Rob Smith discovers a world first for mulberries
Exclusive new variety solves all the size and fruiting problems
Imagine a fruit so prized it has links to the Royal family, has had a nursery rhyme written about it, and is so rare you can’t even buy it in the shops! I’m talking about the magnificent Mulberry ( Morus nigra).
If you’re lucky enough to own a mulberry tree or have one growing near you, you’ll know they can grow to a colossal size, far too large for most people’s gardens. Towering up to 8-10m (26-30ft) tall, these giants are a sight to behold. Unfortunately, you don’t get a decent crop from the trees for seven to nine years, meaning you need a field to grow it in, and almost a decade to spare!
Fortunately, the clever people at Suttons have been working on this conundrum, resulting in the world’s first self-pollinating, dwarf, ever-bearing mulberry bush. ‘Charlotte Russe’ is so compact it can be grown in a pot on a patio, a far cry from your typical one! Eventually growing to 1.5m (5ft) high, ‘Charlotte Russe’ is a world exclusive, not only because it’s much smaller and more manageable than its huge relatives, but it’s a real producer, too.
Typically, mulberries fruit for around three weeks in June and July, but ‘Charlotte Russe’ will fruit from June until September, on both old and new wood. This means you’ll get a bumper crop of sweet, delicious berries all summer long.
Most people probably haven’t had much experience of growing a mulberry, but they couldn’t be easier to care for. All you have to do is give your plant some good quality compost, make sure it’s in a sunny spot and keep it fed and watered like any other soft fruit bush. There’s also no complicated pruning, just trim to shape. In fact, ‘Charlotte Russe’ is such a breakthrough that it will even survive down to -15C (5F).
Mulberry fruit are notoriously delicate and only last a day or two in the fridge, but if you can grow them on the patio, within throwing distance of the kitchen, who cares! Plus, they freeze brilliantly, make a divine jam and don’t forget to make mulberry gin, it blows the socks off its sloe relation!
Available exclusively from Suttons, tel: 0844 326 2200, www.suttons.co.uk.