PlantSowGrow
When to plant and care for it
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Mulberry (Black): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water in dry spells until well established
- Soil
- Deep, moist, well-drained soil · pH 6.0–7.5
- Spacing
- 8–10 m (or grow as a smaller pot-grown tree)
- In pots
- Only in large containers
- Feeding
- A light spring mulch of compost is usually enough
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 6–9
- Difficulty
- Easy
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant the Tree
Plant the mulberry at the same depth it grew in its pot, in a hole twice as wide as the root ball. Firm the soil and water well.
- Straight after “Plant the Tree”
Stake and Tie
Drive in a short stake on the windward side and fix it with a soft tree tie. Check the tie each spring so it never cuts into the bark.
- 1 day after “Stake and Tie”
Water In Deeply
Soak the root area with a full watering can, then keep the soil moist (not wet) for the first few weeks.
- 7 days after “Water In Deeply”
Mulch the Base
Spread 5–8 cm of compost or bark mulch in a 1 m circle, keeping it clear of the trunk.
- 30 days after “Mulch the Base”
First Feed
Scatter a general-purpose fertiliser over the root area and water it in.
Every year
- MarchSpring Mulch
Spread well-rotted compost over the root area.
- JuneWater in Dry Spells
Young mulberries drop fruit if they dry out. Give a deep soak weekly in dry weather.
- AugustHarvest Mulberries
Berries ripen over several weeks and stain everything. Spread a sheet under the tree and shake the branches gently.
- DecemberLight Winter Pruning
Mulberries bleed sap if cut in spring. Only remove dead or crossing branches, in early winter while fully dormant.
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