00:21:57 John Valenzuela: interest in best edible leaf types for humans
00:22:50 John Valenzuela: also lists rating ease of propagation by cuttings, compared to need to graft.
00:23:34 John Valenzuela: Also animal forage types
00:24:07 Juan Carlos Arango: We have a question, what could be the reason two mulberry trees we have, 10 years old, have not produce fruit?
00:25:37 Weston Lombard: I think most black mulberries are black fruited Morus alba
00:25:45 Marta Matvienko: Most things I know is on the blog
00:25:55 Dale & Brenda Nicholson: I have all kinds of wild mulberries. Some taste better than others, and the best ones are mediocre. Are any grafted varieties a lot better to eat?
00:25:59 Weston Lombard: The dwarf nigra in particular is an alba i believe
00:26:18 Marta Matvienko: I’m in CA, I don’t know the hardiness of M. nigra
00:29:02 Linwood Watson: FWIW, I live in Zone 7b and all 3 of my nigra have perished in polar vortexes. I think they cannot go below 25degrees, but that is my limited experience. (southeastern US)….I live 1.25hrs from AJ Bullard
00:29:36 iPhone (2): AJ always said nigra was very uncommon in North America.
00:29:52 HD Hilton: Interested in the (possibly) fine line between harvesting leaves on occasion or throughout the season vs leaving them to produce the best fruit.
00:30:01 Joseph Postman: I’ve been hesitant to grow mulberries because they were very weedy where I grew up in Maryland. Not sure the species – we called it M. Rubra because of fruit color. Any comments?
00:31:23 Weston Lombard: I made a rubra identification video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2FZMeexN74
00:31:23 Kevin Quinlan: Anyone growing Nigra in large pots and bring them in for the winter, like figs?
00:32:00 Marc Amante: I’m in central OH, and I’m most interested in coppicing systems for using mulberry as fodder in silvopasture systems
00:33:38 Jen Blecha: Can Illinois Everbearing be grafted onto alba?
00:34:12 Ben Brownlow: I’ve had little success in grafting (rubra) and am interesting in hearing from others on types of grafts / timing that works well for them. Zone 5b. We’ve mostly attempted bud grafts.
00:34:17 Ben Brownlow: I’ve had little success in grafting (rubra) and am interesting in hearing from others on types of grafts / timing that works well for them. Zone 5b. We’ve mostly attempted T bud grafts.
00:34:19 Mark Wolbers: Anyone have experience with “Early Bird” or “Shangri-la” which are sold as hardy to Zn 4? Thoughts about the quality of fruit and ripening time?
00:34:38 Marta Matvienko: Yes, Illinois Everbearing can be grafted on alba
00:35:09 Linwood Watson: Marc- on coppicing for pasture consider the book Trees of Power by Akiva Silva or the book Silvopasture from Chelsea Green publishing. 2 good starts.
00:35:37 Marc Amante: Reacted to “Marc- on coppicing f…” with 👍
00:35:43 William Wildcat: Hi everyone 🙂 I’m in southern New Mexico doing syntropic agroforestry (farming/gardening in perennial/annual mixes), food forestry, and native species reforestation. My interest in mulberry (my favorite fruit) is in using it’s fruit, leaves, and wood in syntropic farms and food forests. I’m excited to begin cloning it from cutting this year!
00:35:55 Katarina Midelfort: Best ways to root mulberries? Which media, timing, winter hardwood or summer softwood? Any other tips? Thanks
00:36:35 Weston Lombard: UC Davis also has a male flowering tree called Downing
00:36:49 iPhone (2): Shangra La is definitely cold sensitive.
00:37:25 HD Hilton: Reacted to “Best ways to root mu…” with 👍🏼
00:37:42 HD Hilton: Reacted to “interest in best edi…” with 👍🏼
00:37:50 Linwood Watson: Amen to Shangri La being cold sensitive- I dare say zone 8 or warmer!
00:39:57 Jen Blecha: Most successful grafting technique(s)? I bought a farm (Minnesota 4b) and there are mulberries along the driveway and woodland edge. I haven’t identified whether they are rubra or alba, but the berries are not very exciting. I’m interested in grafting better varieties on top.
00:40:51 Weston Lombard: I have great success with bark inlay grafts on established trees. I graft after leaves have emerged and danger of freeze has passed.
