Black mulberry cultivation and care. Mulberry mulberry tree. Description, features, types and care of mulberries. How to propagate mulberries

Is it possible to grow mulberries in middle lane our country? Despite the fact that the tree has southern roots, according to reviews, mulberry of certain varieties grows and reproduces well in the Moscow region. In the article you will find tips with photographs on how to plant and care for mulberries.

Varieties and varieties

Mulberry is widespread in the subtropical zones of America, Africa and Asia, India, in the Middle Volga region and the Moscow region, Stavropol and Krasnodar region, Nizhny Novgorod region. This ancient culture It has great importance as fruit and medicinal plant. Wood is a valuable material for making crafts, cooperage and musical instruments. Juices, wine and vodka, vinegar, and jelly are made from the berries. Dried berries are added to the dough. Mulberry leaves are a valuable source of nutrition for the silkworm, whose pupa is used to produce silk. It was from mulberry bast that the Chinese began to produce paper.

There are more than 17 types of mulberry. In our country, black and white mulberries are most often used. The difference between these species lies in the color of the bark, and not the color of the berries, as many are accustomed to thinking. Berries black mulberry have a more pronounced taste, so it is often planted for fruit production. White is considered much more frost-resistant.

Considering the unpretentiousness of mulberry to growing conditions, the ability to tolerate air pollution, ease of shaping and decorativeness, it is widely used for landscaping: dense hedges, in groups and individually, for creating alleys. The most impressive are the following decorative forms:

golden;
crying;

spherical;
large-leaved;

pyramidal;
dissect-leaved.

Mulberry planting

The favorable time for planting mulberries is spring or early autumn. Choose a well-lit place, ideally southern slopes. Mulberry is undemanding when it comes to soil; it can grow on saline soils, but prefers well-drained loams.

Planting holes are prepared in advance so that the soil can stand. Size 70 x 70 cm and depth up to half a meter. The removed soil is mixed with a bucket of humus, half is placed in a hole, a seedling is placed on top, the roots are straightened and sprinkled with the remaining soil. Compact the soil around the stem and water it. Depending on the future formation of the seedling, the distance between the trees is set differently. 5 m are left between standard forms, and 3 m between bush forms.

After planting, the soil must be mulched - mulch will protect the roots of the plant from freezing in winter.

Advice. Mulberries are divided into male and female. It is better to purchase seedlings from the nursery that have already bear fruit once, so you will definitely get a fruit-bearing tree. Males do not bear fruit and are used only for landscaping or decoration.

Mulberry care, fertilizer and feeding

Agricultural techniques for growing mulberries include watering, fertilizing, formative pruning, disease prevention and pest protection.

Mulberry tolerates cutting and shaping very well. Withstands temperatures down to 30 degrees, annual shoots may be damaged. In cold regions, where freezing occurs frequently, the growing shoots form a bush and a bush form of mulberry is obtained; only sanitary pruning in winter is needed. Therefore, in the Moscow region, mulberry is a bush, not a tree.

Free-growing mulberry reaches a height of 10 meters. It is better to create a tree on a one and a half meter trunk, bend the branches in different directions and support it with pruning. At such a height, it is convenient to pick berries and easy to care for the crown.

The young seedling will have enough nutrients that were added when planting in the hole. When the mulberry begins to bear fruit, the need for nutrition increases and it is necessary to apply fertilizer. On sandy soils this event is especially necessary. After the soil thaws, nitrogen fertilizers are applied. Possible for every square. m add 50 g of nitroammophoska or apply an infusion of bird droppings and mullein. If necessary, this feeding is repeated in early June. In the fall, you can add potassium and phosphorus elements.

Advice. If pruned very hard, the mulberry may stop bearing fruit, keep this in mind if you are growing a tree for its berries.

Reproduction

Mulberries are reproduced by seeds, root shoots, layering, cuttings, and cultivated varieties by grafting.

