Native Mulberry - Growing Native Mulberry
Image from Melbourne Bushfood
Native Mulberry is a fast growing non stinging nettle that is well known for being ridiculously sweet. You can grow as a shrub or a small tree but naturally, you will find it growing in rainforests in south eastern, subtropical QLD and Islands off the coast of QLD.
You will enjoy the white, almost clear strawberry-like fruits that will leave your taste buds craving for more. They're soft, juicy and you won't find a more delicate flavour in the wild.
Image from Melbourne Bushfood
Good for:
- Beginners
- Pots
- Hedge
- Garden
Water
Moist Soils
Sunlight
Full sun/part shade
Size
3-8m
Planting
Planting Native Mulberry
They appear leggy at first, but with clever pruning, you can tune Native Mulberries into a fruit bearing hedge quite easily. Capable of growing 3-8 metres, it's a welcome species to attract butterflies to grace your garden. Birds and bees equally love it.
Native Mulberry trees are dioecious, meaning they may be male or female.
Harvesting
Flowering typically occurs from January to June, with fruit ripening between May and July. Simply pluck the berries off the branch — though you may find the riper berries too soft to harvest easily.
You can harvest these by laying a sheet or tarp under the mulberry tree and shake the branch gently. Ripe berries will fall onto the sheet or tarp.
Drought tolerance
This is a rainforest species - it will not enjoy drought hardships. The good news is it easily recovers with rainfall if you prune it down.
Frost tolerance
It doesn't appreciate frost either, we recommend protecting it
Soil
Native Mulberry tolerates most soils, provided they're well drained like most native species.
Maintenance
Watering
Keep it in moist soils as it's a rainforest species. Water more during drier seasons for best results.
Fertilizing
Use potting media composed of peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite combined with low-release.
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