The mulberry is black and white, beautiful and healthy. Mulberry varieties with black fruits

* Black mulberry - mulberry tree is a long-lasting tree that has been cultivated since ancient times. It got to Europe, probably from Iran, grows in the wild in Asia Minor. Wild forms growing in warm regions of Europe and North America are often found in Spain and Italy, mainly on the outskirts of meadows and forests. However, mulberry was used there mainly as decorative tree in parks and home gardens. An additional benefit trees are delicious sweet and sour berries. Our mulberry is widespread in Central Asia, Crimea, the Caucasus, Ukraine, although it adapts well to low temperatures and is successfully growing in more northern regions, up to the Leningrad region. In northern latitudes, varieties of white mulberry are often grown, which is so called because of the color of the bark, and after ripening, the fruits can have a purple-black color - the same as that of black mulberries. For this reason, the two trees are often confused. The black mulberry fruit, however, tastes better and is therefore preferred in cultivation.

Characteristic

Black mulberry is a tree with a dense, spherical, spreading crown, reaching up to 15 m in height. The tree is covered with large, dissected, variably shaped leaves of a dark green color. The leaf blades are smooth and shiny, in contrast to the white mulberry, the leaves of which are very hairy. Mulberry blooms from May to June, Male and female flowers are on different trees, although, quite often, there are specimens with both male and female flowers. Male flowers after flowering, they crumble, and fleshy fruits are formed from the female. They ripen gradually from mid-July to August. Dark red, almost black berries have a spherical shape, about 3 cm. Ripe quickly fall off. Their juice gives an intense color to the hands and mouth.

Growing requirements

Black mulberry, as well as white, is not particularly demanding on growing conditions. She is quite tolerant of various soils, but loves warm, well-drained sandy or su clay soils... She does not tolerate waterlogging and heavy soil. The mulberry tree has a deep and well-branched root system, therefore it can extract water and nutrients from deeper layers of the soil. This thermophilic tree grows well in a sunny, wind-protected place. Black mulberry is less resistant to low temperatures, as white and in colder regions, especially young, woody stems can freeze out. It tolerates air pollution well, so they are recommended to be planted as an ornamental tree in green areas of cities. The mulberry tree is easy to grow, it grows quickly, within 10 years it can reach 8 m in height and up to 5 m in width. Mulberries do not require pruning, although they can be pruned in decorative purposes, for example for creating tall hedges. This procedure must be performed during the winter, when the plant is completely dormant, because the mulberry produces a milk sap that oozes out of the abundantly damaged tissues. Heavy pruning should, however, be avoided. If necessary, remove dry and overlapping branches of the crown. This plant is rarely infested with pests and diseases, does not require chemical protection and is suitable for organic farming.

Mulberry propagation

Mulberry trees can be propagated by woody cuttings. In early spring or in the fall, the stems are harvested with a length of 30 cm, so that they include 2-year-old wood. All are deleted side shoots, at least 3 healthy buds are left and then buried 10 cm in the ground. A stalk can be planted right where you want the tree to grow, but in colder climates it is best to root it in a warm room. Young trees can also be obtained by sowing seeds. Seeds germinate better after 2-3 months of stratification, that is, after overwintering. Plants grown in pots cannot be planted on permanent place before the threat passes spring frosts... It is advisable to plant the seedling in an open, sunny place, it is good that the hole is filled organic fertilizer... Particular attention must be paid not to damage the fragile roots.

Properties and application

Black mulberries can be consumed directly after harvesting or processing, they are not suitable for long-term storage. The fruits are juicy and slightly sour, have a refreshing taste and are ideal for desserts or preserves, marmalade, juices and liqueurs. In addition to taste, they contain many important nutrients and vitamins, in particular vitamins A, C, B vitamins, flavonoids, coumarins and tannins. The mulberry tree is also one of the cardioprotective anthocyanins and contains natural dyes so that the juice can be used to color foods. In addition, these compounds have strong antioxidant properties.
Almost all parts of the plant have long been used in Chinese medicine. Fruits increase the body's immunity, cleanse the body and have diuretic properties. Fruit juice is useful in the treatment of the heart and blood vessels, in addition, it has hematopoietic and hemostatic properties, it is recommended for anemia. Leaf preparations, especially white mulberry leaves, are effective in lowering blood sugar levels. The leaf extracts are antibacterial, astringent and diaphoretic. The bark has antitussive, expectorant and diuretic properties, and infusions are used to treat asthma, coughs and bronchitis.