Diseases and pests

Mulberry is a fairly resistant plant to pathogenic flora and pests; in the middle zone, the crop suffers more from frost than from disease. Diseases are divided into two etiologies: fungal and viral.

powdery mildew;
root rot;
The tinder fungus is a fungus that feeds on living wood. A sign of damage is gum discharge, which appears when the blood vessels of the tree are blocked. Cannot be treated. Infection occurs when wood is damaged;

curly leaf blight is a virus that cannot be cured. The main source of infection is sucking insects;
bacteriosis;
brown spot.

The development of the pathogen can be facilitated by the introduction of an excessive dose of nitrogen or a lack of nutrients, or thickening of the crown.

Mulberry pests: larva chafer, mole cricket, wireworm, white American butterfly larva, Comstock worms, spider mite.

Is it possible to grow mulberries in the central zone of our country? Despite the fact that the tree has southern roots, according to reviews, mulberry of certain varieties grows and reproduces well in the Moscow region. In the article you will find tips with photographs on how to plant and care for mulberries.

Varieties and varieties

Mulberry is widespread in the subtropical zones of America, Africa and Asia, India, in the Middle Volga region and the Moscow region, the Stavropol and Krasnodar territories, and the Nizhny Novgorod region. This ancient crop is of great importance as a fruit and medicinal plant. Wood is a valuable material for making crafts, cooperage and musical instruments. Juices, wine and vodka, vinegar, and jelly are made from the berries. Dried berries are added to the dough. Mulberry leaves are a valuable source of nutrition for the silkworm, whose pupa is used to produce silk. It was from mulberry bast that the Chinese began to produce paper.

There are more than 17 types of mulberry. In our country, black and white mulberries are most often used. The difference between these species lies in the color of the bark, and not the color of the berries, as many are accustomed to thinking. Black mulberries have a more pronounced taste, so they are often planted for fruit production. White is considered much more frost-resistant.

golden;
crying;

spherical;
large-leaved;

pyramidal;
dissect-leaved.

Mulberry planting

After planting, the soil must be mulched - mulch will protect the roots of the plant from freezing in winter.

Advice. Mulberries are divided into male and female. It is better to purchase seedlings from the nursery that have already bear fruit once, so you will definitely get a fruit-bearing tree. Males do not bear fruit and are used only for landscaping or decoration.

Mulberry care, fertilizer and feeding

Agricultural techniques for growing mulberries include watering, fertilizing, formative pruning, disease prevention and pest protection.

The young seedling will have enough nutrients that were added when planting in the hole. When the mulberry begins to bear fruit, the need for nutrition increases and it is necessary to apply fertilizer. On sandy soils this action is especially necessary. After the soil thaws, nitrogen fertilizers are applied. Possible for every square. m add 50 g of nitroammophoska or apply an infusion of bird droppings and mullein. If necessary, this feeding is repeated in early June. In the fall, you can add potassium and phosphorus elements.

Advice. If pruned very hard, the mulberry may stop bearing fruit, keep this in mind if you are growing a tree for its berries.

Reproduction

Mulberries are reproduced by seeds, root shoots, layering, cuttings, and cultivated varieties by grafting.

Diseases and pests

Mulberry is a fairly resistant plant to pathogenic flora and pests; in the middle zone, the crop suffers more from frost than from disease. Diseases are divided into two etiologies: fungal and viral.

powdery mildew;
root rot;
The tinder fungus is a fungus that feeds on living wood. A sign of damage is gum discharge, which appears when the blood vessels of the tree are blocked. Cannot be treated. Infection occurs when wood is damaged;

curly leaf blight is a virus that cannot be cured. The main source of infection is sucking insects;
bacteriosis;
brown spot.

The development of the pathogen can be facilitated by the introduction of an excessive dose of nitrogen or a lack of nutrients, or thickening of the crown.

Mulberry pests: May beetle larva, mole cricket, wireworm, white American butterfly larva, Comstock worms, spider mites.

