I once grafted what I was absolutely convinced was a premium Morus alba scion onto a healthy rootstock — wrapped it beautifully, labeled it proudly, and waited. What grew back was the most enthusiastic, untamed wild mulberry sprout you have ever seen in your life, shooting up from below the graft union like it had … Read more
Three years ago, I stood in my backyard staring at my beloved mulberry tree and felt my stomach drop. The leaves were yellowing, whole branches had gone brittle, and the tree I’d spent two summers nurturing — the one I’d paid a small fortune for as a five-gallon specimen — looked like it was quietly … Read more
The summer I planted my first mulberry tree, I had no idea I was also planting a slow-moving disaster. Three years later, I was standing in my backyard staring at a buckled section of my garden path, a cracked concrete edging border, and a raised garden bed that had been completely infiltrated — all thanks … Read more
I planted my first mulberry tree in August. In Florida. During a heat wave. With no root stimulator, no mulch, and approximately zero research into when to plant a mulberry tree. I just dug a hole, dropped the sapling in, watered it once, and walked away feeling like an absolute gardening genius. Two weeks later, … Read more
I once stood in my backyard, hands on my hips, genuinely convinced my mulberry tree had died overnight. It hadn’t grown a single inch in three weeks, the leaves looked a little sad, and I — a fully grown adult — had already started mentally composing its eulogy. I even told my husband we should … Read more
I stood in my backyard last July staring at my two-year-old mulberry tree, and my stomach dropped. The leaves were yellowing, the branches looked limp, and the whole tree just had that unmistakable “something is very wrong” look. I’d been so proud of that tree. I’d spent two summers nursing it along, dreaming about the … Read more
I lost my first mulberry tree eleven days after planting it. I’d spent weeks researching varieties, drove forty minutes to a specialty nursery, paid good money for a beautiful bare-root Illinois Everbearing, and dug what I was sure was a perfectly fine hole. Eleven days later, it was leaning sideways after a storm, and within … Read more
I once spent an entire weekend hauling in what I proudly called “premium garden soil” — a truckload of dense, clay-heavy fill dirt a neighbor was giving away for free — and dumped it around my brand-new mulberry tree like I was tucking it into the world’s most generous bed. The tree looked spectacular for … Read more
I killed my first mulberry tree. Not slowly, not ambiguously — I killed it decisively, within a single growing season, by picking the wrong variety for my climate and then doubling down with the wrong care routine. I’d spent close to $80 on a beautiful white mulberry sapling, driven two hours to a specialty nursery … Read more
I almost gave up on mulberry propagation entirely. After three failed attempts, two moldy trays, and what felt like a small fortune spent on potting mix and plastic pots that ended up in the recycling bin, I sat on my back porch genuinely defeated. All I wanted was to grow mulberry from cuttings — something … Read more
