Mulberry, or mulberry (lat. Morus) is a tall tree with sweet berries that look like blackberries, black, white or pink. For a long time this plant was considered exclusively southern culture, but thanks to the efforts of gardeners and breeders, the area of its distribution has expanded significantly. Is it possible to achieve success in growing mulberry in central Russia and what varieties are better to choose for planting?
Is it possible to grow mulberry in central Russia?
Mulberry is a thermophilic plant. In nature, it grows in regions with a subtropical climate, where it is widely used for breeding silkworms, from which cocoons produce natural silk.
In our country, mulberries are most often planted for the sake of obtaining delicious fruits. Two species of this plant are especially popular:
- black mulberry (Mórus nígra),
- white mulberry (Mórus álba).
Experienced gardeners for cultivation in central Russia recommend white mulberry. Unlike black, which often dies at temperatures below -15 ° C, it can withstand frosts down to -30 ° C without significant damage to the crown and root system.
White mulberry winters well in central Russia
Determining the type of mulberry tree is quite easy. The main distinguishing features of white mulberry are light gray color of the bark and ovate-pointed or dissected-lobed leaves of medium size. In this case, the color of berries of different varieties can be either white or pink, and almost black.
But even a fairly winter-hardy white mulberry does not feel very comfortable in a cold climate. So, in the southern regions of our country, the height of an adult tree is usually about 15 meters, and in the middle lane it rarely grows more than 4 meters and has the shape of a bush.
Video: the experience of growing mulberries in central Russia
Features of agricultural technology
In the south, mulberry is one of the most unpretentious fruit crops. But gardeners of the middle strip will have to make a lot of efforts to get a good harvest. Especially a lot of attention is required to young plants with an underdeveloped root system.
Mulberry planting
Planting mulberry seedlings is usually done in spring or autumn. In conditions of central Russia, the spring planting is considered optimal, which is done before the start of active sap flow. Over the summer, the plant manages to grow the root system and adapt to the conditions of the open ground, which allows you to survive the winter without much loss.
When choosing a place for a mulberry tree, the following conditions must be observed:
- good illumination;
- protection from strong winds;
- the distance from the planted plant to the nearest trees or buildings should not be less than 3 meters;
- light loamy, sandy or sandy soil.
When planting mulberries, sunny and sheltered places on the site are selected
For planting mulberries, it is necessary to prepare in advance a hole with a depth of at least 70 cm and the same diameter. It is advisable to lay drainage from expanded clay or other small stones at its bottom. This is especially true when planting in heavy clay soil that can provoke root rot due to stagnation of moisture. About a third of the pit is filled with humus or rotted compost. If desired, you can additionally add about 50 g of any complex fertilizer mixed with soil.
During planting, the young plant is placed in a pit, carefully spreading the roots over its entire area, and gently sprinkled with earth. Then 20-30 liters of water are poured into the trunk circle and thoroughly mulched in order to avoid strong drying of the soil.
Video: the subtleties of transplanting a mulberry tree
Most varieties of mulberry are dioecious plants, therefore, for successful fruiting on the site you need to have at least two trees - male and female. Determine the sex of a plant by its flowers:
- in female specimens, they are collected in dense ear-shaped inflorescences having a spike-shaped shape;
- in men, the inflorescences are more loose and have a drooping stem.
To distinguish a male mulberry from a female one is possible only after the beginning of flowering
Care
Mulberry is a drought-tolerant plant that does not tolerate excess moisture. Usually only young plants need additional watering. Especially arid and hot summers can be watered and an adult tree. It should be remembered that 15-20 liters of water per week are enough for mulberries.
The nutrients contained in the fertile soil that filled the planting pit are enough for two to three years. After the expiration of this period, to obtain a good harvest, mulberries are fed. Fertilizing is carried out in two stages:
- Before leafing, about 50 grams of complex mineral fertilizer (Nitroamofoska, Azotofoska and others) is scattered on the surface of the trunk circle.
- During the ripening period, the mulberries are fed with organic, for example, diluted infusion of bird droppings (1:18) or fresh manure of cattle (1: 8).
When feeding, you need to remember that mulberry, growing in too fertile soil, often gains a large green mass and refuses to bear fruit. Excess nitrogen is especially harmful to this plant.
One of the most important mulberry care procedures is preparing the tree for winter. It begins long before the frost. Already in the second half of summer, the plant is no longer watered. This is necessary in order for the green shoots to ripen before the onset of cold weather.
In September-October, the mulberry tree trunk circle is well loosened and covered with a layer of mulch. Its thickness should be at least 15 cm at the edges and 30 cm at the tree trunk. It is better to completely cover young trees with a non-woven material or a fabric that allows air to pass through well.
Mulch protects the mulberry root system from severe frosts
Crown formation
In central Russia, mulberries are usually grown in the form of a bush with a height of less than 3 meters. To form a crown of this type in a plant that has reached three to four years, most of the shoots are cut, leaving only 8-10 of the most developed. Then, every year, 2-3 branches are cut to the point of growth and replaced by younger ones. As a result, 3-4 branches of the second order and about 10 of the third are formed on each skeletal shoot. After several years of such pruning, the gardener gets an excellent mulberry bush, the shape of the crown of which allows you to easily collect the entire crop.
