Florida Gardening - Red Mulberry Tree

Red Mulberry Tree

Genus: Morus
Species: Rubra

I have a native Red Mulberry Tree that been growing in my yard for several years. I wanted to share some facts about this wonderful tree and tricks I have learned along the way.

Facts:
A native from south Florida, west to Texas, north to Minnesota and east to the Mid-Atlantic states. [1]
Height: 15-70 feet [1]
Life Span: 125 years [2]

Medicinal:
Creek Indians treated urinary tract issues using an extract made from mulberry root. The Rappahannock took the sap and rubbed it over skin to treat ringworm, and the Cherokee steeped the bark and ingested the liquid to loosen stool and get rid of intestinal worms. The Meskwaki used the root bark as a cure for a wide range of ills. [1]

Fruit:
The mulberry fruits start red and ripen to a dark black. In Florida the fruit usually starts mid-February through till April. They have a mild sweet flavor that the birds and I enjoy. I normally eat the fruit raw which is best eaten immediately. The fruit has very little shelf life unless died or cooked by making into a pie, jam, sauce or fermented into a wine.

Prorogation & Pruning:
In Florida I prune my mulberry tree in October as it's going into dormancy. I prune out any dead branches and level the top at about 5 feet. I take the branch cutting from the top that are about 8-12 inches long, removed all bottom leaves and put the cut end in the ground or pot about 3-6 inches deep, no rooting hormone necessary, and give them a little water a few times a week. We had multiple frost and freeze this winter and I lost all the leaves off the mulberry cuttings. However, I still had a 60% success rate and this was my first year propagating from cuttings.

Fertilization:
If I have extra fish fertilizer or compost tea from fertilizing my other plants I will use the excess on the mulberry tree. However, I normally don't fertilize my mulberry tree with any regularity, but this year I planted some comfrey and Mexican sunflower and will mulch with these plants to see if I see any improvement in growth or fruiting next year.

Pests:
I have seen some scale on my mulberry tree, but it doesn't seem to bother it. I do spray it with Organicide, which is made out of fish oil, to keep the scale from spreading to other plants.

Diseases:
I have never seen any diseases on my mulberry tree.

Finale:
There are so many pros with this tree. It's a native tree to this area. It has very little pest problems and no diseases I have seen, which is saying quite a bit in Florida. It's cold hardy and propagates easily from cuttings. The fruit is delicious!!

Dtube video:

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