The first mulberry was planted in Great Britain in 1548 at Syon House, Middlesex. The finest mulberries today are to be found in the gardens of Windsor Castle, where they form a lovely avenue. The mulberry which is grown for its fruits is the Morus nigra, while the leaves which the silk worms like best come from the white mulberry, Moms alba. When fed on these leaves the worms make the best silk.
It is a very slow-growing tree but a most picturesque one. The trees live to a great age, well over 400 years. Mulberries are grown on their own roots. They are usually propagated by cuttings of one-year-old wood taken in late September or early October, about a foot long. These are put into sandy soil in a cold frame and buried about 9 inches deep, and they root fairly easily.
I know of one tree which crops heavily each year whether potatoes are grown about it, carrots or cabbages! It is merely a question of regular weed control.
Some nurserymen in the past used to graft the Morus nigra on to the Morus alba for reasons I have never been able to discover. No special feeding seems to be necessary for mulberries. They will grow happily in almost any soil. They just like a sunny position and well-drained good earth.
The mulberry wants plenty of room for development and therefore needs to be 30 feet away from the next specimen if it is to grow properly. It is most important never to injure the roots when transplanting, for they bleed. Planting can be done in November, though head gardeners I knew in my youth always said you should plant mulberries in February, but I was never given a reason for this statement. They are usually sold as three- or four-year-olds.
There are three common varieties which are Dutch. This produces very large, good-flavoured fruits. The flowers are particularly beautiful, while the leaves are larger than other kinds. The tree is a spreader and slightly droopy. It is perhaps not such a heavy cropper as the two other kinds; Nottingham. Produces a smaller fruit but a better flavour than the Dutch. A heavy regular cropper. Somewhat of an upright grower. Leaves not so large as Dutch. Incidentally, has been called The Narrow Leaved Dutch; Royal. A medium grower and heavy cropper. The only variety, as far as I know, which received a First Class Certificate in the R.H.S. The fruit is about the same size as Nottingham, and nicely flavoured.
It is a very slow-growing tree but a most picturesque one. The trees live to a great age, well over 400 years. Mulberries are grown on their own roots. They are usually propagated by cuttings of one-year-old wood taken in late September or early October, about a foot long. These are put into sandy soil in a cold frame and buried about 9 inches deep, and they root fairly easily.
I know of one tree which crops heavily each year whether potatoes are grown about it, carrots or cabbages! It is merely a question of regular weed control.
Some nurserymen in the past used to graft the Morus nigra on to the Morus alba for reasons I have never been able to discover. No special feeding seems to be necessary for mulberries. They will grow happily in almost any soil. They just like a sunny position and well-drained good earth.
The mulberry wants plenty of room for development and therefore needs to be 30 feet away from the next specimen if it is to grow properly. It is most important never to injure the roots when transplanting, for they bleed. Planting can be done in November, though head gardeners I knew in my youth always said you should plant mulberries in February, but I was never given a reason for this statement. They are usually sold as three- or four-year-olds.
There are three common varieties which are Dutch. This produces very large, good-flavoured fruits. The flowers are particularly beautiful, while the leaves are larger than other kinds. The tree is a spreader and slightly droopy. It is perhaps not such a heavy cropper as the two other kinds; Nottingham. Produces a smaller fruit but a better flavour than the Dutch. A heavy regular cropper. Somewhat of an upright grower. Leaves not so large as Dutch. Incidentally, has been called The Narrow Leaved Dutch; Royal. A medium grower and heavy cropper. The only variety, as far as I know, which received a First Class Certificate in the R.H.S. The fruit is about the same size as Nottingham, and nicely flavoured.
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Many families include children of widely differing ages and what is needed in their garden planning is very much an all-purpose garden.
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