Morus nigra or black mulberry is a special fruit tree. Apart from the fact that the leaf has a beautiful shape, the mulberry has a beautiful gnarled trunk.
There is also a species that gives white fruits, the Morus Alba. The Morus Alba has gray / green hairy branches and the Morus Nigra has green / yellow hairless branches. All are related to the Moraceae family.
The mulberry is self-pollinating (itself fertile).
The flowering does not start until the end of May, so you do not have to worry about a night frost breaking the blossom and you can harvest less fruit.
The mulberry starts later with budding than other fruit trees, so the fruit set does not endanger.
The fruits are also very special.
These resemble blackberries and become up to 3 cm long. The fruits ripen from August, first green, then white / yellow after which they turn to bright red.
The ripe, almost entirely black, fruits are deliciously sweet and juicy and the taste is something like a sweet blackberry. Fruits are full of vitamins and especially vitamin B.
Often it is made from jam or, of course, eaten fresh. It is best to pick the fruits that are purple / black.
Fruits grow on one and two year old wood. So occasionally prune the old shoots in the winter when the tree is at rest. This is not necessarily necessary, even on older wood, the Morus produces nigra fruits.
Winter hardiness is very good and no problem in our country.
Winter hardiness zone 6a (-22ºC).