Mulberry Tree 'Illinois Everbearing'

Mistakenly believed catalogue's description of fruit quality.

Bought it as a grafted specimen many years ago.

...Read More> Tons of fruit but it's very insipid. Birds like them.

Took top out last winter and it's grown even more! Shades everything out. It's coming down in due course.

If you want good fruit get Black Mulberry (morus nigra). I tried some from the tree in Chelsea Physic Garden. It was excellent.

I got this plant by accident (i ordered a different mulberry, but the nursery ran out before my order was filled), but i'm not complainin...Read Moreg! It 's growing a bit slowly (its in partial shade), but it bore fruit in its first year and gives more and more fruit each year! The fruit is delicious and the tree is pest free.

RE: Davidsan
Your posting about the wrong plant! 'Illinois Everbearing' is a cultivar, its a cloned specimen that is known to have good fruit and other good consistent characteristics. If there are not males around (as in my area) it will not set seed at all. What you say may be true of some type(s) of mulberry is your area, but it is not generally true of mulberries in all areas.

RE: Davidsan
When looking into nutrition, sustainability, food foresting, organics, and natural medicine, Mulberries are at the to...Read Morep of every list. It is considered a super food that everyone should be eating on a regular basis. BRIX readings (which is a technological way of measuring the density of nutrients in our food) are completly off the scale. So, if the work of sweeping a few dead berrys off the driveway, and pruning off some suckers outways the health benefits of this plant, then you're either crazy or lazy. I agree there is a time and a place for every plant, but everyone should find that place for this one. Along with the cancer fighting berrys, the leaves make an AMAZING weight loss tea. Nothing but love for mulberrys up here on Vancouver Island.

I really like the two trees in my yard and wish for many more. They are both around 30 ft. tall and produce much fruit. I am really inter...Read Moreested in finding out how to get more trees from them. I have never seen any babies sprouting up, we do mow by them but since it is in the back yard it is less regular than the front yard.
Yes the birds do leave purple droppings but it hasnt stained anything, I find simply rinsing off works.
We rinse them and freeze them for winter use, we found a great pie recipe online and it is delicious though rather runny, it is the best pie I have ever had, my fave. I would love to make wine from them.
My neighbors come to the fence and pick off the berries that hang to their side and eat them, they have never complained and compliment it. They have several children and they also pick and eat them. But then everyone is different.
I think this is a great tree with great fruit and in the harsh economy that we are in it is a great way to save some money and get some healthy benefits too.

I certainly understand the negative comments posted previously. This is a very strong and fast growing plant, which will not be killed, u...Read Morenless aggressive strategies are employed to kill it. I must say, though, Those are not negatives in my book. I have space, so the problems with birds and other animals, do not harm myself. Also, the fruit is good, and the everbearing nature of the plant is wonderful. I had fruit the first year I planted and have seen the growth rates explode. I expect after five years of growth, I will have a tree with more fruit than myself and a number of kids can handle. Be careful where you plant the tree, but if you can handle the aggressive nature of the plant, it is a superb tree.

I purchased a small tree this year and amazingly enough I had several mulberries the first year. Tree seems to grow quite fast. The ber...Read Moreries were large (the size of a blackberry) and very juicy and delicious. My only problem was that there weren't nearly enough because we were all wanting to each those few precious berries. We have a ton of birds around us and they did not seem to bother them so far.

I have a volunteer mulberry plant in my yard. It is close to the driveway, so the red/purple fruit stains the cement, as does the bird f...Read Moreeces. I trim those branches that overhang the cement every year, which helps immensely. Soon I will have to top the tree, as it grows too tall to trim.
However, I enjoy watching the animals eat the fruit, and my son and the neighborhood kids love them as well. We have made mulberry cobbler; we'll need to tweak the recipe as the fruit is so watery.
There has been no problem with the seeds growing where they are not wanted; perhaps because most of the yard is mowed lawn and contains only a few gardens. (Why this has grown only in the one garden is a mystery.) No suckers, either.
The plant is about a decade old.
The only change I would make is not to have it near a driveway or sidewalk.
I like the tree. It reminds me of my childhood, and my son loves to pick berries.

I love it! I love the Mulberries from it. To me, it's not a bad looking tree. I enjoy eating the fruit--but I will say that it will st...Read Moreain clothing and sidewalk, patio, etc

I read the preceding post with astonishment.

I planted an Illinois Everbearing mulberry (from Raintree) two years ago in a...Read More small field.

It is now a beautiful, thriving small tree and is already producing a few large berries; each season there will be more.

These berries are delicious---they explode with flavor that is balanced between sweet and tart, with many complex undertones. I was so suprised at the quality of the fruit that I will be planting two more mulberry trees next spring.

The tree is left almost completely alone by Japanese beetles and other pests. Did have a small amount of deer damage to the trunk, so I now keep it surrounded by a small wire cage until the bark gets thick enough to resist deer damage.

I strongly recommend this tree for anyone with the space for it.

I am posting this since So many have written me about my post in raintree gardens area...so here it is ..BEWARE of this plant ...whether ...Read Morethe other mulberruies are similar I do not know but I would assume this info pretains to all such trees labeled mulberries...
Illinois Mulberry
Basically I hate 'em.... I don't know where you live but I don't think it will matter here's da facts
#1 they grow 8-10 feet pr year here in Illinois and are really twiggy and branchy
#2 they spread by birds from their berries EVERY where... your neighbors will HATE you
#3 they are really hard to control ...cut off a branch or trim one and it grows 5 - 6 new ones grow from the cut area!!
#4 cut off at base and 6-10 new trunks will grow!!
#5 their root systems are about 6 ft deep after one year
#6 to get rid of you must dig out the root COMPLETLY ( remember 6 feet after 1 year) or use 24D Tordone which will kill anything else that the mulberry root system touches so your screwed and it's nasty stuff and you must use it in fall or spring to be really effective and sometimes not even then NOTHING else I have tried works!!
#7 It is the LAST tree to leaf out in the spring and the FIRST to loose it's leaves in the summer
#8 It has absolutely NO fall color... leaves just turn brown and drop off
#9 I repeat birds will spread them everywhere where there is brush, trees or non grass areas for miles
#10 they are scrubby trees and the berries variable.. some trees have large ones some small and the berries taste is also variable ...and you won't know til it's too late.
#11 there are both male and female trees and if you can be guaranteed a male and can live with an non-controllable, fast growing, non colorful, useless tree then I might say they'd be ok
Hope this helps ...I strongly suggest another tree.... there are most likely hundreds of more suitable ones and I am always surprised that anyone has them for sale without warning...I think that is unethical and have written several large nurseries about it with of course no reply ...I guess it's all about the money...David