White mulberry

White mulberry: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Fast-growing deciduous tree of 8–15 m with a broad, rounded crown about 8 m across.

Leaf

Alternate, 6–15 cm, ovate to heart-shaped, toothed, glossy and smooth (not rough); irregularly lobed especially on young trees and shoots. White milky sap.

Bark

Light brown to grey, shallowly furrowed, with orange-tinged fissures.

Flower

Inconspicuous green, catkin-like flower clusters in May.

Fruit

White, pink or purple-black mulberries (1–2.5 cm) on a short stalk, June–August; sweet but bland.

Difference from black mulberry

Black mulberry has leaves as rough as sandpaper with a heart-shaped base, and purple-black, sweet-sour fruits on very short stalks.

Difference from fig

Fig has large, rough, deeply lobed leaves and figs.

Flowering: May · Harvest and fruit: June–August · Pruning: November–January

Identify by feature: Heart-shaped leaves

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Black mulberry Morus nigra: leaves as rough as sandpaper with a heart-shaped base, and purple-black, sweet-sour fruits on very short stalks. Difference from black mulberry
• Fig Ficus carica: large, rough, deeply lobed leaves and figs. Difference from fig

Why grow it?

• A fast, hardy tree with fresh, glossy leaves.
• Sweet mulberries to eat fresh or dried, and the birds get their share.
• Can be trained as a roof-shaped tree or an espalier.
• A piece of silk history in the garden.

White mulberry: where does it grow best?

• Full sun: the warmer, the sweeter the fruit.
• Any well-drained soil, chalky or acid, that doesn’t stay wet for long.
• Allow for a crown about 8 m across: a tree for a large garden, unless you keep it trained as a roof-shaped tree or espalier.
• Don’t plant a tree with dark fruit above a patio, drive or path: the fruit stains.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

10 m tall, 8 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Black mulberry: Its black cousin, with sweet-sour fruits that ripen a little later: together a longer harvest.
• Fig: Another fruit from the south for a sunny spot.
• Japanese persimmon: Another fruit tree from East Asia, with fiery autumn colour and orange fruits on the bare branches.

White mulberry: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in autumn or in spring (March–April), container-grown or root-balled.
2. Handle the roots with care: they are fleshy and break easily.
3. For fruit, buy a grafted or cutting-grown fruiting variety: a seedling may be a male tree, which never bears fruit.
4. Stake a young tree and water in dry spells for the first few years.

Care

Watering

In dry spells for the first few years; an established tree copes on its own.

Feeding

Some compost in spring is enough.

Harvest

The fruits ripen over several weeks: pick them when soft, or shake them onto a sheet.

Training

A roof-shaped tree or espalier is tied in young on a frame and cut back each winter to the same main branches.

Tip: Dry white mulberries like raisins, on a rack in the sun or in an oven at a low temperature: they become sweeter and keep for months.

White mulberry: when to prune it?

Pruning months: November–January.

When: Only when fully dormant, in November–January.

How:

• Prune little, and mainly when young: remove crossing and low-hanging branches.
• It also tolerates formal training: cut a roof-shaped tree or espalier back to its frame every winter.
• Avoid sawing off thick branches: large wounds heal slowly.

Caution: Bleeds heavily if you prune in spring or early summer.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In winter, take sturdy hardwood cuttings of 20–30 cm and push them deep into the ground or into a pot.

Sowing

Seed from ripe fruit germinates easily, but you won’t know what fruit the tree will give later, and it may be male.

White mulberry: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy in Belgium and the Netherlands, and hardier than the black mulberry.
• It comes into leaf late in spring, so late frosts rarely harm it.
• Winter is its pruning season: only when fully dormant does it not bleed.

Diseases and pests

• Staining: Dark fruits leave purple stains on patio, car and clothes. Plant it above grass, or choose a tree with white fruit.
• Birds: Blackbirds and starlings eat the ripe fruit; there is usually enough for everyone.
• No fruit: A seedling may be a male tree, and a young tree still bears little. Buy a grafted or cutting-grown fruiting variety.
• Dying branches: Branches with small coral-pink pustules (coral spot). Saw them off back into healthy wood in winter.

Through the year

• January: Pruning, when fully dormant; taking hardwood cuttings.
• March: Planting, container-grown or root-balled.
• May: Late leafing and flowering.
• June: The first mulberries ripen.
• July: Harvest time: fresh, dried or in jam.
• August: Pick the last fruits.
• November: Pruning when dormant; planting.
• December: Pruning; trim a roof-shaped tree or espalier.

What can you use it for?

Food and drink

Mulberries fresh or dried, like raisins; sweeter but blander than those of the black mulberry.

Also used for

The leaves are the food of the silkworm: that is why the tree was planted all over Europe.

For wildlife

Birds love the fruit.

Caution: Dark fruits stain: don’t plant it above a patio or drive.

Edible and useful

Fruit (June–August)

Mulberries ripen over several weeks, so you pick more than once. Pick only fully ripe fruit: it is soft, very sweet and comes away at the lightest touch (white, cream or pink on some trees, purple-black on others). The easiest way is to spread a clean sheet under the tree and gently shake the branches: the ripe fruit falls on its own and the unripe stays put. Do not pick up fruit from the ground. Snip off the little stalks if they bother you. Mulberries bruise and spoil quickly: use them the same day or freeze them. Wear old clothes, because the juice stains badly.

Storing

Fresh mulberries keep for only a day or two in the fridge, in a single layer on a plate. It is better to freeze them: spread them unwashed in a single layer on a tray in the freezer, then bag them up; they keep for a year this way. Store dried mulberries in a closed jar. Jam keeps for a year and the liqueur for at least a year.

Caution: Eat only fully ripe fruit: unripe mulberries and the green parts of the tree (leaves, twigs, stalks) contain a milky latex that can irritate the stomach and bowels, and the skin of sensitive people. People who are allergic to figs may react to mulberries too. Do not pick up fruit from the ground, where it may be soiled by birds and dogs. Do not pick beside busy roads or from sprayed trees, and never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Mulberry jam (Jam · ± 4 jars of 250 ml · 40 min + 30 min standing)
• Dried mulberries (Dried · ± 100 g dried fruit · 8–12 hrs)
• Mulberry crumble (Dish · 4 servings · 50 min)
• Mulberry liqueur (Liqueur · ± 750 ml · 30 min + 4 weeks steeping + 2 months resting)

Did you know?

• When it flowers, the stamens fling out their pollen at more than half the speed of sound: the fastest movement ever measured in a plant.
• Silkworms feed on mulberry leaves: that is why the white mulberry was planted all over Europe for silk production.