The mulberry tree has been known since time immemorial - the first paper was made from its wood, the production of natural silk is associated with its leaves, and delicious berries, wines and desserts made from them are now known all over the world. There are several cultivated species: white mulberry grown for the berries and leaves that go to feed the silkworm, black mulberry is cultivated throughout Europe for the delicious berries and decorative qualities of the tree itself, its leaves turned out to be too rough for the silkworm, the red mulberry also values ​​fruits and appearance. In America, the mulberry tree grows with inedible fruits, in which only wood is valued.

Description

Iran is considered the homeland of black mulberry; shrubs and trees that belong to the Mulberry family are known. The tree in the wild can grow up to 35 m tall, so its growth is usually limited in the garden. It belongs to deciduous crops, that is, every spring young green leaves grow from the buds. By the middle of summer, they can be quite large - up to 25 cm long and 15 cm wide, and in the fall, almost all varieties delight with a beautiful change in color, the trees turn yellow and majestically crumble. Trees live for several centuries, specimens are known for 200, 300 years and even more, they begin to bear fruit after reaching 5 - 8 years, some varieties even later, and grafted plants bear fruit in the third year.

Among mulberries, there are monoecious - they have male and female flowers next to each other, and dioecious ones - with flowers of only one sex. The flowers are pollinated by the wind, one monoecious tree is enough to provide seven tasty sweet berries, as a 10-year-old tree can produce up to 100 kg of fruit per season.

Their fruit is a drupe, what we incorrectly call a berry is actually tiny drupes sitting tightly on an overgrown stalk. Such a false berry in black mulberries is usually very dark, purple or red to black, but this is not why black mulberries are called, because white mulberries also have fruits not only white, but also black. White and black mulberries differ in the color of the bark - in white it is light, light brown, or yellowish, and in black it is much darker, sometimes with a red tint, the whole is covered with lace of small cracks. And the fruits (the so-called berries) are small about 1 cm long, but cultivated varieties are usually 2.5 to 5.5 cm long.

The fruits are not only tasty, sweet, sometimes sour, juicy, with amazingly persistent ink paint, stains from which are difficult to remove from the fabric. They contain many useful substances - vitamins A, C, B1, B6, K, E, PP, carotene, macro- and microelements, sugars and acids, essential oils... Thanks to such a rich composition, they have a beneficial effect on the human body, help to strengthen immunity, correct impaired metabolism, and restore the work of many internal organs, disturbed by diseases. ethnoscience for centuries it has been using all parts of the plant to improve human health, to alleviate many conditions.
Berries are eaten fresh, but they are stored for no more than three days, so a lot of them are cooked delicious desserts, dried, canned, made wine and even vodka. Fruits ripen unevenly, next to black ripe berries there may be red of different shades (different degrees of ripeness) or even just emerging. Ripening sometimes stretches for 1.5 - 2 months - from the end of June to August. Overripe fruits crumble. They harvest the crop by shaking, spread a film or cloth under the tree, shake the branches, and then pour the crop from the film into a more suitable container.

Video "Features of growing mulberry"

From the video presented, you will learn how to grow mulberries.

Reproduction

For multiplication of mulberries, seeds are used, root growth, cuttings and layering. The seeds germinate well, for this they must undergo stratification, they are sown before winter on the garden bed, then watered, mulched. When sowing in spring, the seeds are prepared - they are kept in the refrigerator for two months, only once a week they are taken out into a warm room for several hours.
They sprout well, then they are looked after as for ordinary seedlings, excellent material for grafting will grow from these sprouts. Unfortunately, the seeds do not guarantee that the plant will retain the characteristics of the mother tree, it is not even possible to know in advance that a monoecious or dioecious plant will work out, so the desired variety is grafted onto them, and such a plant will grow healthy and begin bearing fruit earlier than that which appeared in another way.

Root shoots appear under almost every tree, such a sprout can simply be separated, trying not to damage the roots, and transplanted to a new place, but such plants also do not retain the features of the mother tree - planting such a seedling on your site is like buying a cat in bag.

For cuttings, young or semi-lignified shoots are taken, but they root very poorly, this can be done, but you will need to install artificial fog - they need so much moisture. Usually summer residents do not do this, it is much easier to plant a twig from good tree on seedlings obtained from seeds or on a root shoot.

It is easy to get cuttings from shrubs, tree branches are far from the ground, it is simply physically impossible to bend them, but seedlings obtained by rooting cuttings most often grow into a strong tree, retain all the characteristics of the variety mother plant... You can cut off a thick branch in the spring, over the summer, flexible young branches will grow on the stump, which will easily bend to the ground. In the spring of next year, you need to take a branch, bend it to the ground, in a place that can be buried, remove the bark in a ring around the entire branch for a couple of centimeters, pin it to the ground, bury, water, and spud until the end of the growing season. By the fall, it will take root, can be cut off from the mother tree and planted in a permanent place of growth.

