Mulberry Trees

Two very different mulberries

The Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) is the tree people remember from childhood: fast growing to about 7m tall and 6m wide, with sweet, deeply staining berries in quantities one household rarely finishes. Buy it if you have the room and want serious harvests plus summer shade. The Weeping Mulberry (Morus alba 'Pendula') is a grafted standard, so its height is fixed at the graft around 3m while the branches cascade to the ground. It is the choice for courtyards, kids' cubby curtains and large pots, and it still fruits.

Where mulberry trees grow well

Almost everywhere Australians garden. Both forms are frost hardy, drought tolerant once established and untroubled by heat and wind, performing from cool temperate Victoria and Tasmania through Sydney, Adelaide and Perth into subtropical Queensland. Being deciduous, they colour in autumn, drop their leaves and fruit better for the winter chill in southern gardens. Give either form full sun for the heaviest crop.

Planting and siting

Site the Black Mulberry with respect for its adult size. It carries vigorous surface roots and its fruit stains whatever it lands on, so keep it well away from paving, pipes, pools and the washing line, and allow the full 6m spread. On a standard suburban block, one tree is an orchard. The Weeping Mulberry needs none of that caution: allow 2.5m across, or grow it in a 60cm to 80cm pot. Plant either into free draining soil, water in well and mulch to the drip line.

Care, pruning and harvest

Mulberries are self fertile, so a single tree fruits alone. Water deeply through the first two summers, then the trees largely look after themselves. The Black Mulberry responds very well to hard pruning in winter, which is how you keep a 7m tree at a pickable 3m to 4m; done annually, it costs little fruit because mulberries bear on new growth. Expect ripe fruit from late spring, and expect to share it with every bird in the suburb unless you net the tree. Our guide to growing a weeping mulberry as a feature covers training the standard form.

Common questions

How long until a mulberry tree fruits?

Quickly, by fruit tree standards. Expect a first taste within two to three years of planting and heavy crops within five. The weeping standard fruits at a size where children can pick it themselves.

Do I need two trees for pollination?

No. Mulberries are self fertile, so a single tree in full sun will crop reliably on its own.

Can I keep a black mulberry small?

Yes. Prune hard in winter while the tree is bare, taking it back to a framework at 3m to 4m. It regrows and fruits on the new wood each spring.

Will the fruit stain paths and cars?

Emphatically. Black mulberry juice marks concrete, pavers and paint, so plant at least the canopy width away from driveways and entertaining areas, and mow fallen fruit into the lawn promptly.

Mulberries are only part of the picture: browse the full fruit tree range for citrus, stone fruit and more, all delivered Australia wide with a 30 day healthy plant guarantee.