Mulberry, or mulberry, is a universal and unpretentious tree. Mulberry seedlings can take root on any land, and mature trees have a very wide purpose - silkworm caterpillars feed on their leaves, and their fruits are valuable. food product, and their decorative forms are widely used in gardening construction. Growing mulberries on a private farm does not require much time or expense, and the returns can be very significant, since the mulberry harvest, even in the absence of proper care, is impressive in quantity.

Mulberry, the cultivation of which is widespread in many countries of the world, lives quite a long time, so it is necessary to choose a place for it where the tree will be comfortable and not crowded. Ideal for planting on a southern or open slope sunny plot in the garden. Mulberry is undemanding in terms of soil composition, but drainage properties are of great importance for it. The fact is that the culture does not tolerate waterlogging at all. It grows better in dry soil and does not tolerate swampy areas with close groundwater.

For a tree, it is desirable that there are no other plants or trees within a radius of 3-5 m. The holes for planting are prepared in advance so that the soil can stand. The size of the hole should be approximately 70x70 cm, and the depth should be at least 0.5 m. After the hole is dug, the soil from it is mixed with organic and mineral fertilizers(humus or compost 0.5 buckets, superphosphate 50-70 g). Next, part of the earth is again poured into the hole, a seedling is placed on it, and the remaining earth is used to cover the tree. You can water the plant before or after planting. After watering, the soil around the trunk is mulched so that the moisture does not evaporate prematurely.

Video “Planting mulberries”

From the video you will learn how to plant mulberries on your site.

Growing in the garden

Mulberries appeared in private gardens in Europe quite a long time ago. Brought her to Russia great Peter I, after which he prohibited the cutting down of these trees by a special decree. It was present in the royal diet fresh, dried, in the form of jam, and drinks. The leaves and bark were used for medicinal purposes, but many years passed and silk production in the country was never developed.

Nowadays, in home gardens, mulberries are planted mainly to produce fruits, but decorative mulberries are also often found, the cultivation and care of which is practically no different from the previous form.

This mulberry has a most unusual description - unlike fruit tree, its crown is compact, the branches can be drooping (weeping form), or golden in color (golden), the leaves have original form and color.

When planting fruit mulberry on a plot, you need to know that this crop is dioecious - there are separate male and female trees. Only a tree with female flowers bears fruit, and those with male flowers serve for pollination, which is why an adult plant sometimes blooms, but does not bear fruit. If the area of the plot allows, then trees of both individuals should be planted nearby.

In nature, mulberry trees can grow to a decent size, and although in the home garden the crown of the mulberry is not very large, and the trunk is rarely higher than 10 m, you should choose a sunny, spacious place for planting it, where it will not be disturbed by other trees. Mulberries can tolerate severe frosts (down to -30 °C), but do not forget that this is a southern, heat-loving plant, and not every climate is suitable for it.

In temperate continental climate mulberry trees survive winters safely. For example, mulberry in Belarus or central Russia rarely freezes in winter, but mulberry in Siberia or the Urals needs more careful attention - the tree trunks should be covered for the winter so that the root system does not freeze. You can cover it with any organic matter (leaves, sawdust, peat), but rotted manure is best suited for this purpose - as it decomposes, it releases heat that will warm the roots. In spring (March), mulberry branches should be protected from bright sun.

Caring for mulberries is simple. Mature plant It does not need anything other than fertilizing, but in the first years the young seedling needs to be looked after more carefully: water regularly, loosen the soil around the trunk, and carry out formative pruning. It is necessary to water the tree before it reaches the age of 4-5 years - an adult tree has a deep root system, so it independently provides itself with moisture. In the first half of summer, watering should be regular and plentiful; closer to autumn, watering is not necessary to young plant could prepare for winter.

Young trees need to trim off the tops of their shoots. This measure helps to increase productivity - after pruning, side branches begin to form, and the more branches, the more berries. Pruning also includes removing old, diseased and damaged branches. Pruning can be carried out both in spring and at the end of summer. Decorative types trees are pruned several times a season - they tolerate this procedure well and quickly recover.

