Mulberry Is Big, Hardy, Distinctive

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30145, 31 May 1963, Page 6

Mulberry Is Big, Hardy, Distinctive

The mulberry is one of the few fruit trees that is almost immune to disease and rarely attacked by pests. It bears fruits somewhat similar in shape and appearance to the loganberry but its flavour is quite distinct and is claimed by many to be an acquired taste. It can be used for dessert, preserves and for making wine.

The mulberry makes a handsome ornamental and on a lawn looks a distinctive tree. As it eventually attains a height of up to 40 feet and its branches grow into irregular shapes it is only suitable for larger gardens. This hardy deciduous tree belongs to the same family as the fig. It likes a sunny position and a deep soil which does not dry out in the summer.

The mulberry <Morus nigra) has been in cultivation for many centuries and may have originated in the orient.

It is a long-lived tree and there are many specimens still alive that are aeveral hundred years old. One of the most famous is the Shakespeare Mulberry which is said to have been planted in the poet's garden in 160!> Its leaves have been used to rear silkworms but they prefer a close relative of the tree, the white mulberry, <Morus alba).

In recent years the fruit has lost much of its popularity and because the tree so large, it is rarely planted today and Is difficult to obtain.

It roots fairly easily from cuttings so if you know of a tree you could propaqa’e your own. Cuttings should be made at this time of the year while the tree is dormant. They should consist of current year's wood and should be about 12 inches in length Insert them in the open ground, preferably in sandy soil, and firm them well. It is claimed that larce branches can be induced • root without much difficulty These should be inserted deeply into the ground and secured to stakes so that they do not rock about in the wind.