White mulberry

Sun

Full sun for good fruiting; tolerates partial shade.

Water

Water regularly while establishing; established trees tolerate drought, but fruit better with moisture during dry spells.

Soil

Adaptable to clay, loam or sandy soil, including alkaline soil, provided drainage is adequate; avoid persistently waterlogged ground.

Height

30-50 ft (9-15 m)

Spread

30-50 ft (9-15 m)

Flowers

Small, inconspicuous greenish catkins in spring.

Foliage

Glossy green, toothed leaves, often with both lobed and unlobed leaves on the same tree; usually yellow in autumn.

Growth

Fast

Care needed

Medium

• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   9 ft (2.8 m)

3. After 2 years

   12 ft (3.5 m)

4. After 3 years

   14 ft (4.3 m)

5. After 5 years

   19 ft (5.8 m)

About 13 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Mildly toxic: may upset a stomach

Invasive in

the US, Canada and Australia

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Check local invasive-plant advice before planting; use a locally appropriate alternative where white mulberry threatens natural habitats.
• Plant well away from paving, drains and buildings, allowing room for the mature crown and shallow, spreading roots.
• Water deeply during dry spells for the first two growing seasons and while fruit is swelling.
• Apply a 2-3 in (5-8 cm) layer of organic mulch, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Avoid routine feeding on reasonably fertile soil; excessive nitrogen encourages vigorous shoots rather than fruit.
• For fruit, buy a named fruiting selection rather than a fruitless male tree; check whether it needs a pollination partner.

Pruning. Prune lightly in early winter after leaf fall, removing dead, crossing or poorly attached branches and establishing a sound framework while young. Avoid late-winter and spring pruning, when cuts can bleed heavily, and do not top mature trees.

Pick fully coloured, soft fruit in late spring or summer; ripe berries release with a gentle touch, and their final colour depends on the tree. Spread a clean sheet beneath the branches and shake lightly, then refrigerate or process the easily bruised fruit promptly. Grafted fruiting trees often give a worthwhile crop about 3-5 years after planting; seedlings commonly take 5-10 years or longer and may be male.

Autumn

Check local planting restrictions and invasive status before choosing a tree.

Late autumn

Plant while dormant where the soil is workable; in very cold areas, wait until early spring.

Early winter

Carry out light structural pruning after leaf fall.

Spring

Renew mulch and remove seedlings beneath the tree and nearby bird perches.

Late spring

Water during dry weather as fruit develops; arrange bird protection if needed.

Summer

Harvest soft fruit frequently and clear fallen berries from paths.

• A broad shade tree in a large lawn, away from patios and parking areas where fruit would stain.
• A fruit tree in a spacious orchard or edible landscape where local invasive guidance permits planting.
• A summer canopy over shade-tolerant groundcover, with room for surface roots.
• A traditional specimen in a large country garden, retaining its naturally spreading crown.

Garden styles it suits: Backyard orchard, Edible landscape, Homestead, Traditional, Farmhouse and Chinese scholar garden.

Plant it with: Daffodils, Hardy geraniums, Epimediums, Christmas fern and Chives.

Wildlife: Birds and mammals eat the fruit and spread its seeds. Leaves feed silkworms and some other caterpillars; flowers are wind-pollinated and provide little nectar value. Male trees can produce substantial allergenic pollen.

• Birds take ripe fruit: harvest frequently or protect smaller trees with tightly secured wildlife-safe netting; never leave loose netting.
• Leaf spots can cause premature leaf fall: collect fallen leaves, avoid wetting foliage and improve airflow; established trees rarely need treatment.
• Scale insects may weaken shoots: inspect twigs, prune out badly affected small branches and use a labelled horticultural oil when appropriate.
• Weak branch unions can split in storms: develop well-spaced main branches while young and have large structural defects assessed by a qualified arborist.

Ripe fruit is edible for people and is not known to be toxic to cats, dogs or horses, although large amounts may cause digestive upset. Unripe fruit and milky sap can cause stomach upset, and sap may irritate skin. Leaves are used as livestock fodder and are not generally considered poisonous; animal-specific information on unripe fruit and sap is limited.

Where it spreads. Invasive across much of the eastern and central United States, where birds spread seedlings into woodland edges, fields and disturbed ground; it also hybridizes with and threatens native red mulberry. It is an invasive concern in southern Ontario, Canada, and is recorded as an environmental weed in parts of eastern Australia, including New South Wales and Queensland.

• Red mulberry (Morus rubra)

  Usually has larger leaves with a distinctly rough upper surface and softly hairy undersides; white mulberry leaves are generally smoother and glossier. Hybrids can be difficult to identify reliably.

• Black mulberry (Morus nigra)

  Usually has thick, rough-textured, heart-shaped leaves and richly flavoured dark fruit. Fruit colour alone is not reliable because white mulberry can also bear black fruit.

• Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera)

  Has conspicuously hairy, rough leaves with pale, felted undersides and rounded orange-red fruit clusters rather than elongated mulberries.

Morus is the Latin name for mulberry, and alba means white, referring to the pale fruit of some forms.

Propagation. Propagate selected fruiting forms by grafting or suitable cuttings to preserve their characteristics. Seedlings vary in fruit quality and sex, take longer to crop and can spread beyond the garden; do not propagate where the species is invasive.

Accepted botanical name

Morus alba

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada, Hawaii and the lower 48 states.

Native range

China North-Central and China South-Central.

Measured

Soil pH 5 to 7. Average height 465 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.