Treatment

In general, mulberries are not very susceptible to diseases, but growing in the garden next to others fruit crops, she can become infected from them. Garden pests (insects, caterpillars) also will not bypass the delicate leaves and sweet fruits, so mulberry trees need preventive, but regular treatment against these scourges.

Mulberry leaves can be affected by fungal spores (bacteriosis, powdery mildew, brown spot). These diseases first manifest themselves as a kind of coating on the leaf plate, which over time leads to the formation of holes, drying out and death of the leaf. To prevent this phenomenon, trees are sprayed with a solution of Bordeaux mixture (universal fungicide), sulfur or lime mortar. Treatment is carried out in the spring, before the buds open.

No less damage to the crop can be caused by pests: insects and their caterpillars, for which mulberry leaves are a real delicacy. Caterpillars of the American butterfly and mulberry moth can destroy all the foliage on a tree in a few days, so preventive spraying must be carried out before these pests appear. The spider mite also likes to feast on the juice of the leaves; it hides in its web under the leaf, so that it can only be detected by holes in the leaves. Insecticides (chlorophos, thiophos) are used to control and prevent pests. From traditional methods You can use a decoction of tobacco or wormwood.

Top dressing

In the year of planting, young seedlings do not need fertilizing - the fertilizers added to the planting hole are enough for them. For young tree optimal time fertilization will begin to bear fruit, as the plant needs more strength and nutrients. If the seedling is grown independently, it should be fed starting from the third year of life. Mineral and organic fertilizers, which are introduced (embedded) into the tree trunk circles. The soil around the tree should be loosened and mulched after fertilizing.

As organic feeding You can make liquid solutions and droppings or mullein. Litter is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:15, and manure - 1:10, and the crop is watered with this solution. Fertilizing is applied in the spring and before fruiting begins, when the plant finishes blooming. It is not recommended to feed trees at the end of the season, as they will produce young shoots that will die at the first frost, and will also weaken the winter hardiness of the fruit-bearing tree. As a mineral fertilizer in the spring, you can apply nitrogen fertilizers (nitroammophoska, saltpeter), late autumn– potassium and phosphorus.

Reproduction

Mulberry is a very tenacious tree. It quickly and easily recovers from severe frosts and damage; its shoots can re-grow from a cut trunk and then successfully bear fruit. Therefore, propagating mulberries does not present any difficulties - no matter what method you choose, you can be sure that the plant will take root and produce a harvest quite quickly.

One can say about mulberry that it is an unusual and somewhat strange crop. It is characterized by a wide variety of types of sexual organization. Trees can be monoecious, dioecious, self-fertile or mixed.

Only female or females can appear on one tree. male flowers, and maybe bisexual. In addition, an infinite number of shoots of other varieties can be grafted onto a tree of one variety - to form a so-called “melange” crop, when white, black, pink and red berries can be harvested from one plant at the same time.

It follows from this that propagating mulberries is not at all difficult, and this can be done in several ways:

From seeds. Often under an adult mulberry you can see small seedlings obtained from self-sowing. Growing up, they bear fruit well, but there is no guarantee that the berries of such a plant will comply varietal characteristics no maternal copy. Breeders use this method mainly to obtain a variety's rootstock, and after a couple of years they graft a cutting of a tasty varietal berry onto the seedling. In private gardening, this method is rarely used, because growing mulberries from seeds is troublesome, and the first flowering and fruiting occurs only at 5-6 years of age.
By grafting. Most often the method is used for growing decorative varieties or to form a tree with different fruits. To do this, cuttings of the desired variety are grafted onto the trunk of a two-year-old seedling.
Cuttings. It is easier to propagate mulberries with green cuttings - they give roots faster and take root better, while it is quite difficult to obtain a seedling from woody cuttings. Rooting cuttings requires special conditions (humidity, temperature), so many gardeners prefer simpler methods.
By layering. When the mother tree is cut, the largest increase in shoots is formed, which are bent to the ground, fixed in a horizontal position, and covered with earth. You need to hill up the branches several times during the summer, and in the fall, plant the growing seedling in a permanent place.
Root shoots. An adult plant annually produces young shoots, which do not have to be dealt with - they can be used to grow new specimens. The shoot can be planted in spring or autumn. To do this, you need to carefully dig out the place where the sprout originates and cut it off, trying to keep it intact. root system tree.

