Black Mulberry Seeds (Morus Nigra)

Morus nigra

Black mulberry, Eastern mulberry, black-fruited mulberry: not to be confused with the white mulberry, the one associated with silkworms. Cultivated since Antiquity for its juicy, slightly tart fruits, it has a reputation for being the wisest of trees: it only breaks dormancy once all risk of frost has passed, earning it the Roman nickname of the most cautious tree.

Characteristics:

• Exceptional longevity: it can live for more than a hundred years and develops a very picturesque, twisted shape with age.
• Medium size: 5 to 10 metres depending on conditions, with a spreading habit and dense foliage.
• Summer fruiting: black-purple mulberries in July–August, following discreet spring flowering.

Precautions:

• Its fruits permanently stain clothing and paving: avoid planting it above a light-coloured terrace or walkway.
• Patience required: a mulberry grown from seed generally takes several years before fruiting.

Sowing advice:

• Position: full sun or partial shade, sheltered from cold winds.
• Soil: rich, moist, deep, slightly calcareous to neutral, and well drained. It tolerates acidic soils and stagnant moisture poorly. Adding compost when planting supports its growth.
• Method: 6 to 8 weeks of cold stratification is recommended. Then sow 1 cm deep in a moist, well-drained substrate maintained between 18 and 22 °C. Allow 4 to 8 weeks for germination.

Planting advice:

• Transplant it while young to its permanent position, allowing space for its spreading crown. It does not tolerate late transplanting well.

Care advice:

• Water regularly during the first year; thereafter, the tree becomes highly drought-resistant. Hardy down to -20 °C.
• Prune as little as possible, and only in late summer: the mulberry bleeds heavily if pruned in spring.

Harvesting advice:

• The mulberries ripen gradually and detach at the slightest touch: spread a sheet on the ground and gently shake the branches, the most effective traditional method.

Beneficial combinations:

• It grows well alongside aromatic plants such as true lavender or common sage, which attract pollinators to its base.
• Its shade protects leafy vegetables from the summer sun. However, keep it away from walnut trees, whose roots inhibit the growth of neighbouring plants. See companion planting in the vegetable garden.

Benefits for biodiversity:

• Its fruits are a midsummer feast for birds: blackbirds, thrushes and warblers flock to it, making it an excellent “diversion” tree for protecting your other small fruits.
• Its dense crown provides shelter and nesting sites, while its leaf litter feeds soil life — see the basics of living soil.

Uses:

• Delicious fresh fruits, or used in jam, syrup, wine or dried. An excellent food-producing tree for a permaculture orchard, with genuine ornamental value as an added benefit.

Symbolism:
The black mulberry symbolises wisdom, patience and abundance. Planted in many monasteries and royal gardens across Europe, it also embodies the ancient memory of these places.

Harvesting your own seeds:
Crush very ripe mulberries in a little water, leave them to macerate for a few days, then rinse thoroughly: the tiny seeds will separate from the pulp. Dry them before winter stratification. See saving your seeds.

Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Volcanoes of Auvergne, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatments. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.

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