White mulberry will delight you with delicious juicy berries

The white mulberry is a fruit tree often called mulberry. The plant has many benefits. But in order to grow a healthy tree and enjoy delicious fruits every year, you need to know some of its features.

White mulberry: description of appearance

Mulberry grows in the form of a tree. The height of an adult specimen reaches 15 m. It has a wide and spreading crown. The branches are large, covered with gray bark. All of them are abundantly strewn with leaves that are ovoid. Their length is within 15 cm. The color of the leaves is deep green. In autumn they change their color to yellow.

White mulberry has two types of shoots, long (vegetative) and short (fruiting).

Types of white mulberry:

1. Honey. This is the most popular early variety. Begins to bear fruit 4 years after planting. The berries ripen in mid-June. The fruits are juicy, autumn is sweet and large enough.
2. White Tenderness. Frost-resistant species. The berries begin to ripen in mid-July. If the summer is warm and sunny, then the fruits grow large and very sweet. Don't expect a good harvest during the rainy months.
3. Fruit 1. The variety is distinguished by long-term fruiting. The berries are white, but if the summer is rainy, then they acquire a pinkish tint. Instances that are more than 8 years old are capable of producing up to 150 kg of harvest per season. The flesh of the berries is dense and juicy. This variety can be transported over fairly long distances.
4. Smolenskaya. The fruits are juicy, sweet with a slight sourness. The berries are pink, large. The first fruiting occurs one year after planting.
5. Merezhevo. It is a hybrid that has large, sugary-sweet berries. The tree begins to bloom in the second year. Fruiting lasts for a month.

The mulberry root system is powerful and well developed. The flowers are whitish. They are practically invisible on the tree and are prone to self-pollination. The berries are juicy. Outwardly, the fruits are similar to raspberries. Their length reaches 5 cm. They are often pinkish in color, but there are also bluish ones.

In some countries of the world, the mulberry tree is planted so that the silkworm feeds on the fruits.

The fruits are consumed both raw and used for processing. Mulberry is prepared jam, compotes, and also freeze.

Planting a tree

It is recommended to plant a tree in April. If you do this later, when the sap flow begins, then there is a high probability that the seedling will not take root. Some gardeners choose to plant mulberries in September or October.

A place for planting should be chosen one that is well warmed by the sun. In the shade and partial shade, the berries will not acquire the desired sweetness and juiciness.

It is also important to remember that trees are afraid of drafts. They do not like sandy and swampy ground. When planting a tree, one must take into account the distance at which groundwater lies. This indicator must be at least 1.5 m.

Planting in autumn

A dimple for planting is prepared at least 2 weeks in advance. The depth and width should be appropriate for the size of the root system. Often it is 50x50x50 cm. If the soil is poor, then the dimensions must be slightly increased so that there is a place where to put humus.

After 14 days, you can start planting. Place the seedling in the groove, carefully level the roots. Then carefully sprinkle with soil and tamp a little. From above, the soil is poured with water (2 buckets), mulch.

If the seedling is thin, then pegs should be placed near the trunk and the tree should be fixed to them.

Planting in spring

The procedure is practically no different from the autumn one. The main thing is to start preparing the deepening before the onset of frost, to lay fertile soil in the middle. Finish planting after the snow melts and the soil warms up well in direct sunlight.

Proper care of white mulberry

Though Mulberry tree not demanding in care, it is still necessary to follow some recommendations. Only in this way it will bear fruit abundantly with tasty and healthy berries.

Soil care

Both young and adult trees need watering. They need to be irrigated from April to July. This should be done once a week if the weather is dry and hot. In the rainy months, the procedure is carried out occasionally.

It is not necessary to irrigate mulberries from mid-summer until frost. In this way, damage to trees in winter can be avoided.

The soil around the trunk must be carefully loosened and remove weeds... This is an important procedure for both young and adult specimens. Thus, the plant receives the right amount of oxygen and nutrients.

Tree pruning

Unnecessary twigs should be removed in the spring, before the buds begin to bloom. Sanitary pruning is left for the fall. The procedure is carried out after all the leaves have fallen.

The standard mulberry is cut in the form of a ball. You can also cut the branches so that the shoots do not grow uphill, but go down.

Mulberry feeding

If fertilizer was applied during planting, then the tree should be fed in the year of fruiting. Do it in the spring. In a bucket of water (10 l), 50 g of nitroammofoska are diluted. The prepared product is enough for 1 m² trunk circle.

The next procedure is carried out in early summer. The best option is chicken manure. It is combined with water, in a ratio of 1:12. This stops mulberry feeding.

Winter care

After the autumn pruning, the soil around the trunk should be covered with abundant mulch. It can be sawdust, dry grass or peat. It is recommended to cover young trees with a bag or agrofiber. After the night frosts have passed, you can shoot the material.

White mulberry, if properly planted and cared for, will yield a high-quality and bountiful harvest. The main thing is not to break the basic rules. After all, at first glance, simple recommendations are very important for this type of tree.