Of course, growing mulberries, so to speak, “from scratch” is troublesome. It is easier to buy an already grown seedling in a nursery in order to know exactly how old the plant is and in what year will it begin to bear fruit? When choosing a seedling, remember that mulberry trees come in male and female varieties, and not many seedlings are capable of bearing berries. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase 3-4 year old trees that have already bear fruit once - this way you are guaranteed to buy a fruit-bearing specimen.

Video “Diseases, feeding, reproduction of mulberries”

In this video experienced gardeners and gardeners will tell you how to care for a mulberry tree to get an excellent harvest.

Green semi-lignified cuttings are quite simple. The yield is slightly lower when propagated by lignified cuttings. It also lasts longer. If semi-lignified cuttings planted in mid-summer by autumn produce marketable seedlings (in the first photo) in just 3-4 months, then seedlings from woody cuttings need to be grown for another year. Below we talk only about semi-lignified cuttings. By the way, you can also propagate honeysuckle, blackberry, actinidia, golden currant (it does not propagate in other ways), viburnum, dogwood, roses, varietal rose hips and probably much more using green cuttings.
Preparing a hole for planting cuttings.
I choose a place for the pit that is shaded all day. Allowed to hit sun rays at sunrise and sunset. The pit is made from fertile soil. There are beautiful black soils in Mirgorod, so I just dig up the soil, level it and apply upper layer 5 cm of sand. Sand should only be river sand. The quarry must first be washed with running water in a barrel. The second photo roughly looks like a place for honeysuckle cuttings with a fog-forming installation under a film tunnel. But for most amateur gardeners, with their small volumes, it is enough and easier to grow everything under simple plastic bottles.
Preparation of cuttings.
In the second ten days of July, cuttings are taken from the basal and middle parts of semi-lignified shoots. A young shoot that has grown since spring should not break when bent. The upper cut is made directly above the upper bud, and the lower one, 0.5-1 cm below the lower one. Root germination will occur only from the area of the bud node. Cuttings should have 2-4 buds, top sheet shorten sheet plate by 1/3, and remove the other leaves, and if they are small, you can leave them. I put the prepared cuttings in a plastic bag, moisten them and keep them for 24 hours at a temperature of 5°C. If there are no such conditions, it is enough to immerse the lower ends of the cuttings in any root former overnight. It is very important that the leaf does not lose turgor. To achieve this, all operations are carried out in the shade and quickly. I cut a branch from a tree, cut it into cuttings with a leaf, placed it in a jar with a root former, placed the jar in a new garbage bag, which I tied to seal it, and put it in the basement overnight. Any root formers can be used, but according to research by Siberian nursery scientists, the most effective are root formers obtained in two ways. First: dilute 30 grams of aloe juice in 1 liter of water. Second: 30 gr. Dissolve propolis in a minimal amount of alcohol and pour into 1 liter of water.
Planting cuttings.
After leveling the dry sand on the surface of the earth, I carefully moisten it (the entire layer must be wetted). At two liter plastic bottle I cut off the bottom and make marks on the sand, in a row, circle to circle. The second row is close to the first, but in a checkerboard pattern. The cuttings must be immersed in sand so that the ends do not reach 1-1.5 cm to the ground. In practice, this is done as follows. I press the cutting into the sand until it touches the ground (a denser layer), then lift it 1.5 cm and press the sand tightly with my fingers around the cutting. I carefully push the leaves into the bottle and press the edges of the bottle into the sand by 1-1.5 cm. In the future, I water the bottles 3-4 times a day. The water spreads evenly in the sand and evaporates under the bottle. There is always condensation on the leaves and the inner surface of the bottle. After a shoot-length leaf sprouts from the axillary bud, when the bottle begins to interfere, I remove it in the evening. As the shoots increase, watering is done less frequently. It is important not to over-moisten the soil and sand during the entire period. At the first stage, the bottom of the cuttings may rot in the sand. When grown in natural soil, by mid-October, seedlings reach a height of up to a meter or more. When grown in pots, they will be significantly smaller and will most often need growing.
The third photo shows a three-year-old seedling. There were people who wanted to get such a seedling, but it took root much more difficult than in the first photo.

