How to Grow Mulberry

Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil. Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. If the soil is alkaline, add Yates Soil Acidifer Liquid Sulfur to help lower the pH.

Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball.

If planting in winter, soak bare-rooted plants in a bucket of water for 30 minutes prior to planting. Remove from bucket, position in hole and backfill with soil, gently firming down. If planting a potted plant, remove the shrub from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots, then position in hole and backfill.

Form a raised or doughnut shaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone. This helps keep water where it's needed. Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots.

Mulch around the base with organic mulch like bark chips, sugarcane or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk.

Water deeply, once every 2-3 days, depending on weather conditions. Once established, water deeply once two weeks.

Feed with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser every 6-8weeks. When flowering and fruiting, feed fortnightly with Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food.

If growing in a pot, look for smaller growing varieties such as Dwarf Mulberry Black or Red Shahtoot.

Choose a pot at least 600mm wide. Position in full sun and partially fill with quality potting mix, such as Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter.

Remove the shrub from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.

Position in pot and backfill, gently firming down. Water in well.

Mulch with an organic mulch, such as bark chips, sugar cane or pea straw ensuring to keep it away from the trunk.

Water deeply, once every 2-3 days, depending on weather conditions. Once established, water deeply once two weeks.

Feed with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser every 6-8weeks. When flowering and fruiting, feed fortnightly with Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food

Feed with Yates Thrive Natural Citrus & Fruit Organic Based Plant Food.

Can strike them from cuttings, take in early spring about 90 cm long, place them in cool shaded spot in a pot. They will be ready for transplant after a year's time, or purchase a healthy plant from a reputed nursery.

Though they can be grown from seeds it may take up to 10 years before they bear fruit.

Mulberries are large trees that can grow up to 12 metres in height and spread about 18 metres.

Do not pick Mulberries before they are ripe as they don not ripen off the tree. Only pick fruits when they are ripe.

You can hard prune an established Mulberry in winter and lightly prune after fruiting period.

You guessed it! Mulberry leaves - making them a must-have tree if you wish to keep silkworms.

Mulberries can be grown Australia-wide, so long as the soil is deep and very well-drained.

• Morus macroura 'Shatoot'
• Morus alba 'Pendula'
• Morus nigra 'Hicks Fancy'
• Morus nigra 'Black English'
• Morus rubra 'Everbearing Downings'

Mulberries can suffer from two main diseases:  Fungal Leaf Spot (Phloeospora maculans) and Bacterial Blight (Pseudomonas syringae). Both diseases can cause defoliation on your Mulberry trees and have the potential to occur simultaneously on the same tree.

Fungal Leaf Spot only affects leaves. They show as small dark brown spots that have a green or yellow halo, gradually becoming larger. The leaf slowly dies, turning white with dark brown margins and the fungus then spreads throughout the tree via wind and rain splash. Implementing good hygiene practices, such as promptly raking up fallen leaves and ensuring proper air circulation around the tree, can help alleviate the problem.

Bacterial blight on Mulberries is a more serious problem because it affects the new shoots and leaves. Newly emerging leaves in spring will have large angular brown or black spots that are surrounded by a yellow halo, and leaves become distorted and curled. Cankers will develop on stems that die back. Bacteria oozes from these cankers and spreads through the tree.

During autumn, it is important to prune off all the dead wood and completely remove any infected material from the site. Maintaining good hygiene practices is vital to effectively control the spread of diseases.

Mulberries are deciduous and their leaves naturally yellow in autumn and fall off.

If it is not autumn or winter and the leaves are yellowing, check the soil pH, make sure there is good drainage, and check for pests and diseases. 

Mulberries sometimes get attacked by Fruit Fly. The female lays her egg inside the fruit, the eggs hatch into maggots and then feed inside the fruit.

To help lure and kill the adult Fruit Flies before they get a chance to lay their eggs, spray the trunk or lateral branches, or a nearby surface with Yates Nature's Way Fruit Fly Control.