mulberry cuttings

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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@ forsoothe - check wikipedia or Flora of North America. Morus alba IS NOT native to north america. It is called Russian mulberry for a reason.
The North American native mulberry is the Red mulberry.

The widely invasive white mulberry aka Russian mulberry, Morus alba, is found "everywhere", and it does hybridize with native Morus rubra and the other invasive mulberry, Morus nigra. Morus nigra is only winter hardy through zone 7, so it is an invasive in southern North America.


@Darth Masiah - nice starts. I do think you have white mulberry, aka Russian mulberry. Or you have a hybrid that favors white mulberry in appearance. As mentioned by others, they do work well for bonsai, regardless of what species they are.
 

PA_Penjing

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Might try some finger thick cuttings this spring. Thank you for providing examples @Forsoothe!, everyone knows these things are bullet proof but it's hard to trust all the things I hear about mulberry being a good bonsai candidate when I have never seen an example ha.
 

Forsoothe!

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Well, I find it hard to believe that JBP is good bonsai because I see so many bad examples here and elsewhere. I see lots beginning the process and even more in middling process, but very, very few worth a shit. All of them look like bonsai, and none look like trees. I know this is heresy and lots of people will tell me how stupid I am, but the proof is in the pudding and being from the Show Me state...
 

Darth Masiah

Chumono
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Well, I find it hard to believe that JBP is good bonsai because I see so many bad examples here and elsewhere. I see lots beginning the process and even more in middling process, but very, very few worth a shit. All of them look like bonsai, and none look like trees.
😅 this is true. i like trees in pots that look like Szalinski just shrunk it, but they're definitely few and far between. most people want to emulate the the styles of the Japanese trees in pots. i can't blame them, as i love the Japanese stylized interpretation of their pines.
 

just.wing.it

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I should have figured that Mulberry cutting root easily... I have one in my yard too...in the neglected corner with 7 foot tall weeds.
Been thinking about digging it up for a couple years....maybe I'll try some cuttings too!

Thanks for the inspiration!
 
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I’ve got one too. It has both types of leaves. It fruits a lot too. I am finding it a little harder to ramify than elms or other deciduous. It develops coarse growth. So aim for larger tree. They don’t heal scars that well. Last year the one I got was severely attacked by caterpillars while I was away and lost all its leaves. I think I lost a few buds on key twigs as well in the process. It’s starting to come to leaf now so I have yet to see the extent of the damage.
 

Crawforde

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My mulberries are very coarse as well.
so I’m going to try for a mame.
I can be difficult like that.
I do hope that over time, as these sticks become trees, they will get somewhat ramified and the leaves will reduce. Some branches hint at the possibility.
if not, when defoliated or heavily pruned, they flower as they grow back, so there are periods of interesting shape and texture.
 

Arnold

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Black mulberry Morus nigra I found better for bonsai, they usually make smaller leaves and internodes also they have a nicer bark
 

Gabler

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Black mulberry Morus nigra I found better for bonsai, they usually make smaller leaves and internodes also they have a nicer bark

I’m not convinced there are any pure bred mulberries left. I think the black, white, and red mulberries have merged into a single hybrid species of newspaper mulberry. Every example I find in the wild is a mix of traits from at least two of the three species.
 
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