Probably everyone knows what delicious fruits mulberries produce, but many mistakenly believe that caring for them requires special skills. We will dispel this myth, because mulberries can be successfully grown in our country, and there is nothing exotic about it.

Necessary conditions for growing mulberries

Planting a mulberry and further caring for it is so simple that people call it “a tree for the lazy.” Anyone can grow it on their own plot, and without making much effort. TO environment it is very unpretentious. Even the mulberry, which is grown and cared for in the middle zone, will produce a small but stable harvest every year.

Did you know? Easterners consider mulberries sacred tree. A table was placed under it, and the whole family spent time at it. They also made a bed under the mulberry tree. Amulets made from mulberry wood are traditional amulets for women of the East.

Lighting

Mulberries should be planted in places with good lighting, where northern and eastern winds do not blow. If necessary, you can build an improvised defense against them.

Temperature

The tree grows quickly, is resistant to drought and does not suffer even from severe frosts. It can withstand cold temperatures down to -30°C.

Important! During the growing season, frozen annual shoots are quickly restored.

The soil

Mulberries can be planted in 90% of soils. But, of course, it will bear fruit well only on fertile soils that are rich in nutrients and substances. It is strictly forbidden to plant these trees in wetlands and damp lowlands. Most suitable option the soils will become good drainage and high ability to retain moisture. When planting mulberry trees, take into account that they grow over time, so the distance between seedlings should be left up to 6 m.

Did you know? The mulberry is called the “queen of berries,” and the tree itself has been revered since ancient times as the “tree of life.” According to legends, the mulberry tree is endowed with powers that drive away evil spirits. Mulberry also symbolizes hard work and respect for parents.

How to plant mulberries?

Growing mulberry, like any other tree, begins with planting, which is best done in mid-spring, namely in April, before sap flow begins. The second option is mid-autumn before the start of the rainy season.

Important! Gardeners with great experience It is recommended to plant mulberries in the fall. Because the plant that survived the winter in early age, will live a long time.

To choose the right place to plant a tree, you need to take into account its preferences. Mulberry, as mulberry is also called, does not like excess moisture, so planting and further caring for it should begin with determining suitable soil. Deposits groundwater should not exceed one and a half meters. The planting pit must be prepared two weeks before planting the tree. Its size directly depends on the root system of the seedling. The tree should not be placed end-to-end in the hole, but freely. The average pit size is approximately 50cm³.

If the soil in which the tree is planted is poor in nutrients, the hole needs to be made wider and deeper so that up to 7 kg of compost mixed with 100 grams of superphosphate can be placed at the bottom. The fertilizer is then covered with a layer of soil. Its thickness should be such that the roots of the plant do not come into contact with fertilizers.

After two weeks you can plant the mulberry tree. Its roots need to be straightened and dug in, shaking the trunk. This is necessary in order to remove excess voids from the soil. When the roots along with the hole are completely filled, the soil should be compacted and the seedling should be watered with 20 liters of water. When the water is completely absorbed, you need to mulch trunk circle.

Important! If the tree being planted is not yet strong enough, then before planting it it is necessary to drive a support into the bottom of the pit. It will serve as a kind of holder for the seedling. The tree needs to be tied to it. If you choose to plant mulberries clay soil, then at the bottom of the hole you need to throw broken bricks for drainage.

