Red mulberry
8
4
3Will it grow where I live?
Red mulberry is hardy to zone 5 – that covers all of Central Europe and the British Isles, and every USDA zone from 5 upwards. It also needs warm summers – in Central Europe that means wine-growing regions, cities or a sheltered south-facing wall.
Or check it for your location right here:
Profile
- Family
- Moraceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Height
- 25 m
- Spread
- 15 m
- Growth
- medium
- Lifespan
- 100 years
- First yield
- after 10 years
- Productive years
- 30–125 years
- Hardiness
- zone 5–9
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Soil
- Sand, Silt, Loam
- Soil moisture
- semi-dry – very moist
- pH
- 5.5 – 7.5
Flowering & harvest
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flowering |
Varieties (7)
7 varieties of Red mulberry are listed in the Permaplans variety finder — each with its own page: taste, ripening time, disease resistance, parentage and use.
- Collier Red-white hybrid with large, sweet fruit and vigorous growth.
- Hicks Everbearing Legendary everbearing variety that drops abundant fruit over up to four months.
- Lawson Dawson Productive black-fruited selection with large, flavourful berries for fresh eating and preserves.
- Silk Hope Early, slender black mulberry with sweet flavour and good disease tolerance in the humid South.
- Stubbs Old Southern heirloom with heavy crops of large, long black fruit.
- Townsend Native red mulberry, long-lived and hardy, with edible and ornamental fruit.
- Travis Native red mulberry with edible fruit and ornamental value, hardier than black mulberry.
Uses
Frequently asked questions
Red mulberry: how big does it get?
Red mulberry (Morus rubra) grows as a Tree and reaches roughly 25 m in height when mature, with a spread of about 15 m. Growth is medium.
Red mulberry: what site does it need?
Red mulberry tolerates light shade. Suitable soils are Sand, Silt, Loam. Soil moisture should be in the range semi-dry – very moist. The pH may lie between 5.5 and 7.5.
Red mulberry: is it hardy?
Red mulberry is listed as hardy in zone 5–9 and survives normal winters outdoors there.
Red mulberry: will it grow in Central Europe?
Red mulberry is hardy to zone 5 – that covers all of Central Europe and the British Isles, and every USDA zone from 5 upwards. It also needs warm summers – in Central Europe that means wine-growing regions, cities or a sheltered south-facing wall.
Red mulberry: when does it flower?
In a temperate northern-hemisphere climate it flowers in May.
Red mulberry: when does it start cropping, and how much?
Red mulberry first crops after 10 years. The productive period lasts about 30–125 years. Figures assume a good site; variety, soil and climate shift them considerably.
Red mulberry: is it poisonous?
No toxicity is recorded for Red mulberry. With wild plants, never rely on a database alone — only on a confident identification.
Red mulberry: what is it used for?
Rated on a scale up to 10: Edible 8/10, Medicinal 4/10, Other uses 3/10.
Which Red mulberry varieties are there?
The Permaplans variety finder lists 7 varieties of Red mulberry, including Collier, Hicks Everbearing, Lawson Dawson, Silk Hope, Stubbs, Townsend, Travis. Each variety has its own page with taste, ripening time, disease resistance and parentage.
Plan this plant into your own garden
Permaplans plans your garden to scale on the map — with a site check, harvest calendar and over 1,000 plants. Free for iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows & Linux.
Will this plant grow where you live? → Check your site
Community experience
No first-hand reports for this plant yet.
Growing it? Write in the app what works for you – your post will show up here.
💬 Get the app and join in