Worth knowing:
The Black Mulberry is a small tree that grows no more than six meters. It was already cultivated as a crop plant by the ancient Greeks who considered the tree as symbol of wisdom and dedicated it to the god Pan. Out of its sweet and aromatic tasty fruits, mulberry wine was made in the olden days, and the colour-intensive fruit juice was used for colouring red wine as well. The fruits are of course good to eat or for making jam. Dried fruits taste somewhat like raisins. The sturdy fruit tree with its rough leaves is rather carefree and in temperate climate zones largely frost-hardy. It can easily be cultivated as a tub plant. In May and June the Black Mulberry produces yellowish flowers that resemble the willow catkin, and about eight weeks later the fruits come out. Secretly nibbling from the low and wide tree crown might be difficult by the way, since the sweet mulberries leave obvious traces on the fingers and the tongue.
Natural Location:
The natural habitat of the Black Mulberry is in Central and West Asia. Since a few hundred years it is also being cultivated in southern Europe, while it is only rarely found in Middle Europe since the plant is only limited frost-hardy.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. Spread the seeds onto moist potting compost and put just a little bit of compost earth on top. Then, cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 25° and 30° Celsius (for instance near a heater) and keep the earth moist, but not wet. Usually it takes two to five weeks until germination.
Place:
The Black Mulberry prefers a sunny, warm and sheltered place. In regions with a mild and only light frosty winter, it can be planted outdoors since it can tolerate even stronger frosts for a short period of time and temperatures not less than -15° Celsius. The small tree is also perfectly suited for cultivation in a tub that can be placed outdoors from March until November.
Care:
Tub plants should be watered sufficiently and penetratingly during the summer since the water requirement of the Morus nigra is rather high due to its big and soft leaves. Just try to avoid waterlogging, especially in the saucer. Ideally, you may set up a drainage layer with clay granulate at the bottom of the pot. Outdoor plants should be watered penetratingly once or twice a week during longer dry periods. From March until September, it is advisable to give fertilizer for tub plants every two weeks. Pruning is usually not necessary, but can be done best in March.
During the winter:
Since the Black Mulberry casts the leaves in autumn, it can easily be kept in an unheated and darker place for hibernation. However, a consistent moist soil on a lower scale is necessary. Just be advised that in spring the water demand of the plant will increase by leaps and bounds with the budding, and you should water accordingly. In regions with longer and strong frost periods, outdoor plants need to be protected at the root area.
Picture credits:
- © © H. Zell - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Yuriy75 - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Wouter Hagens - Public domain - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
- © Sten - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Wouter Hagens - Public domain - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
- © H. Zell - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
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