Video: how to prune mulberries
After the crown is formed, sanitary pruning is performed, relieving the mulberry from twisted, dry or damaged shoots. Usually it is carried out in the spring, before the start of sap flow, or in the fall - immediately after the discharge of the leaves.
In addition, once every 10-15 years, mulberry needs a rejuvenating pruning. During it, all shoots are reduced by a third, and several skeletal branches are removed completely, replacing with younger ones.
In order to avoid infection of the mulberry with viral and bacterial diseases, all tools with which pruning is carried out must be sanitized in advance.
The best varieties
Currently, breeders have bred many varieties of mulberry, easily tolerating the rather harsh climate of the middle zone of our country. Many of them are not inferior to their southern relatives either in taste or in yield.
Admiral
Admiralskaya is the only black mulberry cultivar recommended by the State Commission for Testing and Protection of Breeding Achievements for cultivation in the middle lane. He was received at the K.A. Timiryazev Moscow Agricultural Academy. It is a tall, sprawling plant with black berries that have a sweet taste and a refreshing aroma.
Mulberries of the Admiral variety weigh about 1.5 grams
Admiralskaya differs from other varieties of black mulberry in high winter hardiness. In addition, it tolerates drought and extreme heat well, and is practically not affected by diseases and pests. The average yield of an adult plant in the conditions of central Russia is about 5 kg.
Dark-skinned girl
Smuglyanka, like most other varieties grown in central Russia, is a botanical species of white mulberry. Due to its excellent winter hardiness and the ability to quickly restore frost-damaged shoots, it is very popular among gardeners in central Russia.
Mulberry Smuglyanka has excellent fruiting in the midland of Russia
The berries of Smuglyanka are black, have an excellent sweet and sour taste. This variety has a fairly high yield. From one branch of an adult tree, up to 500 g of fruits are harvested.
In central Russia, the fruits of Smuglyanka begin to ripen in the second half of June. Despite their juiciness, they perfectly tolerate transportation and can be stored for 18 hours from the date of collection.
An important advantage of the variety is its monoeciousness. Due to this quality, even a single tree will produce a plentiful harvest.
Royal
Royal - one of the most fruitful varieties of mulberry. With a tree older than 7 years, you can collect about 10 kg of greenish-white berries. They have an excellent sweet taste and a distinct aroma.
Royal mulberry tolerates frosts up to -30 ° C. It is also highly resistant to adverse conditions such as extreme heat, lack of moisture and poor soil composition.
White honey
Mulberry variety with white berries with a pleasant sweet taste without a pronounced aroma. They reach 3 cm in length and 1 cm in diameter. In the middle lane, the fruiting period of the mulberry cultivar White Honey usually occurs in late June or early July.
The berries of the variety White Honey are much larger than the fruits of most other varieties of mulberry
Among the disadvantages of this variety, gardeners note a very thin peel of the fruit, because of which their transportation is impossible. Harvested berries must be processed within 5-6 hours.
During breeding tests, the variety Belaya honey demonstrated high winter hardiness. He easily tolerated frosts down to -30 ° C even without additional shelter.
Staromoskovskaya
Staromoskovskaya is one of the few mulberry varieties that have male and female flowers on the same plant. Among its other advantages:
- excellent sweet and sour taste and pleasant refreshing aroma of fruits,
- good yield
- high winter hardiness
- undemanding to the composition of the soil.
Mulberries of the Staromoskovskaya variety are painted black
Reviews: gardeners middle strip about mulberry
I live in Moscow. My mulberry is about 50 years old, every year abundantly bears fruit, by the way, about frosts, it tolerates 40 degrees easily.
sergey0708//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/12586/
I have been growing mulberry for 5 years. Brought from the south. There she grew out of a seed. At the time of landing was 50 cm. Now 2.5m. Does not bear fruit. The upper branches used to freeze strongly. Now less. I look forward to harvest every year. Cottage in the northwest near Volokolamsk.
aster53//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/12586/page-2
I also have white bush mulberry, I took it from Funtikov 4 years ago. Now it’s about 1.7 meters high. Only the ends of branches, 12-15 centimeters froze this year. Below are living buds, and tiny ovaries are already visible on them. Last year I tried the first berries. The color is white, cloyingly sweet, small.
Valery Gor//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?t=537&start=210
In the spring of 2015 planted 2 mulberries - “Dark-skinned” and “Black Baroness” side by side. They took root well and grew a lot during the year, but they froze in winter - the Baroness at all, and the Smuglyanka almost to the ground. In the next 2016, 5-6 shoots one and a half meter long grew from the remaining hemp. In winter, they froze by about half. Since I don’t like when the trees grow “broom”, I left the most powerful shoot, cut the rest. And this remaining shoot had to be shortened to a height of 80-90cm, because the rest was frozen. This year 5-6 new shoots over one and a half meters long have grown from this small stem. The topmost and most powerful has grown already 2m in length. Moreover, it also branches. Those. this year’s shoot already branches side branches, some up to a meter long. Not only the central branch, but also the remaining shoots of this year.
volkoff//dacha.wcb.ru/index.php?showtopic=35195&st=80
Every year, mulberry is becoming an increasingly popular culture in central Russia. Of course, in the conditions of this region, it requires much more care than in the south. But all the efforts of gardeners will be more than rewarded with an abundant harvest of delicious and very healthy berries.
