Blog by Cindy Yee
Last summer, after tasting my friend and fellow Master Gardener Stephanie's delicious mulberries, I ordered a dwarf everbearing mulberry, Morus nigra from Stark Brothers online. Stephanie's mulberry is in a relatively small pot, healthy, compact, and covered in berries.
My backyard is all planted up, and installing a new tree would involve digging up some other tree first. Removing an in-ground tree and planting a new one is problematic because we have invasive roots from a neighboring yard to contend with. Since we had an empty half wine barrel, it was the obvious container to plant the thin, stick-like tree that arrived. I topped it at 2.5 feet.
Fast forward to June 2025, the "dwarf" mulberry has had a major growth spurt and now towers at least 3 feet taller than the fence. It does not look like the same variety as Stephanie's, as the leaves are significantly larger and the tree is less compact. There have been no flowers yet, but I've made myself mulberry leaf tea on a few occasions, and tried tuna salad (with chopped cranberries and celery) wrapped in mulberry leaves. Both tasted very good! Stark's description says it can be kept 2-6 feet tall if desired, and will produce medium/large berries in 2-3 years. Since the growth is so vigorous, it will be pruned a little, and cuttings will be rooted for the Fall Plant Exchange.
Can't wait to taste mulberries from my tree. Sitting on our patio is not the most practical place for it long-term, because the fruit drop could cause staining. There is a Cara Cara orange in the ground that at 7 years old has yet to carry a single fruit to maturity, and "one more year" is getting exasperating. Perhaps that will be the tree to remove and replace with the mulberry in its half wine barrel. However, so as not to replace one dud with another, the mulberry needs to earn its place by fruiting first. The saying "hope reigns supreme" suddenly came to mind. Yes, LOL, as a challenged gardener, that does apply to me.
Cheers and Happy Gardening!
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/elidacris-9950591/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4599442">Elida Cris Fagundes</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4599442">Pixabay</a>