Some gardeners make layers in one season, but for this you have to deliver the earth to the branch, since it can not get to the ground. Need to do polyethylene sleeve- a long bag with a cut-off bottom, put it on the selected branch, a few centimeters below the bare place (the bark is previously removed on the branch around the ring), tie tightly. Then wet loose soil is poured into this resulting bag, the bare place of the branch is fixed in it, tying the bag above this place. It is advisable to cover this branch of the garden so that direct sunlight does not fall on it, and by autumn the branch should take root, then it can be cut off and planted as an independent seedling.

Mulberry is well grafted, therefore, when propagating, it is best to plant the desired variety on a seedling obtained in any way, this will accelerate the onset of fruiting.

Care features

When a new tree is planted in the garden, it is usually watered, fed, protected from pests, weeded and loosened trunk circle, and also, it is cut once or twice a year. A mulberry needs the same care, but when planting a black mulberry in your garden, you need to know some of the nuances of caring for this particular type of mulberry tree. So, you can water and feed it only in spring and at the very beginning of summer, in mid-June all these activities are stopped, only in this case the tree will winter well. Watering should be done with restraint, if there is no rain at all, and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers should be done after 4 or 5 years of the tree's life.
An adult tree can be watered more (in spring), and fertilizer added if the state of the greenery shows the need for these actions. The fact is that the black variety of mulberry tolerates the cold worst of all, it is used to growing in warm climates with long summers and mild winter if you give her a lot of water and fertilizers, she will not prepare for wintering, she will try to extend her growing season, which means that with the arrival of frost it can freeze.

When planting a seedling, the hole needs to be filled only with soil without additional fertilizers. If the soil is completely depleted, you need to prepare it in advance, dig deep an area of ​​1 square meter, add peat if the soil is too heavy or compost (humus) if sandy and infertile.

It is better to do this in the fall for spring planting or in the middle of summer for autumn planting. Then you just need to dig a hole suitable sizes, drive a strong stake into its bottom, lower the seedling, straighten all the roots, carefully sprinkle them with earth, then fill the hole completely, press down the earth around the trunk, tie the seedling to the stake, pour it with two buckets of water, mulch the trunk circle. The roots of the mulberry are very fragile, you need to make sure that they are not damaged during planting, and then dig less around the tree, loosen the ground very carefully. Experts say that having received a lot of fertilizers, the seedling will fatten, which means that it will not have time to prepare for winter.

Young mulberry trees grow quickly, you need to immediately determine the growth to which you will allow it to grow, boldly cut it off, forming a crown, from the very first year. The bushes are planted at a distance of 1.5 - 2 m and rows are made every 3 m. But the tree must be planted 5 m from other large trees, otherwise it will not have enough space. And the mulberry tree loves a lot of sun, it is only desirable to protect it from the north wind.

Formative pruning is done in the spring. Usually they leave a clean trunk up to 1.5 m, removing all lateral shoots below this mark, and then form the skeleton of the crown, most often spherical. You can form a low tree, like a dwarf apple, for this, the central conductor is cut off at the selected height, up to 8-10 skeletal branches are left, adjusting their length. If the tree is allowed to grow up to 2 - 3 meters, then the central conductor is cut after this mark, and the skeletal branches are cut as necessary to limit the growth of the crown. In weeping varieties, they usually only monitor the length of the shoots and thin out the crown. At autumn pruning all branches damaged or growing in the middle of the crown are removed, thinning is also done in the spring. It is necessary to ensure that the crown does not become too thickened, the sun must penetrate into the tree, otherwise its lack will affect the ripening of the fruits.

Mulberry is very rarely sick, but it can be struck by bacteriosis, cylindrosporiasis, curly small leaves, powdery mildew, root rot. There are special drugs that will surely save you from each of these misfortunes, but it is better to take preventive measures- avoid thickening of the crown, excessive moisture, excess nitrogen fertilizers... It is better to remove fallen leaves from under the tree, to avoid overgrowth of weeds.

If beetles and bears have settled on the site, then the roots of the mulberry can suffer from them, but the greenery can be damaged by the American white butterfly, spider mite, the Comstock bug. Pests settle in cracks in the bark or among the leaves, breed offspring there, which feed on the buds, foliage or tree sap. In order to notice their appearance in time and start a fight, you need to carefully examine the tree, you can often collect nests (butterflies), destroy the larvae in time, or use special traps that are arranged on the tree. Black mulberry very rarely suffers from diseases and pests, but you need to be careful to notice troubles early if they do occur. But the birds always try to take a tasty harvest before the owners, often they have to save the berries from them.

