SQAUSHED MULBERRIES.

I'll never look at a mulberry tree the same again!

[Clara]

I've never seen mulberries for sale in the shops - anyone else?

I suspect that because the berries on one tree ripen over a period of time (about 6 weeks in my trees) rather than all at once they aren´t "commercially viable" - it is the same with persimmons (unless they pick them unripe and spray them with ethylene).

[pskipper]

I've never seen mulberries for sale in the shops - anyone else?

Our local garden center does them, not much use for people not in Wiltshire though!

[Cheezy]

I have never seen them for sale. I think it is a case of finding a tree and picking them ourselves. They seem to be few and far between though :

Try here, this is a brillient site, just wish I had a few acres to plant all the tree's.



https://secure.agroforestry.co.uk

Most have sold out until autmn next year, there is one variety available.

[frozenthunderbolt]

not sure bout the differnt parts of the uk, but here in nz you can get fruit within about 4 years.
just to note, there are at least 3 kinds of mulberries (types not cultivars - mite me untols numbers of those)
there is the white mulberry that grows Uber fast - ours ahs been in 4?5? years and is well above head hight ATM despite being "pruned" yearly, with a chain saw.
white mulberrys, are IMHO a waste of time except maybe as stock food - they are heavy bearing and INTENSLY sweet - might be good for making vodka i suppose. folliage makes good brouse for sheep (and maybe others). Have heard they can grow to 40 M - dont know if that is height or diameter.
Reds - two kinds - dont know the distinction, just know there is one.
We have recently planted 30 odd 15inch/45cm plants - DO use snail bait around them untill large - it is not just silkworms that love the leaves.
With a good bit of feeding 5-7 years should see them fruiting regularly give them 10,15-20 and they will get 10-15 Meters (30ish feet?) high and about the same accross, and provide more mulberries for jam, wine, dying and bird food than you can possibly use.
Have also read that in the USA pig farmers used to grow two trees - mulberries and acorns and that, with the grass and a minimum of food would fatten 12 pigs +.
They got litraly tons/tonnes? of berries from a single tree alone (admitedly an Old - 35-45 year tree fertilized with pig maure ), and many planted forests of them . . .

[Thomzo]

I used to get loads of fruit from a mature mulberry near Bristol (UK). They do fruit well. The best way to "pick" the fruit is to put a sheet on the ground underneath and let the fruit fall.

Zoe

[floraadora]

Oh do tell the location of the Bristol Mulberry tree, I've never seen one but then I didnt really know about them till I started foraging this year.

[Thomzo]

Oh do tell the location of the Bristol Mulberry tree, I've never seen one but then I didnt really know about them till I started foraging this year.

It's in someone's garden. I'm not sure how they would feel about someone sightseeing their trees

[floraadora]

Lol, oh well worth a try. :)

[Peggy Sue]

My friend has a massive mulberry tree, looks very mature but only gets a bit of fruit, from what she's said it's not long been producing so sounds like it does take ages to establish in the UK. And they are red mulberries.

[Clara]

Slightly OT, but if you can get your hands on some mulberries then try sun drying them.......they become like chewy sweets, very yummy to add to muesli, only problem is resisting the temptation to eat them as the become ready

[chalkie]

Hi Rohen
yes you can get 2 types,one white and then the black,when we bought our house in Bulgaria, i walked out the back of the house and saw all these trees,and asked the vendor what we could do with them,they used to silkworm farm them,but the silkworm moth is no longer around,so as we have over 70 of them,and there is only so much you can do with all the fruit,the trees range from 3yrs old to 20 yrs.
the young trees do produce fruit but not a lot,and before september you can cut the branches back to the base of the branch,and will re- shoot ready for next year,if you cut them to late you will not get shoots for fruiting in that year.
the leaves are stored by the Bulgarians for sheep and goat food they even eat them when dried.
hope this helps if i could load a photo on here would show ours.
all the best Tony Hilary