Black Mulberry

Morus nigra

• Position: full sun
• Soil: moist, well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: slow-growing
• Flowering period: May to June
• Hardiness: fully hardy

  
  A stately, rounded tree with heart-shaped leaves, turning yellow in autumn, and insignificant pale green flowers followed by delicious, slightly acidic raspberry-like fruit in late summer. Mulberries also make lovely specimen trees in a lawn where the gnarled branches can be admired. This also makes it easier to pick the fruit; as all that is needed is to spread a sheet under the canopy and gently shake the branches so that the mulberries fall from the tree. Keep in mind that these plants generally take around 7-10 years to produce fruit. Ours are already 3-4 years old.
  

• Garden care: Prepare the ground well before planting. Plant in full sun out of cold, drying winds. Stake for the first few years and prune in winter, as the trees 'bleed' at other times of the year. Little pruning is needed, only to remove low, dead, diseased or crossing branches.