growing mulberrys from cuttings

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by frosty, Jan 15, 2007.

  1. frosty

    frosty Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2005
    Messages:
    852
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    have just found out mulberry cuttings are excellent goat food so we want to grow more mulberry trees

    we already have one tree - just a ordinary red mulberry -so can we grow more from cuttings ?

    and if so has anyone got any tips as to the best method ..... what mulberrys need etc

    thanks frosty
     
  2. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    Messages:
    1,405
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Mulberries cuttings are really easy. I think the plants are really adaptable too. If you get the fodder cuttings back from the goats before they debark the stems you could probably use those pieces as propagation material.
     
  3. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2005
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Frosty,

    For once your deep sand will be an advantage. Mulberries are very adaptable but they do like sand. You can plant cuttings into sand and prunings direct. Mulberry is an excellent fodder source for most animals.

    I suspect in your area they may need a bit of frost protection in the first year.

    cheers

    floot
     
  4. Shack Living

    Shack Living Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2006
    Messages:
    38
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I believe the only downfall of growing mulberry's from cuttings is that they are not as strongly rooted (they dont develop the long tap root)
     
  5. frosty

    frosty Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2005
    Messages:
    852
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    thanks everyone

    richard what a great idea that way the goats can have their mulberrys and we can plant them too :lol: :lol: as long as we are quick !

    floot is it better to plant them direct or put them in water until they get some roots ?

    mulberrys do seem to like it here it is the only one of our fruit trees that has much fruit

    we have been struggling to grow tagas but if we can strike the mulberrys will give up tagas in favour of mulberries !

    and we dont have frost !

    byp that may be a problem because we will have to drip irrigate them as well - everything dies here without summer water - and we have trouble getting trees to put down deep roots.

    frosty
     
  6. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2005
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Frosty,

    I am a fan of trying things. So I would plant some direct, some into a box of sand in a shadehouse and some into water, for plants like mulberry. That's just me as a find it is not often that all 3 ways work all the time for whatever reason.

    I have never grown tagas but from all of my reading etc they should be prime plants for you, and apparently easily established too. Dont worry frosty, not for the first time I have seen this happen that for some reason one person/place cant grow a particular plant that grows like a weed for their neighbours.

    I had this very scenario with white mulberries. I tried several times with cuttings [in pots] and no success. I eventually took cuttings when the tree was under absolute stress, hadnt been watered for months, losing its leaves etc and tried the ''3 ways'' thing and they all struck. I had a similar thing with dogwood/rosewood [dunno the latin] and eventually I found a 6' long cutting on the side of the road and buried that about 2' in with a posthole digger and that was growing nicely till a grassfire nailed it.... :(

    Frosty, a suggestion for your drip irrigation. When you first plant a tree put the dripper close and dont mulch too close to the tree. After you know it is established [a couple of months] dig a hole maybe a foot deep and a foot away from the tree and put the dripper in that and cover it with mulch. This will push the tree into looking for water and also let water get down to the root zone. I think you are in an area that the sand sheds water ie the water will run all over the place and not sink in. This will help that.

    cheers

    floot
     
  7. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    Messages:
    1,405
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    That's interesting Floot, about the white mulberry. I have been told emphatically that the only way they will propagate is marcott, or air layering... I have even repeated that information... :lol:
     
  8. JR

    JR New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2006
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Ive had huge sucess with mulberry cuttings without even meaning to, I pruned my black mulberry alittle bit last year and as I recycle everything in the garden as I dont have a shredder of any type and the pruning where quite woody I decided to cut them up with sceaturs (spelling?) and throw them on the front "ornamental" garden with the other excess green waste to mulch in-situ

    Fast forward abit, I noticed these green shoots shooting up in the front garden and noticed they where any of the normal weedy plants that come up here so I left them for alittle bit just to watch them.

    Turn out they where mulberrys, without even trying I had propagated 40 or so mulberry trees...
     
  9. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2005
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Richard,

    I was surprised at the success of the shatoot. The reason it was under stress is because my pal moved off the property after it was destroyed by flood and finished off by a nasty divorce.

    We went out there about a year later and the tree was still alive, but only just. Sadly, I planted 4 trees [in case] and lost them to a later flood as they were only babies and the water was over them for a couple of months and I wasnt there to rescue them.

    When I get back to Katherine I will check the original tree to see if it has miraculously survived and take some more cuttings.

    floot
     
  10. frosty

    frosty Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2005
    Messages:
    852
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    back when I started this topic we put 6 cuttings in a pot in sand and put the pot in the shallow part of the pond

    wealso put about another 8 in a old leaky bucket just standing in the water

    the ones in water got leaves almost straight away but still show no signs of getting roots

    we potted 2 putting on back into the pond and one down in the veggie garden where in gets the sprinkler ....... both have withered

    the cuttings we put straight into pots never shot and when we looked their were no roots just the bark had rotted near the bottom

    any ideas on what we are doing wrong ?

    frosty
     
  11. PULSE

    PULSE Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2006
    Messages:
    43
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    sounds like maybe too much water frosty, just keep your cutting mix moist,talk to them abit tellem they lovely little mulberries
     
  12. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    Messages:
    1,405
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I usually expect to get less than 50% strike rate and so just make lots of cuttings. I don't know if my methods are inferior or if this is just how it goes. They can look pretty dead and then come to life for no reason. When I said before that they are easy, I meant it like; you just stick a bunch of cuttings into some mix and some of them grow. Not so much that every one will grow...
    It may be that the wood you are trying isn't the right age? I would generally go for cuttings that aren't too old, but aren't the new years growth... but then I think I have had success with old ones and young ones.
    Do you have any willow growing anywhere near you? You can make a "rooting hormone tea" by soaking willow cuttings in a bucket, and putting your other cuttings in the bucket with them. You can plant the willow cuttings too...
    Did you try soaking any of your cuttings in water before planting? Just plain water might help stimulate roots...
     
