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Mulberry Trees

DoubleRidge

DoubleRidge

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Joined
Nov 24, 2019
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10,457
Location
Middle Tennessee
Im reading that mulberry trees are common and that the berries are sweet when ripe. Until recently I had never seen one? But last Saturday I came across a good size tree that was loaded. Going to try to propogate some cuttings and see if I can get some rooted. Anyone ever propogated any?
 

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Never tried mulberry cuttings but I assume they'd work. I do lots of cuttings and have varying levels of success with all. Apple has proven to be the hardest to keep alive. I only get maybe 1 of 100 to take root enough to survive more than a year. Plums are about the easiest.
 
Ski said:
Never tried mulberry cuttings but I assume they'd work. I do lots of cuttings and have varying levels of success with all. Apple has proven to be the hardest to keep alive. I only get maybe 1 of 100 to take root enough to survive more than a year. Plums are about the easiest.
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I have some cutting from an old pear tree that was my grandmother's....its been there since I was a child and its loaded with fruit today....I'm hoping some of these take....any that do will get tubes or cages to keep the deer off....used the rooting hormone powder and keeping them moist....we'll see.
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I like your chances. I've never used rooting hormone or potting soil. I just take cuttings, scrape the bark off an inch or so of the bottom, and stick them into the ground. Plums usually take off. Apples usually not. I've heard pears do well.

I love doing this stuff. The more I do it the more I enjoy it and learn a lot along the way. Nature is crazy cool.
 
I've got one about 18 inch diameter. Between the squirrels and birds you have a hard time finding any on the trees. Seems like all critters love them. If they fall the deer and turkeys flock to them. If you're lucky enough to find one they are pretty dang good. Heck I even had a ground hog climb the tree and hang upside down on a limb to eat them.
 
I planted a few bare root trees almost two years ago from the TN tree Day people, most seem to be doing well even though they don't get any TLC, just a wire cage to protect them until they can survive on their own. Hope they survive to give off fruit, areas I planted them at could use some.
 
Ski said:
Never tried mulberry cuttings but I assume they'd work. I do lots of cuttings and have varying levels of success with all. Apple has proven to be the hardest to keep alive. I only get maybe 1 of 100 to take root enough to survive more than a year. Plums are about the easiest.
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Almost 100% of commercial apples are grafted onto rootstock. Probably part of your difficulty with apples. The good fruit genes apparently aren't good root genes.
 
I've transplanted a lot of them. They're great, hardy fast-growing trees. We pick them for jelly, jams, fresh fruit, cobblers, etc. they coincide with dewberries, so we mix them for some tartness (or you can pick some before fully ripe).

We use the wood for heating and cooking, just make sure it dries well. Smells great.
 
DoubleRidge said:
I have some cutting from an old pear tree that was my grandmother's....its been there since I was a child and its loaded with fruit today....I'm hoping some of these take....any that do will get tubes or cages to keep the deer off....used the rooting hormone powder and keeping them moist....we'll see.
Click to expand...
DoubleRidge,

Please tell me this is one of the old heirloom pears, the ones that produce the HUGE fruit. The pears are a bit grainy in texture, but very sweet to the taste, although a tad astringent. I've been looking everywhere for one of those. Deer, horse, and cattle go crazy for them, but you can't buy seedlings of those old varieties. I thought about trying to grow them from seed, but if cuttings work...
 
BSK said:
DoubleRidge,

Please tell me this is one of the old heirloom pears, the ones that produce the HUGE fruit. The pears are a bit grainy in texture, but very sweet to the taste, although a tad astringent. I've been looking everywhere for one of those. Deer, horse, and cattle go crazy for them, but you can't buy seedlings of those old varieties. I thought about trying to grow them from seed, but if cuttings work...
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Im not 100% sure of type? Wish I knew...but the tree was producing when I was a child and I'll be 55 this year....a bit grainy in texture yes, but these are not huge in size...not super sweet, but sweet enough....growing up we always made pear preserves from them...This tree is starting to show some age so hoping to keep it going.
 
DoubleRidge said:
Im not 100% sure of type? Wish I knew...but the tree was producing when I was a child and I'll be 55 this year....a bit grainy in texture yes, but these are not huge in size...not super sweet, but sweet enough....growing up we always made pear preserves from them...This tree is starting to show some age so hoping to keep it going.
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Could they be Bartlett or Kieffer? That's what I have planted. Deer love them.
 
I did some searching around, and I think what I'm looking for are the old European Pears. They were brought from Europe hundreds of years ago, and they are mostly found on 100-150 year-old homesteads. They are a fairly large pear, green in color until ripe, and then they are a yellow-orange. Before they are fully ripe, they are quite grainy in the mouth, and not that juicy, but the flavor is excellent. However, once they are fully ripe, they become much juicier and smoother in the mouth.
 
DoubleRidge said:
I would love to eventually get some apple trees going.
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I've done really well with starting them from seed. I save seeds from apples I get from grocery store, wrap them in wet paper towel, then keep in fridge for month or two until they sprout little roots. From there I put them in potting soil in cardboard cups and set them in a window for light. By spring they are tiny apple trees. I plant the cup and all in the ground and they become trees. Never know what kind of apple tree it'll be but it's for wildlife anyway so ot doesn't matter. Lots of youtube videos showing how to do it. Super easy and cheap way to plant DOZENS of apple trees.
 
DoubleRidge said:
I would love to eventually get some apple trees going.
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I have had good luck with bare root trees, never tried growing any from seed. I have 10 apple trees in a spot where I usually keep a clover plot, they are producing now. Have 5 apple trees in the yard.
Ski said:
I've done really well with starting them from seed. I save seeds from apples I get from grocery store, wrap them in wet paper towel, then keep in fridge for month or two until they sprout little roots. From there I put them in potting soil in cardboard cups and set them in a window for light. By spring they are tiny apple trees. I plant the cup and all in the ground and they become trees. Never know what kind of apple tree it'll be but it's for wildlife anyway so ot doesn't matter. Lots of youtube videos showing how to do it. Super easy and cheap way to plant DOZENS of apple trees.
Click to expand...
I will have to try that. Will also have to try that with our crabapples, i have no idea what kind they are but deer here seem to love them.
 

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