New dwarf Mulberry Charlotte Russe - Your opinions please

[Mrs Bee]

Ahh, that is not good news then as I leapt in an ordered one.

I should have learned by now that these unusual plants especially from this company are all 'wee and wind' as Granddad would say.

I will just have to be patient and wait for the proper mulberry tree I bought a couple of years ago to fruit.

Just I hope I live long enough to eat the fruit. LOL

[sparrow100]

if Sparrow's is leafing out in mid-march that is very atypical for morus nigra which usually plays it safe until May before coming into leaf. Fruit may therefore not be of m nigra quality.

Suttons have never labelled it morus nigra - it's only ever been there with a 'morus' under the name and is definitely a hybrid. For clarity the plant I was sent is in a greenhouse at the moment, not outdoors, and was told the first year potted plants had been raised under cover. (Spent a long time talking to Suttons)

We'll just have to see what the berries are like. I'm still excited by it.

[Losos]

Thanks everyone for replies. I found a telephone number and phoned them. As mentioned above they have 'sold out' and next lot will be September. I think I've lost interest now : 'tho it maybe worth bumping this thread up in the summer to see if Sparrow has at least a few berries on his plant.

Like many of you I have also tried some of these 'new' varieties but have to say that I've not been very happy with the results.

Like my old dad used to say "The old faithfuls are the best" and at my age I prefer not to waste valuable energy on things which will not give me a good crop. Some might find this odd but I actually like to eat my fruit, preferably straight of the bush, and mixed with my morning porridge :

So once again thanks, some diversion from original topic but I don't mind that at all. Why do some people go berserk if a thread runs 'off topic' ? it's what would happen if we were gathered together in the pub or at an exhibition.

[devonuk]

Suttons have never labelled it morus nigra - it's only ever been there with a 'morus' under the name and is definitely a hybrid. For clarity the plant I was sent is in a greenhouse at the moment, not outdoors, and was told the first year potted plants had been raised under cover. (Spent a long time talking to Suttons)

We'll just have to see what the berries are like. I'm still excited by it.

Sorry, my mistake. The Guardian article says it is described as a variety of m. nigra, but doesn't say who gave it that description.

The plot thickens with a bit of googling; someone put out a press release in February (about the time of the Guardian piece) suggesting it is a (selection or hybrid of) a species, m. rotundiloba (misspelt rotunbiloba) and that Plant Breeder's Rights belong to a Mr Matsunaga of Japan : https://www.plantipp.eu/en/morus-cha...se-goes-royal/

[sparrow100]

That's really interesting devonuk - thanks for posting.

[TrixC]

I've always wanted a mulberry but put off by size and slowness to bear. Although I've read that grafted mulberries fruit earlier. As an aside, I have a fourberry, although not the orange variety, mine is Black Pearl, and it fruits quite happily on its own. Although the fruit is not much to write home about, fairly ordinary flavour and large pips.

[sparrow100]

As an interim update, my Charlotte Russe has put on about 3cm in growth since I repotted it into luxurious new quarters (a 3L pot) and has the tiniest of berries appearing. It is apparently self-pollinating, and I've added a pic below so you can see them close up. In terms of actual size, well let's just say they have a looooooong way to go!

[Losos]

As an interim update, my Charlotte Russe has put on about 3cm in growth

Thanks for that & the photo, and I'm pleased to see it's thriving, very much looking forward to another pic in June or July to see what those berries develop into.

[sparrow100]

Growth is really kicking in now. It's put on about 20cm vertically - the horizontal branches less than that. And the flowers are all hairy now. No sign of many flowers further up the new growth, but it's only just appeared...



And just to back up devonuk's comments, the very sheltered mulberry tree (nigra) at Garden Organic is only just coming into leaf. My sister-in-law's is still developing buds.

[Compo72]

Great posts everyone .

we bought a mulberry on a grafted rootstock last year from a well known nursery near the north yorks moors raliway
its in the ground doing ok thus far.

we are tempted with the mini mulberry one been advertised. so be interesting to see how people get on with it
what other plants / species do you need nearby to help pollinate it

[sparrow100]

Another update.

Charlotte needed a new home - the roots have reached the outside of the compost and I don't want it to get pot-bound. The next one up from the (5-6L?) green pot will be her final home, she's staying potted so she's portable...

The light peat-free mix certainly seems to keep this plant happy. It was in a 3rd each mix of compost, leafmould and manure. Now in a slightly heavier mix with soil added.

Berries are starting to take colour, but there are currently none on the latest new growth, maybe later in the year.

[sparrow100]

we are tempted with the mini mulberry one been advertised. so be interesting to see how people get on with it
what other plants / species do you need nearby to help pollinate it

It's self-pollinating Compo.

[Brack]

I ordered my Charlotte Russe Mulberry as soon as they announced it, it came a while ago and it's been living on my windowsill (East facing bay window) since then. It will eventually go outside this summer, but I couldn't resist the temptation to have a crop of berries before then. I've had about 10 fruit off it in the past week, they ripen from red to black overnight!
The little thing wants to make hundreds of berries, I removed about 30 or 40 in order to allow it to have some energy to grow (and it produces impressive amount of sap from the little tiny flower stalks, no wonder you shouldn't prune mulberries when in leaf - dread to think what chopping a branch would do), but it seems like every day there are another half dozen flowers appearing.
Taste of the berries: well, they're certainly very nice, but not ground breakingly amazing. I've never actually had a fresh mulberry from another source, but I've had some fantastic mulberry jam I bought online. I wonder if I should plant a King James Mulberry so in 2025 I'll be able to compare the taste (actually I've been wondering about root restricting or espalier to make a morus nigra stay under 10 foot or so).

I assume if mine is fruiting now that anyone else who couldn't resist the temptation to keep theirs indoors til they'd harvested a crop must also be eating them - how do others think they compare on taste?

[sparrow100]

Mine doesn't have any new flowers appearing yet, but some of the berries are going a decent red colour so it shouldn't be too far off. I got mine a little later than you probably - but before Suttons hiked up the price.

I'm very lucky to have a fruiting mulberry tree in a family member's garden, so I do have something to compare it to.

[AkionTotocha]

What are those white wormy looking things coming out of the berries on yours sparrow?