  13. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I tried to grow white mulberry cuttings earlier this year without success
    (White Mulberry has very sweet fruit and the birds don't get them)

    Every other Greek garden has them growing along with figs, grapes, lemons etc
    so it can't be too hard.
    I am about to try again
    I might try an asprin or willow water and soak them in that first

    I have found this on the web. Seems you need hardwood cuttings and can grow them from seed or root cuttings
    https://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/loa ... 94.html?10
    this is good
    https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/mulberry.html
    Never seen a red mulberry. They list quite a few varieties at this site never seen them in OZ. Anyone know of a mulberry specialist nursery?

    Kids love Mulberry Trees- three local kids have got their orders in for me to produce them one- so far I have failed. Not only do they love to eat them I think they like having red messy faces and they love growing silkworms
    https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s302479.htm

    I have a mulberry story.

    A good friend had a huge black mulberry at his back door. He complained that the kids trod them into the house and the birds craped them everywhere. As a surprise present I went to a nursery and got him a White Mulberry. I told him about it and he was delighted. He planted it next to his other mulberry (Which he hoped he could talk the kids into chopping down once he had a satisfactory substitute).
    The white mulberry grew gangbusters and in a few years fruited
    Yes you know
    Black
    He has never forgiven me. The kids and the trees are now huge. The mess at fruiting time is amazing.
     
  14. TropicalRose

    TropicalRose Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2007
    Messages:
    138
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Floot I was told you can't grow white mulberries this far north (lecturer at TAFE Horticulture course) and a few books. Well there you go. I was also told they taste heavenly so I might have to source some seedlings now.

    Richard from Maui, is it tropical where you live & how do you grow willows if it is? I thought they were only a cold climate tree.
    Golleey, just look how much you can learn from this sort of forum. :lol:
     
  15. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2005
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Rose,

    A few of properties in Katherine have the white mulberry.

    Also.. I have seen photos of willow trials at the CSIRO farm in Katherine dating back to the 50s. They were a real success, so much of a success they were concerned about it being a weed. Some of them reached over 20' in one year [I think from seed].

    When I get back to Katherine I will grab a few cuttings and get you one.

    Cheers

    floot
     
  16. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2003
    Messages:
    1,585
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    hey frosty If you keep this up ill need to visit for a month i got some black mullberries,I grew mine from cuttings...I get great fruit these days and have enough leaves to feed my silk worms...I also have weeping willows if you want cuttings for rooting juice..

    Tezza
     
  17. frosty

    frosty Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2005
    Messages:
    852
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi richard, pulse and tezza ( I am not worrying about white mulberries black are too difficult for me :lol: )

    i would be happy with 50 % but 0% of the ones we stuck in soil grew :lol: and at first it looked like about 50% with the ones in water getting leaves

    pulse maybe it is too much water but then when only the ones in water are getting leaves who nows :?


    the cuttings are all from wood about 1 year old ........ the tree is in a mesh enclosure so we hav to prune it heavily every year or it escapes !

    I think I will try some cuttings of older wood from the neighbour's tree

    no willows with 100kms or so :lol: too dry and hot up here

    but tezza I would appreciate some cuttings to soak thank you

    we didnt soak the ones we planted so will try that too

    will also try talking to them :lol:

    although I do think the ducks have been saying a fair bit to them about what tasty looking leaves they have if only they could reach them :lol: :lol:

    thanks everyone

    frosty
     
  18. TropicalRose

    TropicalRose Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2007
    Messages:
    138
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Thanks floot I would really appreciate that. Isn't it lovely having another 'local'.
    I have a black mulberry already that was grown from a cutting and bought at a market but its still in the pot. I'm even going to try broccoli this year as I believe it grows better at Adelaide River than Darwin area.
    I have heard before that willows make good hormone rooting liquid and great charcoal for art. Best kept away from waterways though I think.
    Cheers
     
  19. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    Messages:
    1,405
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Maui is sort of subtropical in my opinion. Haven't seen willows here, but I'm sure they would love it here. (I've done the willow water root hormone thing in northern nsw and se qld).
     
  20. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2005
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Rose,

    My father-in-law was a victorian market gardener.. melbourne and then mildura. He spent his life on the land mostly as a horticulturist.

    He always maintained that the finest vegetables he ever grew was at Adelaide River during WW2. He was stationed at Katherine, Darwin and Adelaide River [also spent time in the Solomons].

    Broccoli grows fine. I have never had an issue with it. Play around with varieties too, makes a huge difference. I have picked cabbages and cauliflower in Katherine in November.... :D

    floot
     

Share This Page

-->