Varieties of varieties

Breeding work on mulberry varieties is ongoing, many collectives are trying to make black mulberry more frost-resistant. The variety of the Poltava breeder "Shelley No. 150" is very popular. It is distinguished by large sweet black berries weighing 4 to 6 g each (5.5 cm long). The berries begin to ripen at the end of May; they can be eaten fresh throughout June.

Among the large-fruited varieties, the Black Prince and the Black Pearl are distinguished. In July, quite large (up to 5 cm long) berries of the "Nadezhda" variety also ripen, they have noticeable sourness in taste. Trees grow up to 10 meters, they are afraid of frost. The varieties "Staromoskovskaya", "Plodovaya - 4", "Korolevskaya" are grown in the Moscow region. They do not have such large fruits, but one thing mature tree can give from 60 to 90 kg of sweet, healthy berries.

Video "Subtleties of caring for a mulberry tree"

From the presented video you will learn about all the intricacies of caring for mulberry.

Black mulberry - mulberry, a close relative of white mulberry.

Trees differ not only in the color and taste of berries (black is more aromatic and sweeter), but also in the fact that the silkworm prefers more soft leaves white mulberry.

Black mulberry: description

Mulberry trees are grown to breed silkworm caterpillars, which wrap their pupae in silk threads. From these threads, natural silk is obtained - a fabric, the secret of the production of which for a long time was known only in China.

deciduous tree originally from Afghanistan and Iran, growing up to fifteen meters. The tree is different rapid growth at a young age, but growth slows down over time. The mulberry has a lush, spreading crown, darkish bark and thin shoots. The foliage is large, up to 20 cm long and 15 cm wide. The shape of the leaves resembles a lobe, the upper surface of the leaf plate is rough to the touch, the lower surface is soft and felt. 3-5 years - this is the age when the mulberry first begins to bear fruit after planting. It is literally covered with inky-black, glossy berries up to 3 cm long, the berries are juicy, sweet and sour in taste. Typically, mulberries enter into active fruiting in the fifth year after planting. Black mulberry is thermophilic, tolerates dry periods well.

Did you know? Under Ivan the Terrible, a silk-weaving manufactory was created in Russia, producing the most delicate silks for royal family and the yard. Peter the Great banned the felling of mulberries in Russia due to the extraordinary value of the tree for weaving. And in Central Asia, musical instruments were made from valuable wood.

Features of planting black mulberry

The best timing for planting mulberries- April, until the movement of juices began, the beginning of autumn, the period before the rainy season. Autumn planting even preferable: a seedling that has survived the winter will grow into a healthy tree with good yields.

Choosing a landing site

Black mulberry for successful cultivation planted in an area open to the sun, but closed from the winds. Bedding groundwater should be at least one and a half meters lower from the ground surface. Dry, swampy soil is not suitable for mulberries; mulberries do not like sandstones and salty soils.

Planting scheme for black mulberry

The silk tree seedling pit is prepared two weeks before planting. The depth and width of the pit is calculated according to the size of the root system, on average it is 50 x 50 x 50 cm. The pit on poor soils is deepened, taking into account fertilization. About 5 kg of rotted manure with the addition of 100 g of superphosphate is placed on the bottom and covered with a layer of soil. The seedling roots should not come into contact with the fertilizer when planting. On poorly drained clay soils, drainage (fragments of bricks, large pebbles) must be placed in the pit.

When planting, the seedling is placed at the bottom, distributing the roots, as it falls asleep, the ground is slightly tamped so that there is no air left. If the seedling is too thin and makes you fearful, drive a peg into the hole to support it. After planting, water well and mulch the trunk circle, pour out at least two buckets of water. Sawdust or peat can be used as mulch.

Black mulberry: cultivation features

Mulberry mulberry both in planting and in care does not require a special approach: everything is the same as with an ordinary fruit tree - watering, fertilizing, soil cleansing, pruning and other procedures familiar to every gardener.

Soil care for black mulberry

Black mulberry needs careful soil care. The tree trunk circle must be weeded and cleaned of weeds that deprive the mulberry of moisture and nutrition. The soil around the tree must be regularly loosened, saturating it with air and moisture. In spring, mulberry watering is necessary only in the absence of precipitation; in summer, watering is carried out in June and July. In August, it is stopped: the plant enters a dormant phase.

