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Post by Sandbur on Aug 24, 2018 6:53:49 GMT -6
A farm in northern Meeker county of Minnesota has one. The owner says it was about waist high when he bought the place 25 years ago. It looks healthy with no visible dieback and is on a slight south slope. First mulberry I have ever seen.
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Post by wiscwhip on Aug 24, 2018 7:08:15 GMT -6
If that is a native red mulberry, as opposed to the introduced, asian white mulberry, it is growing farther north than any others I am aware of. Instances of native red mulberry are confined to the extreme southeast of MN, Houston Co, a little south and east of kl9's farm along the Mississippi River near Brownsville and a few areas along the NE Iowa border. If it is the non-native white, who knows, they are much more adaptive and are now taking over the gene pool in many areas by hybridizing with the native reds.
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Post by jbird on Aug 24, 2018 7:10:33 GMT -6
yep - that's mulberry. I have no idea how far north they will live. If you want to try some - come get them! I have these damn things all over the place....they are more like a weed to me. The fruiting period here has come and gone so I can't send you any fruit to pot, but you come with a bucket and spade I have plenty to try to dig up and transplant! The deer will browse them and the birds really like the berries.
I think you finding a more northern source would be best, but if you struggle to find a source I can dig some dormant for transplant come spring OR get you some fruit next year as well. I have tons....so I am not loosing anything. Seriously...I sprayed some a few weeks ago to see if I could kill them back some.
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Post by wiscwhip on Aug 24, 2018 7:30:04 GMT -6
Mulberries will grow by just cutting a large branch and shoving it in the ground a couple feet. Success rates run about 40%, but who cares when you can literally pepper an area with branches cut from existing trees. That said, given their propensity for hybridization, if I had native reds in my area, I would never attempt to get the non-native white mulberries started.
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Post by Catscratch on Aug 24, 2018 7:50:32 GMT -6
I can vouch for them growing as far north as KS (hope that helps).
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Post by Freeborn on Aug 24, 2018 11:04:33 GMT -6
I have 4 growing at my place in OTC. Stu got me interested in a variety out of ND know as "Trader" Mulberry. Mine are about 6' tall and have had a few berries on them.
So far I have not seen any winter damage on my trees.
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Post by jbird on Aug 24, 2018 11:36:06 GMT -6
Mulberries will grow by just cutting a large branch and shoving it in the ground a couple feet. Success rates run about 40%, but who cares when you can literally pepper an area with branches cut from existing trees. That said, given their propensity for hybridization, if I had native reds in my area, I would never attempt to get the non-native white mulberries started. Around here because the birds eat the berries you can almost just shake a stick in any general direction and a mulberry will grow! I am sure mine are mostly of the white variety, but the birds and deer don't seem to care. If they will propagate as you describe by just sticking them into the ground......I have a virtual mulberry forest just ready and waiting! They certainly are an early successional plant here..... They are also pretty tough trees. I can beat the crap out of them with a bush-hog and they still come back. Sometimes I think it just pisses 'em off! They do not like shade. I only have them at the edge of the woods or in buffer type areas where they essentially become the canopy.....and they don't get super huge as they prefer to grow out vs up. Most of mine grow more like a large shrub similar to an elderberry or the like vs an actual tree. Damn things.....
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Post by benmnwi on Aug 24, 2018 11:40:08 GMT -6
It seems like every time I've tried planting something north of its natural boundary things look great right away and then a bad winter takes them out. Now I go the other way and plant crap that grows naturally farther north than where I'm planting them just to have a little safety buffer.
My trees of MN book also references mulberries only being found naturally in the extreme corner of SE MN.
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Post by Freeborn on Aug 24, 2018 11:52:03 GMT -6
It seems like every time I've tried planting something north of its natural boundary things look great right away and then a bad winter takes them out. Now I go the other way and plant crap that grows naturally farther north than where I'm planting them just to have a little safety buffer. My trees of MN book also references mulberries only being found naturally in the extreme corner of SE MN. The variety that Stu and I are trying has existed in ND for many years. I know Bailey's is testing the trees as the trees I picked up were at Baileys nursery.
When I talked to the original owner of this variety, (name escapes me) he indicated the tree on their family homestead had been their for 50+ years and seen extreme cold temperatures.
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Post by Sandbur on Aug 24, 2018 11:52:37 GMT -6
It seems like every time I've tried planting something north of its natural boundary things look great right away and then a bad winter takes them out. Now I go the other way and plant crap that grows naturally farther north than where I'm planting them just to have a little safety buffer. My trees of MN book also references mulberries only being found naturally in the extreme corner of SE MN. I have also looked at that book.
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Post by Sandbur on Aug 24, 2018 11:52:59 GMT -6
It seems like every time I've tried planting something north of its natural boundary things look great right away and then a bad winter takes them out. Now I go the other way and plant crap that grows naturally farther north than where I'm planting them just to have a little safety buffer. My trees of MN book also references mulberries only being found naturally in the extreme corner of SE MN. The variety that Stu and I are trying has existed in ND for many years. I know Bailey's is testing the trees as the trees I picked up were at Baileys nursery.
When I talked to the original owner of this variety, (name escapes me) he indicated the tree on their family homestead had been their for 50+ years and seen extreme cold temperatures.
Were those grafted?
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Post by Sandbur on Aug 24, 2018 11:54:55 GMT -6
The few berries left on here appeared red.
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Post by Freeborn on Aug 24, 2018 11:58:42 GMT -6
The variety that Stu and I are trying has existed in ND for many years. I know Bailey's is testing the trees as the trees I picked up were at Baileys nursery.
When I talked to the original owner of this variety, (name escapes me) he indicated the tree on their family homestead had been their for 50+ years and seen extreme cold temperatures.
Were those grafted? Art, I don't remember. I'm headed up to my place over Labor Day and will take a look. The trees I got were part of a shipment the owner sent to Baileys for testing. Baileys chose the trees they wanted and these 4 were left over. I had originally asked for 2 but he let me have these 4 for the price of 2 so I picked them up.
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Post by nhmountains on Aug 24, 2018 11:59:58 GMT -6
His name is Jim Walla Trader Mulberry
Northerntrees@outlook.com
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Post by nhmountains on Aug 24, 2018 12:15:15 GMT -6
Art,
Thanks for bringing this up. I supposedly have two of those coming to me this fall. The info hje gave me was the tree was 35" 125+/- years old. He sells them based on size. $25 for 2' up to $55 for 4-6'.
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