As mentioned above, mulberries are planted twice a year: in spring and autumn. Planting during these periods is almost identical. But usually in the fall they dig a pit for planting, put nutrients in it and leave it until spring. But in April the planting is completed.

Features of wood care

Once the tree is planted, you need to know how to further care for the mulberry. The main thing is to water the tree abundantly during the period of active development, especially when the buds are blooming. It is also important to feed the plant.

Pruning rules

Like any other tree, mulberries need pruning. This is best done during periods of rest. The most painless mulberry pruning occurs in the spring. From the end of April to the beginning of May, when the buds have not yet blossomed, two types of pruning are carried out: formative and rejuvenating. The third - sanitary - pruning is carried out in the fall, when all the leaves have already fallen. But the air temperature should not be lower than -10°C. Different types Mulberries need to be pruned differently. As a rule, the crown of the weeping mulberry is thinned out and the shoots and branches are shortened.

Important! Don't worry if the pruning is too much. This type of mulberry returns to normal very quickly.

A crown is formed in a stamped mulberry. They leave a long bare trunk, and at the top - a thick sphere-like cap or cascade of branches. The decorative mulberry tree is the most difficult to form. The trunk of a young tree is cleared of branches to a level of up to 1.5 m from the ground. You can let the crown grow naturally. If you want to grow a dwarf tree, then cut the apical shoot at a height of about 1.5 m and form a skeleton of ten branches. Then you will only need to maintain the shape of the crown by cutting off unnecessary shoots. Penetrating branches do not need to be disturbed; they can simply be supported.

When the time comes to prepare the mulberry tree for wintering, sanitary pruning is carried out. During this procedure, all diseased, dead and too weak branches and shoots are cut off. Sanitary pruning is usually not necessary every year.

Soil care

To ensure that the mulberry gets sick less and is not attacked by pests, the tree trunk is treated with fungicides and insecticides for preventive purposes. It is better to do this in early April, while the buds have not yet woken up, and in October at the end of the growing season. Good remedy against diseases and pests - this is Nitrafen.

In the spring, it is better to treat the tree and add seven percent urea to the soil. It will destroy all pathogenic elements and insect larvae that are buried in the soil and in the bark of the mulberry tree. The plant will also be fed with nitrogen fertilizer, which is so necessary for the mulberry this season.

In order for the mulberry to adapt to severe frosts, it needs to be watered from spring to mid-summer, only when the weather is dry. Afterwards, watering should be stopped. If spring is rich in rain, then it is not needed. At the same time, the mulberry tree needs to be fed. In early spring Fertilizers with a nitrogen component must be added to the soil, and in the summer - with potassium and phosphate.

How to prepare mulberries for winter?

The mulberry tree is prepared for wintering already in mid-autumn by bending the branches to the ground. This procedure will not be difficult, since young mulberries are quite flexible. But since the mulberry grows quite large, in the future it is better to place the skeletal branches horizontally, and bend only the young branches.

For the first three years, it is advisable to wrap the trunk and main branches with covering material in several layers. It depends on the severity of winter frosts. Then you need to throw it on the tree, spreading poison under it for winter rodents, which can greatly harm the tree. To prevent winds from blowing away the protective coating, it must be weighed down with something heavy, for example, pipes, boards or bricks. You need to remove the mulberry cover in May, when the spring night frosts end.

If you do not take into account the bending of young branches and manipulations with protective coating, then caring for a mulberry tree and preparing it for wintering is no different from the usual agricultural practices of apple trees.

Did you know? There is one beautiful legend about the beginning of silk production, associated with the mulberry tree. Princess Xi Ling Shi was resting under a large mulberry tree when a cocoon fell into her cup of tea. In the hot drink, it unraveled into shiny threads with iridescence. This is how China acquired one of its main secrets: the small, inconspicuous silkworm caterpillar that lives on the mulberry tree is a source of valuable material from which almost priceless fabrics can be made.

When and how to harvest?

