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Thu, Apr 5, 12 at 22:26
| Hi everyone, I live right outside Washington DC, excluding morus nigra which does not like it here, I'm trying to decide between Illinois Everbearing, Shangri-La, Oscar, Geraldi, and Silk Hope. To summarize the pros/cons for anyone just learning about these varieties... Gerladi=dwarf, Illinois=long harvest, Shangri-La=late frost susceptibility...
But I'm trying to gather more information on the taste and juicyness differences (I'm accostumed to native Persian nigras which are crazy juicy, staining, and intense flavor tart and sweet, and wither quickly when you touch them they're juicy mush). Which of these varieties (or another if you have one in mind): has a good tart kick?
(all traits I miss in the nigra... I know it won't be the same, but I want to at least avoid a variety that has no tartness or is particularly dry). Thanks a lot.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by PersianMD2Orchard none (My Page) on Thu, Apr 5, 12 at 22:27
| Ah sorry- and I guess Pakistan could be an option too if it suits the bill I could put it in a protected spot and baby it. |
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- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Fri, Apr 6, 12 at 8:14
| Check out the thread below for some experience with Pakistan in z6. That is the one I always wanted to try, but its definitely borderline. With all the warm winters recently maybe its worth a shot. Scott |
Here is a link that might be useful: Bass' pakistan
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| My sister grows 6-7 varieties of Mulbery here in MD. The whole family favorite for taste and heavy production is korean variety Kokuso. Olga |
Here is a link that might be useful: Kokuso
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- Posted by alexander3 6 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 6, 12 at 10:19
| Garaldi dwarf has no tart kick, it's pretty bland. |
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- Posted by armyofda12mnkeys (My Page) on Fri, Apr 6, 12 at 19:44
| My Cooke's Pakistan which is supposed to be hardier than regular Pakistan had almost all its leaves turned to dust after that last freeze. 95% of its buds also died in the cold weather last year too when i planted it. Wonder how Bass got his to establish and grow so well :). I think I would try I.E. as i heard it does have some tartness and long fruiting period. Kokusa sounds interesting, I may want to graft that to my Pakistan at some point. |
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- Posted by harvestman 6 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 7, 12 at 5:57
| Olga, how does Kokuso's bearing season compare to Illinois Everbearing? How does the fruit taste different? |
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- Posted by PersianMD2Orchard none (My Page) on Sat, Apr 7, 12 at 10:10
| Thanks everyone, I had heard good things about Kokuso as well as Pakistan. I'll just wait to taste as many varieties as I can this season before I commit large space to the mulberry--I'll report back if I get to sample some with a flavor report. |
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- Posted by harvestman 6 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 7, 12 at 10:14
| By the way, Illinois Everbearing is a reliable cold hardy variety if these others don't work. It's not on par with the best warm weather varieties but much better than seedling native types. |
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| Kokuso is not everbearing, but it is extreamly productive. I can't compare with IE taste, because IE actually was underperforming and was removed from the garden. There was not that many berries, I don't remember its taste. Kokuso is sweet, but the taste is good in my opinion, not just "sweet and flat". I am not good in desribing tastes, but looks like everybody like it. Olga |
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- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Sat, Apr 7, 12 at 13:07
| Olga, thanks for the info on Kokusa. I just ordered one from Lucile. That Pakistan is too finicky-sounding for me. I had decided to avoid mulberries since they get so tall but hopefully I can keep one in line, we'll see. When talking to Lucile she said the Geraldi dwarf was in fact pretty good tasting and I almost got one of those instead. Scott |
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- Posted by PersianMD2Orchard none (My Page) on Sat, Apr 7, 12 at 15:28
| Lucile seems to like Kokuso a lot as well. I get the feeling some of these varieties vary a lot depending on their planting location. I'm going to have to wait to taste--too much diversity in opinions. Although I might just be splitting hairs between these varieties. |
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- Posted by harvestman 6 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 7, 12 at 16:59
| Yes, Illinois Everbearing produces very well here but because of the extended harvest the birds do get the lions share. It has so much fruit however that for almost a month you can pick a couple bowls any day you want. If it bore a lot more fruit all at once you obviously could harvest more. |
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| I should have some first hand experience this year with the Geraldi dwarf. I planted it last spring (from Lucile) and it bore fruit the fist year. Of course, it was tiny and didn't bear much, so the birds got it all. Even now, it is only ~2' tall, so it should be easy to net... This year, I've ordered IE and a Persian black mulberry. I'll be planting both in 10-15 gal containers and plan to move the black mulberry into the garage over the winter. |
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- Posted by PersianMD2Orchard none (My Page) on Sun, Apr 8, 12 at 0:31
| Please keep us posted on how your container nigra does. I'd be willing to drag it in the winters. I get the impression the humidity here won't make it happy. But I'm flirting with the idea of trying too... I can not find one single positive report of a nigra on the east coast. |
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- Posted by PersianMD2Orchard none (My Page) on Fri, Apr 13, 12 at 9:32
| Olga could I sample some of the mulberry varieties this season? Thanks for the info either way :) |
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| These are my sisters,not my. I will ask. Olga |
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- Posted by theaceofspades 7 Long Island (My Page) on Fri, Apr 13, 12 at 17:02
| I planted a Pakistan mulberry whip that I grafted last season. I could not resist trying a four inch mulberry. It is planted in a very favorable location so it my bear some fruit next season. I also grafted several IE mulberries last season and the previous that have been planted. IE produces some fruit in its second growing season. |
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| The Pakistan mulberry is still growing, I have mine grafted on a wild seedling about 5 ft high. My best two that I've been enjoying are Greece and Collier. The Collier is the dark mulberry, has a good sweet and tart balance. Produces a big crop early unlike the Illinois everbearing that produces small crop for extended period.
Bass |
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- Posted by PersianMD2Orchard none (My Page) on Sat, Apr 14, 12 at 8:11
| Collier sounds interesting! |
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