Tree · Moraceae
Mulberry
Morus rubra
Plant it in full sun with space to spread, and this mulberry cranks out berries by the bucket every early summer.
Full sun
Every 7–21 days
USDA 4–9
25–60 ft · 7.6–18.3 m
Overview
A mulberry grows fast and pays you back hard in fruit. It sits in the fig family and shoots up big, hitting 25 to 60 feet (7.5 to 18 m) tall with a broad, spreading crown. Red mulberry claims the eastern US as home turf, the white and black species sailed in from Asia, and every one of them ripens sweet, blackberry-like fruit right at the start of summer.
The very traits that make a mulberry a joy also keep you on your toes. It laughs off cold down to -29°F (-34°C), powers through drought once it is grown, and fruits so hard that birds fling seedlings all over the neighborhood. The dropped fruit stains pavement a deep purple, so where you plant it counts every bit as much as how you grow it.
Nail the spot and a mulberry practically raises itself. Hand it sun, deep soil, and room well clear of patios and paths, and it digs in for decades. Just remember the white mulberry has gone invasive across much of the US, so reach for the native red mulberry or a named cultivar instead.
Care
The short version: full sun over deep, free-draining soil, plus plenty of open ground, gets it thriving. Water the young tree, prune strictly in midwinter, and keep it well clear of surfaces that berry stains would spoil.
Light
A mulberry crops best in full sun, though it happily takes partial sun or light shade. More sun drives more fruit and keeps the canopy open so it dries fast after rain, which shuts mildew out.
Water
Give a young tree a deep soak about once a week while it digs in. Once it is established, a mulberry turns quite drought tolerant and only wants a drink through a long dry spell, so you can ease right off.
Soil
Hand it deep, well-drained loam loaded with organic matter and it takes off. It tolerates clay or sand but sulks in thin, poor ground, and it stays relaxed about pH anywhere from 5.5 to 7.5.
Temperature
A mulberry is seriously hardy, powering through cold to -29°F (-34°C) and heat up to 104°F (40°C). That range turns it loose across USDA zones 4 through 9.
Humidity
Everyday outdoor humidity, roughly 30% to 70%, suits it fine, so there is nothing to manage here. Good airflow through the canopy beats any number, since it keeps the leaves dry.
Feeding
Mature mulberries rarely need feeding and often crop better without it, so that is one job you can skip. If a young tree drags its feet, a light balanced fertilizer or compost in early spring is plenty, since overfeeding only pushes weak, floppy growth.
Pruning
Prune only when the tree is fully dormant in late winter, or the cuts bleed sap heavily. Rip out dead, crossing, or crowded branches, shape young trees, and keep your cuts under about 2 inches across.
Repotting
A mulberry is a landscape tree that lives in the ground, so repotting never comes up. Move a young or container-grown tree only while it is dormant, and watch for roots circling the pot or growth that stalls in spring.
Size & spacing
Brace for a big tree, 25 to 60 feet (7.5 to 18 m) tall with a crown spreading 35 to 40 feet (10.5 to 12 m) wide. Give it that much open room, well away from buildings, paths, and other plantings.
When to plant
A mulberry marches to the seasons, so timing is half the fun. Plant a young tree in spring the moment frost clears, or set it out in fall while it sleeps. The flowers burst open in April and May, and the fruit ripens through May and June, rolling into summer on some types.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring after the last frost, or in fall while the tree is dormant
- Harvest: Blooms April-May; fruit ripens roughly May-June (into summer for some types)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
A mulberry is a tough customer, so most of what it throws at you is mess and pests rather than real disease. Scan the trunk for borers, the leaves for mildew, and the ground for stains and stray seedlings. Match what you spot below, then pounce while it is still a small job.
Collapsing branches above sawdust flecks and holes near the base
A limb that wilts with sawdust and little holes low on the trunk means a borer has moved in under the bark, and it gives itself away with round exit holes, oozing, and powdery frass. Jump on it: cut out the affected limbs and burn them, then power the tree back up with steady water and mulch so it can seal off the next attack. The habit that pays off most is keeping mowers and trimmers well away from the trunk, since a fresh wound is precisely where the beetle drops her eggs.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy infested limbs
- Keep the tree vigorous with proper water and mulch
- Avoid bark wounds that invite egg-laying
Powdery white coating sweeping foliage in late summer
That white, dusty coating showing up in late summer is powdery mildew, a surface fungus that wipes right off a leaf and lands on both faces. Good news: it barely dents a tree this size, so shake off the worry. Open things up by thinning crowded growth to get the air moving, then rake and clear the fallen leaves to sweep the spores away. Park the tree in full sun with dry foliage and it stays clear.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation by thinning crowded growth
- Rake and remove fallen infected leaves
Purple-splashed paving and seedlings springing up in droves
A massive crop is exactly what makes a mulberry so much fun, and the flip side is dropped berries staining the ground while birds fling seed across the yard. Stay on top of it: pull the volunteer seedlings while they are small and lift easily, and sweep the fallen fruit before it sets. The winning move is placement, so plant a fruiting tree well back from patios, driveways, and walkways, and save a fruitless cultivar for spots where pollen-allergy rules give the green light.