Features of tree pruning

Black mulberry pruning is carried out during the dormant period, best of all in the spring before the juices start moving, in April. Before buds bloom, spend rejuvenating and shaping pruning. Sanitary pruning - all damaged branches, competing shoots growing inside the crown, are carried out in late autumn after the foliage has fallen, but the air temperature should not be lower than -10 degrees.

Top dressing of a mulberry tree

The black mulberry needs additional feeding only on poor soils with a lack of nutrition. In this case, the tree is fertilized from spring to July. At the beginning of spring, mulberry needs nitrogen for growth, then phosphorus and potash compositions for lush bloom and fruiting.

How to care for mulberries in winter

It is important to know how to care for mulberries in black in winter, because this species tolerates cold worse than others. Black mulberry is more accustomed to warm climates, so the plant must be prepared for winter. First of all, mulberries do not need to be heavily fertilized, only in case of external signs of lack of nutrition, stop watering in August, and carry out sanitary pruning in the fall.

When planting in regions with a cold climate, the root collar of the seedling is deepened into the ground in order to protect the plant in winter period. You should not worry about being unable to cope with the cold: black mulberry in the description biological features has one interesting property. A mulberry tree has the ability to build up cork tissue between a mature stem and a young one; in the event of frost, the tree sheds tissues unsuitable for survival, but if winter comes out without snow, the tree will die. To prevent this from happening, for the winter the trunk circle is mulched and tightly covered, for example, with spruce branches.

Interesting! If it were not for the observation of the Chinese princess Xi Ling Shi, the world would not have known what silk is. While drinking tea in the shade of a mulberry, Xi Liying noticed a caterpillar's cocoon falling into the cup, the cocoon's threads from the water unraveled and shimmered beautifully in the sun. The resourceful Chinese used observation to their advantage, monopolizing silk production for many years.

Features of the reproduction of black mulberry

Reproduction of black mulberry is possible by seed and vegetative method.

With seed reproduction, the seeds undergo a procedure of stratification either natural, that is, sowing before winter, or before sowing in the spring for about two months in the refrigerator, with a transfer to the heat once a week for three to four hours. Before sowing, it is necessary to soak the seeds for a couple of hours in a growth stimulator. The seed coverage should not be deep; after sowing, the soil is covered with mulch. The seedlings are looked after in the usual way.

Cutting black mulberries practically does not give results, oddly enough, but this particular species does not want to root and reproduce in this way.

Consider how the mulberry still multiplies. Reproduction by root shoots: the seedling is separated from the donor bush and transplanted to separate place... Care as for a young tree.

Attention! At seed method reproduction and root shoots may not preserve the varietal characteristics of the mother tree, in addition, there is a possibility of getting a tree with only male flowers (mulberry is a monoecious plant), therefore the most fruitful way of propagation is grafting.

To get varietal seedlings, use methods of budding and grafting with a handle under the bark. V summer period budding is carried out by a dormant bud, and in spring - by a germinating bud. Grafting is carried out on a growing tree with cuttings with two buds under the bark. The cut on the rootstock is made at an angle of 35 degrees, while the cut on the handle above the bud is straight, the lower cut is oblique.

Important! The grafted stalk on mulberry is cut into the bark and not into the wood, unlike other plants!

In the future, vaccination is carried out according to the general rules.

Black mulberry: useful properties

Black mulberry has many beneficial properties. Plant-based preparations recommend and official and traditional medicine. The funds are effective in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and are especially recommended for patients who have undergone heart valve surgery. Regular consumption of food reduces shortness of breath, normalizes the heartbeat, strengthens the heart muscle.

They grow in the garden. These are apple, pear, cherry, plum and sweet cherry. However, the mulberry tree is quite rare in it. But in the recent past, it was very popular and affordable. The older generation of gardeners has a lot to say about the beneficial plant that has now become exotic.

Varieties

An amazing long-liver originally from China. It has long been cultivated as a fodder crop. The leaves of the tree served as food for the silkworm - the producer of raw materials for the manufacture of unique fabrics. Gardeners grow the Morus mulberry tree not for silk production, but as an ornamental and fruit crop. The genus consists of twenty-four species. Of these, white and black mulberries are fruitful, a distinctive characteristic of which is the color of the bark of an adult plant. Many gardeners mistakenly believed that mulberries are distinguished by the color of their berries. However, this is not at all the case.

White mulberry has light color bark. But the berries can be white, cream, pink, purple or completely black. The numerous genus Morus is represented by dioecious and, more rarely, monoecious trees. Most are thermophilic plants that can be grown in southern areas. Only white mulberry in middle lane does not freeze, grows well and bears fruit.