00:42:55 Weston Lombard: zone 4 is cold. Maybe kokusa, trader, collier?
00:45:52 rocco perciballi: What zone is Pakistan good for?
00:47:15 iPhone (2): 9 or 10, in my experience.
00:47:55 Chris DeFiore: Can anyone recommend a good starter book for getting an handle on plant breeding topics?
00:51:17 Katarina Midelfort: Weston- That is great; I hope you will be able to share cuttings or something when good ones are identified. I’m excited for your work; I am in Kentucky.
00:51:55 Weston Lombard: Here is a link to the red mulberry contest instructions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URpiunn_I5jUfzNsTcEwqlYH2AZ7bBpuw-QmjIwMkUg/edit?usp=sharing
00:52:25 Katarina Midelfort: Reacted to “Here is a link to th…” with 👍
00:53:34 Jen Blecha: Our goats love them
00:54:37 Linwood Watson: The leaves make a nutritious leaf bowl, Search on the web forager Kim Calhoun from Pittsboro, NC. Aim for the tender first spring leaves.
00:55:10 Weston Lombard: are young leaves best for tea also or can you use mature leaves for tea, does anyone know?
00:56:07 Weston Lombard: what do people think about Kokusa for leaf eating?
00:56:26 Jeanne Calabrese: Can anyone address propagation techniques other than grafting? We’ve had trouble propagating our IL Everbearing, which we find delicious and productive. We’ve been experimenting with pollarding techniques which allows us to grow in small, urban spaces and enjoy harvesting the fruit with two feet on the ground
00:56:50 aaron parker: I can speak to that
00:57:07 Weston Lombard: IL Everbearing can be propagated by hardwood cuttings well if you use bottom heat.
00:57:18 Bill Wardwell: I eat them in wraps. I keep leaves at any stage in olive oil for 6 weeks, alba or albs x rubra
00:58:23 William Wildcat: Do alba, rubra and negra graft readily to each other? And if so, does grafting negra to a species which is hardier where you are allow the negra branch to do better?
00:58:32 Weston Lombard: alba has super glossy leaves that are smooth. I could send some cuttings.
00:58:53 Katarina Midelfort: Reacted to “IL Everbearing can b…” with 👍
00:59:04 Jeanne Calabrese: Thank you Aaron and Weston. More specifics would be helpful.
01:00:03 Linwood Watson: 2 recs for leaf uses from Kim Calhoun are mulberry matcha mug cake (source instagram @blackforager) and also mulberry leaf dough for pastries on Instagram @wildfoodsaroundtheworld. She also dries the leaves and cuts up for wild spices. Be sure to remove the leafstem! Hope this inspires!
01:01:48 oriana: Looking cutting white mulberry- Asianpearfarm1@gmail.com
01:04:14 Adam D’Angelo: New to mulberries- best named cultivar(s) for planting in zone 5b? Looking for stuff I can find from a nursery, thank you!
01:05:04 Jen Blecha: https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/
01:05:49 Weston Lombard: For 5b I would suggest: Illinois Everbearing, maybe Silk Hope, Kokusa, Kip Parker, Collier
01:05:56 Marta Matvienko: https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/2017/01/successful-rooting-of-pomegranate-fig.html
01:06:41 Brian TIngley: Hey everyone, anyone interested in tissue culturing any special varieties? It’s a quick way to increase numbers. Direct message me and we can talk about sending samples to my lab. Thanks, great conversation! briantingleynhs@gmail.com
01:07:38 Mark Wolbers: What are the hardiest varieties?
01:08:04 Marta Matvienko: https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/2021/01/do-mulberries-root.html
01:08:41 HD Hilton: Reacted to “https://fruitsandgar…” with 👍🏼
01:08:43 Eric Bina: I’ve had Illinois Everbearing die twice over winter for me in 5b Illinois. My third try is on it’s 3rd year now, but based on conversations I’ve had online it isn’t really reliable for 5b
01:09:14 Weston Lombard: Hardiest I think are: Collier, Trader, Kokusa.
01:09:34 Bill Wardwell: I have 4 IE from 4 different sources growing like weeds in Z5a NH. They are my best growers here.
01:09:48 Marta Matvienko: Black Prince, Galicia, and Shelli from Ukraine should be very hardy
01:10:33 Codys Phone X: What can I or can not graft to “white mulberry”?
