Tree fruit
How to grow a mulberry tree
Morus nigra
A black mulberry needs full sun, shelter, deep well-drained soil and patience. Plant a pot-grown tree between November and March, well away from paths and paving because the fruit stains, and allow five to eight years for a grafted tree to start cropping. It comes into leaf late, so frost is rarely a problem, and it needs no routine pruning. For a small garden or a pot, the dwarf Charlotte Russe stays about 1.5 m tall and fruits in its first year.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Full sun, sheltered
- Soil
- Deep, fertile, free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Low once established
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting a mulberry tree
WhenPlant Nov to Mar; harvest Aug to Sep (fruit drops when ripe)
Starting off
Plant pot-grown Nov to Mar, handling the brittle roots with care. Propagate by 30 cm hardwood cuttings in Nov, or 1 m 'truncheons' of 2-year wood pushed 30 cm into the ground, or layering. King James and Chelsea are the usual Morus nigra; self-fertile.
Spacing and planting
Black mulberry spreads 6 to 10 m and lives centuries, so give it a lawn 6 m from buildings and away from paths (the fruit stains); dwarf Charlotte Russe stays 1.5 m. Hole 60 cm wide, stake 3 years. Charlotte Russe crops in a 45 cm pot; full-size trees do not.
Varieties worth growing
- Chelsea
- The classic black mulberry, often sold as King James, propagated from a tree in the Chelsea Physic Garden. Large, sharp-sweet fruit and it crops younger than seedling trees.
- Charlotte Russe
- A dwarf bush to about 1.5 m that fruits on new and old wood from its first summer, over a long season. The only sensible mulberry for a pot.
- Illinois Everbearing
- A hybrid that grows faster than the black mulberry and bears long, sweet, nearly seedless fruit over several weeks from a young age.
- Morus alba 'Pendula'
- A small weeping white mulberry, 3 m or so, grown for its shape. The fruit is edible but mild and insipid beside a black mulberry.
A mulberry tree month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
No pruning from now on: the sap is starting to rise. Plant pot-grown trees in open weather.
- February
Plant and stake. Handle the root ball gently, since the roots are brittle.
- March
Light feed and a mulch for trees in their first few years. Last planting of the dormant season.
- April
The tree is still bare. That is normal for a mulberry.
- May
Leaves open at last, usually in the second half of the month. Water newly planted trees.
- June
Water young trees in dry spells. Charlotte Russe begins to ripen its first fruit.
- July
Fruit forming on established trees. Cut out any cankered shoots.
- August
Harvest begins. Spread a sheet under the tree and shake the branches gently; wear old clothes.
- September
Harvest continues. Freeze what you cannot eat the same day.
- October
Leaves turn yellow and fall. Order trees.
- November
Prune now if needed: dead, crossing or awkward wood only. Take 30 cm hardwood cuttings. Plant.
- December
Finish any pruning before the end of the month. Prop heavy branches on old trees.
Feeding a mulberry tree
A light feeder. Feed and mulch a young tree for its first few years, then stop: a mature mulberry in garden soil needs nothing.
Low, undemanding once established; a light spring mulch.
Feeding plan
At planting, once
5 g per litre of root-ball volume, sprinkled into the hole so it touches the roots: 50 g for a tree from a 10 litre pot.
March, first three to five years
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
70 g/m², the low end of the label range: 70 g over a 1 m² circle round the trunk, raked in lightly.
March, young trees
Garden compost
A 5 cm mulch over the planting circle, kept clear of the trunk.
Established trees
No fertiliser
Nothing. Long soft shoots on a mature tree mean it already has more nitrogen than it needs.
Charlotte Russe in a pot, March
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
2 g per litre of compost as a top-dress: about 80 g for a 45 cm pot holding 40 litres, worked into the surface.
Charlotte Russe in a pot, May to August
1 g per litre of water as a drench every 3 weeks: 10 g in a 10 litre can.
Signs to watch
Pale leaves and little growth on a young tree
Nitrogen short
Light balanced feed and mulch in spring
Older leaves yellow between the veins
Magnesium
Epsom salts or kieserite
Soft long shoots on an established tree
Nitrogen excess
Stop feeding entirely; mature mulberries want nothing
Pests, diseases and problems
Young shoots wilt and die back in summer, with a sunken, cracked patch of bark at the base of the dead part
Mulberry canker, a fungus that girdles the shoot
Cut the shoot back to healthy wood below the canker as soon as you see it, in dry weather, and bin the prunings. This is the one job that does not wait for the dormant season.
Dark, angular, water-soaked spots on the leaves, with yellow halos; shoot tips blacken in a wet spring
Bacterial blight
Prune out badly affected shoots in dry weather. Avoid overhead watering on young trees. Established trees usually grow through it once the weather dries.
Sap runs freely from pruning cuts and will not stop
Pruning once the sap is rising, from January onwards
Prune only in November and December when the tree is fully dormant. If a cut bleeds, leave it alone; wound paints do not help.
Fruit disappears as it ripens
Blackbirds, starlings and pigeons
On a full-size tree accept the loss; there is usually plenty. Net Charlotte Russe or a young tree while the fruit colours.
A large limb splits away from the trunk on an old tree
Mulberry wood is brittle and old trees lean under their own weight
Prop heavy low branches with a padded timber support before they fail. Do not cut back hard to lighten them.
Pruning and harvest
Pruning and care
Prune only Nov to Dec when fully dormant, from January it bleeds sap badly, and only to remove dead, crossing or dangerous wood; it needs no routine pruning and fruits on old spurs. Shape young trees to a clear 1.5 m stem, stake for 3 years, and prop the heavy low branches of old trees.
Harvest and storage
Ripe Aug to Sep when the fruit is black and drops at a touch, spread a sheet and shake the branches, picking only black fruit, with gloves. A grafted tree fruits in 3 to 5 years, a cutting in 8 to 10, giving 10 to 20 kg once mature. Eat the same day; freeze or jam.
Good to knowSlow to start but very long-lived, and self-fertile. The fruit stains heavily, so site it away from paths.
Growing a mulberry tree in pots
A full-size black mulberry is not a container tree: it wants to spread 6 to 10 m and will sulk in a pot. Charlotte Russe is the exception and was bred for it. Give it a 45 cm pot of loam-based compost in full sun and shelter, and water regularly from May to September, because it carries fruit over a long season and drops it if the pot dries out. It needs little pruning beyond removing dead or crossing shoots in November or December. Replace the top 5 cm of compost every March and repot every three years.
A mulberry tree: common questions
How long does a mulberry tree take to fruit?
A black mulberry is slow: allow five to eight years after planting for a grafted tree to start fruiting, and up to ten for one raised from a cutting or seed. The dwarf variety Charlotte Russe is different: it fruits in its first summer. Buying a named, grafted tree rather than a seedling is the way to shorten the wait.
When should I prune a mulberry tree?
Prune in November or December, when the tree is fully dormant. From January the sap rises and cuts bleed heavily. Mulberries need very little pruning in any case: remove dead, crossing or awkwardly placed branches and leave the rest. The only summer cutting is to remove shoots killed by canker.
What is the difference between a black and a white mulberry?
The black mulberry, Morus nigra, is the one grown for fruit: slow, long-lived, with large dark berries that are sharp and richly flavoured. The white mulberry, Morus alba, grows faster and is the silkworm tree; its fruit can be white, pink or dark, and is sweet but bland. The names describe the species, not reliably the fruit colour.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.