Mulberries

[Thomzo]

Just wanted to share my excitement at mulberries after ten years of waiting. Woo hoo

[Green Aura]

Congratulations

[doofaloofa]

Just wanted to share my excitement at mulberries after ten years of waiting. Woo hoo

great news

I have been trying to establish seed raised plants for a few years now, but I'm haveing problems getting them not to die after planting out (only about 1 in 5 has not just died in the first year)

Any hints?

[ojay54]

My favorite fruit.Sadly ,in theory at least,the only one that won't fit in my garden,there doesn't seem to have been any suitable dwarfing stock(or perhaps there's been insufficient demand for any nurseryman to bother trying).But wait !

A couple of American articles have suggested that by planting in large containers,they are partially 'bonsied' (as it were) and they fruit profusely when grown this way.

I'm going to give this a go this backend,cant wait.

[doofaloofa]

A couple of American articles have suggested that by planting in large containers,they are partially 'bonsied' (as it were) and they fruit profusely when grown this way.

I have 4 seedlings left

I might try containering one

[Thomzo]

Just wanted to share my excitement at mulberries after ten years of waiting. Woo hoo

great news

I have been trying to establish seed raised plants for a few years now, but I'm haveing problems getting them not to die after planting out (only about 1 in 5 has not just died in the first year)

Any hints?

Sorry, not really. I bought mine as a young tree ten years ago. It's in quite a shady location which might explain the slow development.

[Skippy]

Has anyone had any experience of taking and growing cuttings? A customer of mine has asked me to remove , somewhat reluctantly , a mulberry tree and I would like to take some cuttings to try to grow. This is partly for the customer to be honest , the tree is just in the wrong position so needs to be removed but she does love it so perhaps one or two in large pots could be an answer. The tree in question is around 12 ft tall at the moment.

[ojay54]

Seeing as it's a mulberry,12ft?...Transplant it. A good bit of work,but well worth it.

[Skippy]

Transplant would be difficult. The tree is only around 12ft tall but looking at the trunk which must be eight inches in diameter it seems to have been cut back some time ago. The problem with the tree is it's roots as they are spreading out and lifting the Tarmac on the neighbours driveway . The tree is almost on the boundary line and I was thinking of cutting the roots rather than trying to lift them by digging up the drive if I can avoid it. That said I could , I suppose , cut the trunk lowish and lift the albeit lopsided root system. I'm lead to believe mulberries are relatively shallow rooted so apart from the roots under the Tarmac it may be possible to lift fairly intact.

[ojay54]

They 're shallow rooted,and may well put up with a bit of root pruning.I've a bit of experience planting mature trees(much,much bigger than this one.)It's all in the aftercare,plant with a piece of flexi pipe at each corner of the pit,going down to the bottom of the rootball. Water through these every dry day for 6-8 months.Amazing how big you can shift them.Who lays tarmac near the base of a mulberry?....the neighbours from hell that's who!

[doofaloofa]

[diggernotdreamer]

I agree, transplant it. I lifted a pear tree that had been in for a few years, chopped round dug it out, cut the tap root and replanted it again, watered well and it flowered and fruited better than it ever had. Seems a shame to waste a mulberry

[Skippy]

I've had a look in the shed and , more the pity , don't seem to have one of those tools doofa . However , I do have a heavy weight engine hoist and chain blocks that could very well pull the root up.
It might be neighbours from hell who put the Tarmac down or then again it might be someone sticking a mulberry in a less than ideal place. Blaming anyone won't really help even if it makes me or the customer feel better. It doesn't help that the garden is what would be described as "busy" in that there are a lot of other plants close by and of course I want to minimise damage to them. To be honest I would like to take out the fence panel/panels that is right next to the tree but even that in itself is a task. Either way I would still have to do some serious pruning to the tree simply in order to make it manageable and movable. I will have to have a chat with the customer.
Funnily enough digger I moved a pear tree a decade ago despite " professional" advice that it wouldn't work. It did work and has done well until this year when it seems to have died but not that that's related to the transplant I think.

[Skippy]

An update. The tree has now been removed . I had to cut through the root that disappeared under next doors drive but the rest came out with only a little damage. I was forced to trim the branches purely from a transport aspect and once out I placed the stump on free cycle and delivered it a day or two later so at least it will have a fighting chance rather than simply ending up as firewood.

[Green Aura]

Oh good, that's a much happier outcome.