The mulberry produces its first fruits already in the third year. Only the berries are still small. They become larger after another five to six years. But there are ways to speed up this process. In the spring, you need to graft a shoot from the mother tree onto the seedling. Harvesting mulberries is the greatest pleasure, because you don’t have to climb a tree. When the berries ripen, they fall off on their own. On the ground under the tree you only need to spread a thick fabric, for example, spunbond. Mulberries are very juicy and sweet and can reach 5 cm in length. It all depends on the variety.

Mulberry propagation

The mulberry tree reproduces both by seeds and vegetatively.

Seeds

Mulberry propagation by seeds is the easiest way for all types of this tree. You just need to take a handful of berries of the chosen variety, put them in a container and leave them in the sun to ferment. Then you need to mix the seeds well in water and drain the water with the empty shells. Then add water again and pass through a fine mesh strainer. Then wipe and rinse again. Repeat until only clean seeds without pulp remain.

Afterwards, they should be dried well and placed in a paper bag and stored in a dry place until the beginning of spring. 45 days before sowing, moistened seeds should be placed on a shelf under the freezer for stratification or kept in water for three days. Mulberry seeds should be sown to a depth of 1 cm in the brightest place. The future mulberry should be watered frequently, but not overwatered.

It is also worth making sure that the young plant is not destroyed by spring frosts. The first shoots must be protected from direct exposure to UV rays. Dense plantings must be thinned out at the fifth leaf stage. Thick ones are left in place for growing until the age of two years. The characteristics of the mother plant are not transmitted by seeds when propagated. Such seedlings are used for grafting varietal mulberries.

Did you know? The appearance of paper in China was also facilitated by the mulberry tree. It is his bast that is located under tree bark, was used to create paper.

Cuttings

How else does mulberry reproduce? The best way reproduction in the summer is by cuttings. At the beginning of summer, cuttings with two or three buds are taken from a healthy shoot of this year. The lower leaves need to be removed, and half of the leaves should be left on the rest so that the cuttings can continue to grow and develop.

You need to plant the cuttings in a greenhouse, or even an improvised one, under a translucent film to a depth of 3 cm. Conditions are created there in which the cuttings take root well. They will need moderate watering, frequent ventilation of the room and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers. The fact that the cuttings have taken root can be understood in a month, when new shoots appear. These seedlings are exactly the same as the mother tree.

Vaccination

Mulberry is grafted by almost everyone by known methods. The easiest and most importantly successful is copulation. You can plant mulberries indoors in winter or with the onset of early spring. Those cuttings that were grafted before sap flow take root faster.

A simple copulation consists of identical oblique cuts on the scion and rootstock so that the cambial layers join more clearly. Sections are made between the kidneys. When the sections are combined, the junction should be tightly covered with a soft polyethylene bandage.

Important! Do not allow any shifts. In this case, the likelihood of fusion will be significantly reduced.

Improved copulation with a tongue differs from simple copying by the additional application of parallel serifs, which overlap each other when joined. This ensures strong mechanical bonding of tissues between cuttings. It is necessary to retreat a third of the length of the cutting from the end of the rootstock cut down. A cut is made on the scion upwards and a half oblique cut is made. As a result, peculiar “tongues” are formed on both cuttings, with the help of which they are more closely combined with each other.

By layering

The lower branch is used as a layer. It bends down and is fixed on the surface of the soil, then sprinkled with earth. To ensure better rooting, the branch needs to be broken at the bend or the bark ring removed. With this technique, root formation is stimulated. The procedure should be carried out in the spring, and by autumn roots will already appear on the layering.

Did you know? The oldest mulberry in Ukraine is considered to be the one that grows on the territory of the Grishko National Botanical Garden. Its age is about 500 years. As legend has it, it was planted by pilgrim monks from seeds that were brought from Central Asia. They also think that this particular tree is considered the mother of all Ukrainian mulberries. Kobzar himself made several sketches of this tree.

Remember that by planting several mulberry trees, you will provide berries for an entire generation. After all, mulberries, depending on the variety, can live for hundreds of years.

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