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Post by txdirtdog on Apr 4, 2011 11:12:01 GMT -5
I have 2 mulberry trees in my yard. One produces very well. The other one, the fruit never turns red then black. Would this be what's called a "white" mulberry? Is this edible? Is this tree diseased in some way? Basically I am wondering if I should eventually remove this tree and replace it with one that bears like our other mulberry. Does the "good" tree need the other one I currently have for pollination? Below are pics of the fruits of the 2 trees: This is how the "good" tree's fruit looks before it becomes ripe This is how the "good" tree's fruit looks when ripe. This is the other tree. The fruit never seems to ripen, and gets a greyish look. It then falls off the tree or starts drying out. Thanks for any help.
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nolika
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Post by nolika on Apr 4, 2011 13:28:44 GMT -5
The third picture has two colors of fruit. One is whitish and the other is pinkish gray. The whitish fruits are unripe and the pinkish ones are ripe, and let me tell you, those are even more delicious then the black mulberry. They are really really sweet with not even a hint of the lemony flavor the black fruits sometimes have (especially if slightly unripe). They are as sweet as honey if picked in the stage where they fall off when you touch them... But this is not the typical white mulberry. The white mulberry really is white, and what you have is a cross of black and white, I always call them pink And, yes they are edible! They're my favorite fruit to eat when we go to the sea side on holiday. Do not remove the tree, just try the fruits and you will be amazed... It also helps with the pollination of the other tree
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Post by txdirtdog on Apr 4, 2011 14:40:27 GMT -5
Oh my gosh Nolika! Thank you. I just tried a couple of the ripe "pink" ones. You are spot on. They have almost a honey flavor. You just doubled my harvest! I was afraid to try them before. Unfortunately the wind is really blowing (thunderstorms expected) and I didn't have time to get some blankets down. Ripe and unripe berries are flying all over the place.
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nolika
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Post by nolika on Apr 5, 2011 4:24:35 GMT -5
You're welcome! I can't believe you are eating mulberries now, I will be dreaming of them till late June, I just love mulberries... If you pick the fallen fruits in a day or two, you can still eat them, after that they start fermenting (they turn into winey tasting - sour mush). Although the fruits will be bruised, the taste will still be yummy. It is just harder to pick them from the ground than it is from the tree... And as I've seen at my husbands aunt place, chickens love them, so if you have any chickens around just let them loose, they will pick whatever you leave on the ground in no time
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Post by txdirtdog on Apr 5, 2011 23:04:21 GMT -5
Unfortunately no chickens yet. City kind of frowns on them. Still plan to try in a year or 2 tho. Maybe a mobile coop/tractor kind of setup. Just a small group of hens. No rooster, and hopefully no hen deciding to crow like a rooster.
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nolika
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Post by nolika on Apr 6, 2011 14:31:27 GMT -5
No harm. You'll just have to find a way to eat them all
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grapenut
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Post by grapenut on Apr 6, 2011 23:44:16 GMT -5
The trees you have are female and more than likely grafted and if I'm not mistaken the one tree is called Lavender, your fruit should be seedless...unless there is a male around somewhere.
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Post by txdirtdog on Apr 7, 2011 0:06:11 GMT -5
Ooooh, do tell grapenut! Ok, female because they are bearing fruit? I'll look tomorrow to see if I can spot graft marks. There must be a male around somewhere, because I identified a sapling today about 6' tall as mulberry (in among my roses against the house) about 20-25' from the one with the black fruits. I found 2 more seedlings when I was weeding under a grapevine - unfortunately I pulled first before identifying what they were and came up with 2 upper portions of stem which broke off. These were about the same distance from the "pink" one. Off to google "lavender" mulberry. <clicking heels together >
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grapenut
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Post by grapenut on Apr 10, 2011 3:33:56 GMT -5
If you have saplings, then there is a male around somewhere and your trees may not be grafted, but i think at least one is.
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Post by txdirtdog on Apr 11, 2011 22:17:26 GMT -5
Well, I haven't found anything that I can identify as a graft girdle, but that doesn't mean anything. Trees aren't exactly my forte (among countless other things. Lol). Found some more seedlings in among the front yard bushes. Hopefully I can get some potted without damaging the roots too much while digging out. Thanks for the info gn
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okiedrifter
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Post by okiedrifter on Apr 28, 2011 20:06:44 GMT -5
Mulberries one of my favorite trees....I ordered 12 and planted 10 and gave 2 to a sister friend...6 white and 6 red.....pink I would love to have a couple of them.....mulberries are one of my best childhood memories of my Grandparents farm so I have to have them on mine.....if you ever have starts on that pink one please think of this ol Okie......mine are just 6 inches tall the good news is they grow very fast.....lucky lucky you
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Post by coppice on Apr 28, 2011 21:57:01 GMT -5
Your hardest job will be to not run over them with lawn mower...
I use real big stakes.
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grapenut
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Post by grapenut on Apr 29, 2011 3:12:00 GMT -5
Yep! the trees do grow fast! I know my three trees are grafted, but to tell the truth, I can't see the graft mark, i wonder if this is the type of tree the the graft is buried? anyway, I just love the fruit and am thinking of getting me two more different cultivators. as far as grafting goes, I can't see the graft mark on my Che tree either (Melon berry) and I know it's grafted onto Osage Orange to prevent suckers.
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okiedrifter
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Post by okiedrifter on Apr 29, 2011 15:20:50 GMT -5
I am part Indian and since that would be a slow death for my husband he has put tomato cages around all of them..... I had such a hard time even finding a place to buy these trees at a reasonable price I cant even begin to wonder what the pinks would cost.....
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Post by coppice on Sept 26, 2011 10:27:51 GMT -5
I had such a hard time even finding a place to buy these trees at a reasonable price I cant even begin to wonder what the pinks would cost..... Its time for you to cast around to barter for seeds of the pinks. Dried fruit of a pink might even do the trick. The good news mullberry makes fruit at a comparatively young age. (4-5 years) The more good news Mulberry tolerates coppicing (stumping) well, so you can determine the size of your mulberry to suit you.
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