Description

Not every fruit plant boasts of its durability. Within two hundred or even three hundred years, a mulberry will give birth, over time without changing its qualities. The spreading tree reaches a height of twenty to thirty-five meters. Often it is formed in the form of a two- or three-meter bush. The bark is light. The spherical crown is densely covered with oval foliage.

Coliform inflorescences of a mulberry tree are small. They are light green in color. It is dioecious or less commonly wind-pollinated. Drupe fruits are formed in the form of small fruit fruits. They have a pleasant sweetish taste. Depending on the variety, the berries can be colored in different colors... White mulberry ripens from May to July. She bears fruit in the fifth year after planting. The yield is high. The berry picking period is somewhat extended due to uncomfortable ripening. They are not transportable and poorly stored, used immediately after removal.

This mulberry tree is winter-hardy and drought-resistant. These qualities characterize the plant as quite hardy and unpretentious. It is suitable for areas with any type of soil. In addition to these advantages, the mulberry tree is medicinal plant... The fruits are high in vitamins. In addition, they contain a flavonoid, morin, carotene, fatty acids, and iron salts. Medicinal properties not only berries possess. The bark and leaves of the tree are also used medicinally.

Mulberry varieties

White mulberry can act as a fodder, fruit and ornamental crop. They are presented in various varieties with individual characteristics.

So, among the fruitful varieties, white honey mulberry is quite attractive. It is characterized by relative frost resistance and unpretentiousness, resistance to diseases. A tall, deciduous tree with a wide crown. Simple oval leaves are light green in color. Inflorescences are spiky. The juicy fruits are white in color.

Good taste. Long-term harvesting begins at the end of June. Uneven ripening of fruits lasts until the beginning of August. Fresh berries are stored for no more than six hours. They practically do not tolerate transportation.

Mulberry white varieties The Baroness is a deciduous dense, well-leafy crown with a spherical shape. Flowers are dioecious. They are light in color and form a spike-shaped inflorescence. Large berries, 3.5 cm in size and 1.5 cm in diameter, are densely colored black. The aromatic complex drupe has a sweet, pleasant taste. Unlike the previous variety, the fruits are relatively transportable. The shelf life is twelve hours. High-yielding variety.

The berry picking period is June-July. This mulberry tree is an unpretentious plant with high frost-resistant indicators. Mulberry winters well.

Blackberry Mulberry is a tall, spreading tree with a pyramidal crown. Large fruits reach three centimeters. Black berries are very juicy. The taste is excellent. The slightly acidic taste does not spoil the berries. This variety is less winter-hardy than the Baroness. In winter, the twigs can freeze slightly. Unpretentious plant has a high yield. Fruit ripening occurs at the beginning of July.

Besides fruit species, there are more than four hundred decorative forms... Mulberry varieties differ in the shape and color of the crown and foliage. This showy plants used in landscape design... The tree and shrub compositions, alleys and mulberry trees are beautiful. Their openwork crown goes well with evergreens.

White weeping mulberry

A low-growing tree or shrub reaches a height and width of up to three meters. It has a very decorative appearance... The elongated branches of the mulberry tree hang down. This form is irreplaceable in landscape design and will be a decoration of any garden.

Dark green big leaves, the length of which can be from eight to twenty centimeters, are heart-shaped. In autumn they turn yellow. The flowering period is from May to June. Mulberry bears fruit with few fruits. They are edible and have a pleasant sweet taste.

In addition, there are spherical, dissected-leaved, Tatar and golden forms of white mulberry. Each of them has its own advantages and is widely used for single or group landings.

Landing

Often summer residents do not dare to plant mulberries, since on small area space is limited. "Is my garden fit for trendy exoticism?" - such a question arises among gardeners when choosing one or another variety of a long-lived giant.

Growing mulberries provides several ways to form the plant, which will limit the height. A tall, powerful, spreading tree requires larger area nutrition. Mulberry is planted according to the scheme of 5 x 6 m. When the height of the mulberry tree is limited and grown in the form of a bush, the scheme is different and is 2 x 3 m. White mulberry is unpretentious. It grows equally well both in unfavorable urban conditions and in suburban summer cottages. There should be a well-lit corner of the garden in which the mulberry will grow. Planting and caring for mulberry trees follows generally accepted rules for fruit trees... Saplings are planted in early spring. The landing site should be such as not to damage For better rooting, a mixture of humus and sand is added to the hole. Water the planting hole abundantly and sprinkle it with soil. Around the trunk of the seedling, the soil is mulched with peat. In the autumn, planting is carried out one and a half months before the onset of frost.

