How to Grow and Care for Mulberries

A unique and easy-to-grow edible landscaping plant, the mulberry is prized for its tasty fruits as well as its exquisite ornamental appeal. Originally native to China, this plant was valued for its role in silk production: silkworms will only eat the leaves of mulberry trees, making them crucial for the product's creation. Ultimately, the trees were sold around the world and are used today in different countries that produce silk.

Black mulberry (Morus nigra) is a deciduous flowering tree native to southwestern Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Black mulberry has been cultivated for a very long time in Europe and China for its edible fruit. It was imported into Britain in the 17th century with hope it would be useful in cultivating silkworms. However, silkworms prefer the white mulberry.

Red mulberry (Morus rubra) is a small- to medium-sized deciduous tree. Its sweet fruits are edible and look like blackberries. They can be eaten raw or boiled and are used in cake or pastry fillings. They can also be fermented to make alcoholic mulberry wine. Records of interactions with red mulberry plants by English settlers date back to the first days of colonization in what is now Virginia.

The white mulberry (Morus australis) is native to northern China but is naturalized in the USA. It is cultivated to feed the silkworms involved in the commercial production of silk. When it releases its pollen, the stamens act as catapults, and the pollen is ejected at 380 miles per hour, the fastest recorded movement in the plant world.

Hua mulberry is a deciduous tree notable for its broad canopy and toothed, heart-shaped leaves. Often found in forests and riverbanks, it thrives in well-drained soil, benefiting from sunlight. The tree's bark is deeply grooved, and it bears sweet, edible fruit that resembles blackberries, which ripens in summer and attracts a variety of wildlife.