🌱 Permaplans · All plants · Black mulberry

Chelsea

Variety of Black mulberry · Morus nigra
Historic English mulberry with unusually large, aromatic fruit and early ripening.
Also known as: King James, King James I
Edible value8Medicinal value1Other uses1
🇬🇧 United Kingdom 1548

Taste & characteristics

Taste

sourjuicysweetaromatic

Profile

Pollination
self-fertile
Fruit weight
4 g

Flowering & harvest

J F M A M J J A S O N D
Flowering
Fruit harvest
Storage

Given in thirds of a month (early / mid / late) for the northern hemisphere in a temperate climate; altitude and season shift them.

Description

Fruit

Large, deep red-black fruit with balanced sweetness and acidity and intense aroma; very juicy and soft when fully ripe.

Growth

Slow-growing, long-lived small tree, often reaching several centuries in age.

Yield

Ripens comparatively early in the season; reliable, good yields once established.

Notes

Said to originate from a tree planted at the Chelsea Physic Garden in 1548; one of the best-known M. nigra clones.

Site, soil, hardiness and growth follow the species Black mulberry unless the variety states otherwise. Will it grow where you live? → Check your site on the species page

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