Sweet Juice Black Mulberry Seeds and Scions

sold out Hardy and Vigorous Selection with Delicious Fruit-Not too Sweet and Not too Watery

This is one of the fastest growing mulberries at our farm growing more that 3-5 ft. per year. The high quality sweet fruit is not as insipid as other mulberries and is favored by people. Large lustrous green leaves are very clean and free of disease throughout the summer. The trees are resistant to witches broom which is common throughout the Midwest which deforms trees. This is the species most often cultivated for its fruit and has been widely distributed throughout the world as a fruit plant. The Pakistan varieties as well as others are only marginally hardy in Michigan if at all. I lost over a dozen varieties of them during a below minus 20 winter. Eventually I was able to create my own seed source as well as varieties from this seed source.

'Sweet Juice' provides both a varietal level selection as well as a seed source that can be grown in more northern locations.  

This seed source was developed by growing out numerous seedling Morus nigra seeds that I purchased from a commercial seed house.  Three distinct populations were selected including cutleaf forms and planted starting 15 years ago and continues to this day. Besides the deer issue and their love of the foliage, the yields as the tree matures are just amazing and the flavor is fantastic. This is a full zone 5 seed source of trees that could easily make other populations of this wonderful cultivated fruit.  

Black mulberries contain 8 percent sugar and are high in potassium and vitamin C. This fruit is best enjoyed fresh. Trees are self fertile usually but two plants are always better than one with mulberries as trees produce male, female and perfect flowers with both parts. This cross pollination will aid in fruit set although lone trees from my farm planted elsewhere did not require it.  

For years Oikos Tree Crops bought a lot of grafted black mulberries from other nurseries. Unfortunately they are not hardy at my farm. Black mulberry has a huge range in its native habitat, however most of the selection process was done in warmer climates where it rarely dips below freezing.  Of course those are nice selections in warmer climates but not in Michigan and other cold regions of the U.S. above zone 7 or 8. My focus is on large leaves, tall broad habit of growth, open tree structure and resistance to the myriad of existing mulberry diseases and of course quantities of delicious fruit. Size of fruit is not a priority but hardiness is critical in zone 5. Flavor for mulberry is critical as too sweet or insipid, then few will appreciate new varieties even if they are fruitful in zone 5.  Further selections as well as seed strains can easily be done with the groundwork done on this Ecos seed source. 

"Sweet Juice"   Vigorous tree with large leaves and strong growth habit. Fruit is produced all along the limbs in heavy clusters. Flavor is rich with a strong mulberry essence and not insipid or overly sweet. The sweet tart balance is perfect for a mulberry. The berries are incredibly juicy with little fiber or excessive seed production. In fact it is kind of seedless with only small amounts of solid seeds are produced. The parent tree was hit with minus 25F once and no damage was done. The large leaves and upright rounded crown growth habit make it a nice shade tree as well. Trees can be grafted onto seedling rootstocks. The seeds from this variety also produce a zone 5 seed strain for the development of further varieties as well.  "Sweet Juice" comes with its seeds as well as scionwood for clonal reproduction by grafting. 

To germinate the seed: Mulberry seed has only small dormancy or none at all. If planted on the surface of the soil the seeds will sprout quickly. They do damp off easy and are loved by slugs. Provide good soil aeration for this seed. Dormancy hastens germination with this species and can be done in the refrigerator prior to sowing for 60 days at 34-38F. This will hasten and unify germination. Add a little lightly moist sand in a zip lock bag for the seeds and refrigerate for 60 days then lightly seed on top of a flat. Seeds will sprout in a few days.