01:11:03 Weston Lombard: I think you can graft any mulberry species onto alba
01:12:46 Jen Blecha: I’m in 4b and would like to graft onto a bunch of alba. I had thought that Illinois Overbearing was hardy. (Jesse Stevens in Maine grows it….) Where could I get those Ukrainian varieties? Or Trader. Marta, will you have some?
01:13:59 Weston Lombard: Illinois Everbearing is usually listed as zone 5 but i have heard of people growing them in colder areas.
01:14:44 Lara Wines: Can someone post the link to the rubra study?
01:15:21 Chris Homanics: Lara, weston posted a doc about it above
01:15:54 Weston Lombard: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URpiunn_I5jUfzNsTcEwqlYH2AZ7bBpuw-QmjIwMkUg/edit?usp=sharing
01:16:00 Lara Wines: How do people protect young trees in zone 4 or 5 ?
01:17:34 Jen Blecha: Lara, protect from cold or from animals?
01:17:52 Bill Wardwell: In Z5a, I plant all plants in early spring to give roots time to establish. Then deep mulch, like 12”, of wood mulch.
01:21:50 Linwood Watson: Wow-22 below. Impressive. Good luck.
01:21:57 Kevin Quinlan: Jans best grows very easy from cutting
01:22:31 NAFEX Host, Leslie Wade: Jan’s Best cultivar from Florida. Bill said they are very cold hardy too (growing in Zone 5).
01:25:21 Weston Lombard: Carman and Capsrun from Grimmo are cold hardy too
01:27:24 Chris Homanics: Z4 hardy from Buzz: Shaker Village EB, St James? John Gordon, Carman, Black Pearl, Gerardi,
01:34:04 Linwood Watson: All vanilla ice cream lusts for Silk Hope mulberries:)
01:34:50 William Wildcat: Are some species or varieties of mulberries less or more amenable to coppicing?
01:35:24 Weston Lombard: They all coppice well in my experience.
01:35:34 William Wildcat: Replying to “They all coppice wel…”
thank you
01:36:58 markwessel: Flora of North America key and description of Morus in wilds of NA. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=121220
01:37:16 HD Hilton: Reacted to “They all coppice wel…” with 👍🏼
01:38:02 William Wildcat: Would it be easy to take a rubrus-favoring hybrid and select for the rubrus characteristics long enough to get something which breeds true with solid rubrus traits?
01:38:44 Gary Smith: I couldn’t get it to unmute. Decorah IA. fenceline tree in extreme SE Minn. First experience with mulberries as jam 2 yr. ago. What variety would a fence line in SE MN be. I’m thinking of growing some from seed, as described in the conversation to plant here in Decorah.
01:39:25 Weston Lombard: Likely alba
01:40:09 Doug Cook (northeast Massachusetts): I read Girardi has resistance to popcorn disease, can anyone confirm?
01:40:55 John Valenzuela: Best mulberry: any M. nigra like ‘Noir d’ España’, ‘Kaester’ and others. but I’m in California
01:42:23 Weston Lombard: AJ Bullard grafted onto rubra a bunch right?
01:42:47 John Valenzuela: Also, longest season here in the SF Bay Area (Berkeley, Calif.): ‘Pakistani’ ripe to eat from May until December
01:43:09 Bill Wardwell: what is the coldest zone popcorn disease has been found?
01:44:56 HD Hilton: Thank you Chris, Leslie, and everyone!
01:45:11 Marta Matvienko: Thank you everyone
01:45:14 NAFEX Host, Leslie Wade: Thanks to everyone for a great discussion tonight!
01:45:48 Chris Homanics: Great discussion everyone!
01:47:01 Adam D’Angelo: Thanks for the information, folks!
01:47:05 William Wildcat: Thank you everyone!
01:47:18 John Stupica: Thanks all for contributing good info!
01:47:21 Matt Soltys: Really appreciate it, thanks everyone.
01:47:27 Victor Cauvier-Castonguay: Thank you everyone!
01:47:30 John Valenzuela: ‘Pakistani’ starting to flower now here
01:47:34 John Valenzuela: Thanks everyone
01:47:37 patricia: Thank you.
01:47:38 Weston Lombard: super fun. Thanks!
01:47:40 Ingrid Bush: Thanks so much everyone! Lots of great info.