Fix:
- Hand-pull volunteer seedlings while young
- Site away from patios, driveways, and walkways
- Choose a fruitless cultivar only where allergy bans do not apply
Toxicity
The ripe fruit is sweet and safe for people and pets, and that is the whole payoff of the tree. The catch sits in the rest of it. Unripe green berries and the milky sap in the leaves and stems can irritate skin and unsettle a stomach, so keep grazing animals and curious children away from the green parts.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Mild
Ripe berries do a cat zero harm. It is only the milky sap and the green unripe fruit that can trigger a little drooling or a quick bout of vomiting, so keep the chewing light and any upset stays minor and brief.
Dogs Mild
A dog can dive into the ripe fruit with no trouble at all. Pile in the unripe berries or gnaw the sappy leaves, though, and you might get soft stools or a touch of vomiting that clears up on its own.
Horses Mild
Ripe windfalls suit a horse just fine in moderation. Grazing on sap-heavy leaves or green fruit is the one thing that can loosen the gut and take the edge off its appetite for a day or so.
Rabbits Mild
A little ripe fruit makes a safe treat a rabbit will love. Its gut runs delicate, though, so unripe berries and sappy leaves can bring on soft stools. Keep it modest and watch for any digestive upset.
Livestock Mild
Cattle, goats, and sheep hoover up fallen mulberries with no harm. Hand them a big pile of green fruit or sap-laden leaves, though, and it may cause passing diarrhea, and in real quantity the unripe berries can act as a mild intoxicant.
Birds Mild
Birds swarm ripe mulberries and come to no harm at all, which is half the reason the tree spreads so far and wide. Only the green, unripe berries might unsettle a stomach.
People Ripe fruit safe
Ripe mulberries are a sweet, safe fruit to eat fresh or bake into something great. Just skip the unripe green berries and steer clear of the milky sap, which can irritate skin and, in quantity, upset the stomach or even cause hallucinations.
Ripe berries are safe, but unripe green or white berries and the milky sap of leaves and stems can cause mild gastrointestinal upset, and the sap is a mild skin and GI irritant.
Varieties
Three species and a few hybrids cover nearly everything you will meet for sale. Learn to tell them apart and you will grab the right tree and dodge the invasive one.
Morus rubra (red mulberry)
The eastern US native shows off dull, non-glossy leaves and ripens dark red-to-purple fruit.
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Once shipped from Asia to feed silkworms, it sports glossy leaves and now runs invasive across much of the US, crossing with the native red mulberry.
Morus nigra (black mulberry)
It delivers the largest, richest-flavored fruit of the three, though it handles cold the least well.
Illinois Everbearing
A productive cross of M. alba and M. rubra, this cultivar keeps pumping out fruit through a long, heavy season.
Companions
A mulberry works best as a decoy for hungry birds and worst as a neighbor to anything that needs sun or clean ground beneath it.
Plant near
Cherries and blueberries: Birds strongly prefer mulberries, so a mulberry can act as a decoy that draws them away from other fruit crops.
Clover or other low groundcover: A living groundcover suppresses weed seedlings and adds organic matter under the canopy.
Keep apart
Vegetable and flower beds: Dense shade, greedy shallow roots, and staining fruit drop make underplanting and nearby beds difficult.
How to propagate
Fancy more mulberries? Multiply one from a cutting, a graft, or a seed, and pick your route based on whether you want a copy of a favorite tree or simply more trees to plant.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Hardwood cuttings in late winter; softwood cuttings in early summer · About 4-8 weeks to root
Two easy windows open up for cuttings: hardwood in late winter or softwood in early summer, and most strike roots in about 4 to 8 weeks. White mulberry roots like a champ this way, while red and black mulberry take longer and need a bit more coaxing to root.
GraftingModerate
Late winter to early spring (whip or bark graft) · One growing season
Grafting is how growers carry a prized named fruiting cultivar, or a species that refuses to root, onto tough seedling rootstock. Set the whip or bark graft from late winter into early spring, and the union locks in over a single growing season.
SeedModerate
Sow after 1-3 months of cold stratification · Several years to first fruit
Chill the seed for 1 to 3 months of cold stratification, then dig in for the long haul, since a seedling takes several years to fruit. The young trees come out a real grab bag, and white mulberry especially self-seeds hard wherever birds drop the fruit.
Myths
A fruitless male mulberry gives you a clean, problem-free shade tree.
Going fruitless just swaps one headache for another. Those male trees, usually Morus alba, blast out enormous clouds of allergenic pollen, and some cities such as Albuquerque restrict or ban them outright to protect air quality.
The whole mulberry tree will poison you.
Nowhere close. The ASPCA lists mulberry as non-toxic and the ripe fruit is a treat to eat. Only the unripe berries and the milky sap cause trouble, and even that is a mild, short-lived stomach upset.