How to grow White mulberry

Morus alba · mulberry, silkworm mulberry

A fast-growing tree from China, up to about 15 m tall, long grown for silkworms and for its sweet, blackberry-like fruits that ripen white, red or purple from mid-June into July. It is the most cold-hardy mulberry and tolerates heat and drought; birds spread its seeds, and it has become a weed in some areas.

White mulberry — Photo: Emőke Dénes, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts

Type	Fruit tree
Family	Moraceae
Light	Full sun
Frost	tolerates light frost
Sowing to harvest	730 days
Where it grows	Open ground

When to plant

Planted as a young plant from a nursery while it is dormant — in early spring before the buds open, or in autumn after leaf fall.

Harvest from June to July (northern hemisphere).

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	every 7 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage
Flowering	every 7 days	—	—
Fruiting	every 7 days	—	—
Harvest	every 7 days	—	—
Winter rest	—	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Full sun and plenty of space; it does not tolerate shade well.

Soil

Warm, well-drained soil, preferably a deep loam; it copes with a wide range of soils and pH.

Care

Plant while dormant, from autumn to spring, in a sunny, sheltered spot. Water a newly planted tree in dry spells for the first few years, and give a balanced fertiliser in early spring. Prune only while dormant, between leaf fall and midwinter, because mulberries bleed sap heavily if cut at other times. Ripe berries fall from the tree.

How to tell it is ripe

Dark-fruited berries turn from pink and red to glossy dark purple or black.
White-fruited types can stay white or lavender when ripe, so judge them by softness, not colour.
Ripe berries look plump, soft and juicy; green, white or pale yellow berries are still unripe.
A ripe berry tastes sweet; do not eat unripe green berries, which can upset the stomach.
Pick low berries one by one in gloves to avoid stains, and shake high branches over a sheet spread on the ground.

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.