Agrotechnics

Care consists of removing weeds, loosening the soil and watering regularly. It is especially important to keep an eye on newly planted plants. It is not allowed in the presence of weeds that are harmful to plants. Regular weeding and mulching with humus or peat will help them grow normally and quickly. During summer season bring in organic and mineral fertilizers... This agronomic technique is very important for the normal development of mulberries and obtaining good harvests... Fertilization is carried out during bud break. One square meter requires fifty grams of nitrophosphate. After fertilization, the soil is watered vigorously. Watering is stopped at the beginning of July. During this period, feeding should also not be carried out. Enhanced nutrition will promote the growth of young shoots, which will freeze out in winter.

Pruning

So that the tree does not grow tall and looks well-groomed, its crown is formed, limiting the growth to three meters. In addition, last year's young growths may freeze slightly in winter. They need to be removed. Mulberry pruning does not have individual characteristics. They carry out sanitary and anti-aging techniques, which they perform, following the generally accepted recommendations for a mulberry tree, it tolerates a haircut perfectly. This reception should be regular. Thinning of the crown is carried out annually. In this case, diseased, damaged and weak branches are subject to removal. Crossed shoots are also cut off.

Getting seed

White mulberry ripens in summer. Ripe fruits are suitable for obtaining seeds. After harvesting, some of the berries are left in the sun. They are slightly overripe. Then they are placed in a container for several days.

Juicy fruits should turn sour. Then they are ground in water. Full-weight seeds sink to the bottom of the container. This mass is rubbed through a fine sieve. The resulting seeds are dried. They must be used throughout the year. They quickly lose their germination.

Seed reproduction

Several methods are used to obtain young plants. Maybe seed propagation... This method is started with stratification. The seeds are kept at a temperature of zero or five degrees for a month. A greenhouse is pre-prepared. At the beginning of April, mulberries will be sown in it. Reproduction in this way allows you to have forty-centimeter seedlings already in the autumn.

Vaccinations on frost-resistant stock

In order to preserve the maternal traits of a particular strain, grafting will be more effective. This method is more complicated. It requires careful selection of breeding material. Winter mulberry grafting is often used. Young plants are used as a stock. frost-resistant varieties mulberries grown from seeds. They are dug up and stored in wet sawdust. The storage temperature should be zero degrees. Grafts are also stored in moist sawdust. After being vaccinated planting material placed in boxes and kept at a temperature of twenty-five degrees. After that, they are stored in moist sawdust at zero temperature until spring.

Mulberry grafting in spring performed on last year's rootstocks. This event falls on the period before bud break. Cuttings cut in the fall are used. They are stored throughout the winter in wet sawdust at zero temperature.

You can also vaccinate in the summer. To do this, use the blanks of the current year.

Propagation by green cuttings

Planting material is harvested in the second decade of June. Green shoots are suitable, the length of which is at least fifteen centimeters. They are cut from non-lignified branches. The blanks are processed by removing the lower leaves and shortening the upper ones by half. Before rooting, the cuttings are kept for six hours in aqueous solution heteroauxin.

Or they are placed in a mixture of sand and peat, which is moistened with this solution. Green cuttings are rooted indoors. The main condition is high humidity air. To create a greenhouse effect, cover with plastic wrap is performed.

Diseases and pests

Like any culture, white mulberry is susceptible to infection. It can be affected by diseases such as bacteriosis, powdery mildew and root rot.

In the spring, prophylactic spraying of the tree with special preparations is carried out.

There are also many pests in the mulberry tree. Beetles, bear, mulberry barbel, wireworm and spider mite damage various parts of the plant. To combat them, mechanical and chemical methods... In the autumn, the fallen leaves must be removed and burned.

Features of harvesting

White mulberry is characterized by an extended fruiting period. The berries ripen unevenly. On the one hand, this is good. For a longer period, the mulberry tree will delight ripe juicy fruits... However, ripe fruits should be removed in a timely manner. Almost all varieties of white mulberry are poorly stored. They are not transportable. If there is a delay in picking, the berries crumble, which leads to their spoilage. After removal, the fruits are immediately processed or consumed fresh.

Useful properties of white mulberry

The medicinal properties of the mulberry tree have been known for a long time. The use of fresh berries helps to improve the general condition of a person. White mulberry helps to normalize work nervous system... It is included in weight loss diets. Low-calorie berry perfectly normalizes metabolism. In addition, the plant cleanses the intestines and promotes the elimination of toxins. Mulberries are most often consumed fresh. It is also cooked. It is suitable for future workpieces. You can make juices, syrups, preserves and marmalades. Wines and liqueurs have an exquisite taste. It is also dried. As such, it is used instead of sugar. White mulberry is irreplaceable in cosmetology. It is included in various hair, face and body masks.

However, with all the advantages, one should not forget about individual characteristics organism. Like any drug, the use of mulberries also has contraindications. Excessive use can be harmful. It is not advised to use berries for diabetics. Dried mulberry leaves will be more useful for them.

Black mulberry, or mulberry tree, is a deciduous, durable tree that has been cultivated since ancient times. Probably comes from Iran, occurs in the wild in Asia Minor. Grows in warm regions of Europe and North America, wild forms are often found in Spain and Italy, mainly on the edges and edges of forests. However, mulberry was most often used as an ornamental tree in parks and estates. An additional benefit of the mulberry tree was its delicious fruit. In Russia, black mulberry is very rare, cultivated only in warm regions of our country. Often in our country, white mulberries are grown, the fruits of which, after ripening, can have a purple-black color - the same as black mulberries. For this reason, the two trees are often confused. However, the fruits of black mulberry are tastier and not so cloying in taste.

Description

Black mulberry is a tree with a dense, beautiful spherical crown, reaching a height of up to 15 m. The tree is covered with large, attractive, distinctive leaves. They are thick and leathery, heart-shaped, serrated at the edges, and dark green in color. The leaf blades are very hairy, in contrast to the white mulberry, the leaves of which are smooth and shiny. From May to June, flowers develop, the male ones are collected in spike-shaped inflorescences, the female ones in earrings, from which fleshy fruits are formed. Fruits densely cover the branches, gradually ripening from mid-July to August. Dark red, black spherical fruits up to 3 cm in diameter. Ripe fruits fall off quickly. The intense color of the juice stains the skin. Therefore, do not plant a tree near sidewalks so that fallen fruits do not cause aesthetic dirt.

Growing

Black mulberry has similar requirements to white mulberry. There is soil tolerance. Warm, well-drained sandy or clayey soils are best suited. Does not tolerate heavy and waterlogged soils. The tree has a deep, well-developed root system, thanks to which it can receive water and nutrients from the deep layers of the soil. This thermophilic species grows well in sunny places protected from the wind. Black mulberry is not as resistant to low temperatures as white mulberry, in cold regions, especially young shoots can freeze. Young trees protect from frost before winter. The tree carries air pollution, is recommended as an ornamental tree, and is used in urban green spaces. The tree grows quickly, within 10 years it can reach 8 m in height and up to 5 m in width, therefore it is an excellent plant for large gardens... Does not require pruning, although it can be formed into tall hedges or pruned to limit growth. This procedure should be carried out in winter, when the plant is completely dormant, because the mulberries secrete a milky sap that oozes abundantly from the wounded tissue. Avoid heavy pruning. If necessary, remove dried out branches, as well as crisscrossing branches that are over-thickening the crown. This plant is rarely affected by pests and diseases, does not require chemical protection and is suitable for growing organic products.

Reproduction

Mulberry is propagated by wood cuttings. In early spring or fall, take 30 cm shoots so that they contain a 2 year old woody base. You need to remove all side shoots, the seedlings should have at least 3 healthy buds, and then plant them 10 cm into the ground. You can place them right in the place where the tree will grow, but in our climate it is better to root them in warm room... Young trees can also be grown from seeds. However, they germinate best when subjected to 2-3 months of stratification, that is, lower temperatures and increased watering (winter dormancy). Potted plants can only be planted in the ground in late spring or early summer, when the danger of the last frost has passed. Plant a young tree in an open, sunny place, fertilize with organic fertilizer. Pay Special attention so as not to damage fragile roots.

Properties and application

Black mulberries should be eaten immediately after harvest or processing and are not suitable for long-term storage. The fruit is juicy and slightly tart, with a refreshing taste - ideal for desserts, jam, marmalade, juice and tinctures. In addition to its taste, it also contains many important nutrients and vitamins, in particular vitamins A, C, B vitamins, flavonoids, coumarins and tannins. Mulberries also contain anthocyanins, which are natural dyes, so their juice can be used to color dairy products. In addition, these compounds have strong antioxidant properties.

Almost all parts of the plant have long been used in Chinese medicine. Berries stimulate the immune system, cleanse the body and have a diuretic effect. Fruit juice is useful in the treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, in addition, it has hematopoietic and hemostatic properties, it is recommended for anemia. Leaf preparations, like white mulberry leaves, are effective in lowering blood sugar levels. The leaf extracts are antibacterial, astringent and diaphoretic. The bark has an antitussive, expectorant and diuretic, and infusions are used internally in the treatment of asthma, cough and bronchial inflammation.