Overview

Bring the joy of fresh, homegrown fruit to your garden with this Illinois Everbearing Mulberry live plant. Renowned for its prolific production of large, sweet, and juicy berries, the Illinois Everbearing variety is a favorite among home gardeners and fruit enthusiasts alike. This listing is for one live plant, a healthy seedling measuring 5 to 8 inches in height, ready to establish itself in your outdoor space. Known scientifically as Morus alba ‘Illinois Everbearing’, this deciduous tree offers not only delicious fruit but also attractive foliage, making it a wonderful addition to any landscape. Unlike some mulberry varieties, the Illinois Everbearing is self-fertile, meaning you only need one plant to start enjoying its bounty. Expect a long harvest season, often from early summer through late summer, providing a continuous supply of ripe mulberries.

Mulberries are versatile fruits, perfect for fresh eating, jams, jellies, pies, or even drying. Growing your own ensures a fresh, organic supply right from your backyard. This particular mulberries seedling is carefully cultivated to ensure a strong start, allowing you to quickly establish a productive fruit tree. It’s an excellent choice for those looking to add an edible perennial to their garden with relatively low maintenance once established. Experience the satisfaction of harvesting your own sweet fruit and enhancing your garden’s biodiversity with this resilient and rewarding plant.

Key Benefits

Investing in an Illinois Everbearing Mulberry live plant offers a multitude of benefits for both your garden and your palate. This robust fruit tree is celebrated for its ease of care and generous yields.

• Abundant Sweet Fruit: Enjoy a prolific harvest of large, sweet, and juicy mulberries throughout the summer. These berries are perfect for fresh eating, baking, preserves, or freezing. The sweet mulberry fruit tree lives up to its name, providing a delightful culinary experience.
• Extended Harvest Season: Unlike many fruit trees with short harvest windows, the Illinois Everbearing Mulberry produces fruit continuously for several months, ensuring a steady supply of fresh berries.
• Hardy and Resilient: This variety is known for its hardiness, thriving in a wide range of climates and soil conditions. It’s particularly well-suited for USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9, making it a reliable choice for many regions.
• Self-Pollinating: You only need one Illinois Everbearing Mulberry live plant to produce fruit, eliminating the need for companion planting and simplifying your gardening efforts. This makes it an ideal choice for smaller gardens or those with limited space.
• Attractive Landscape Addition: Beyond its fruit, the mulberry tree offers attractive foliage and a pleasing growth habit, providing shade and visual interest in your garden. Its deciduous nature also adds seasonal beauty.
• Low Maintenance: Once established, this mulberry plant requires relatively little care, making it an excellent option for both experienced gardeners and beginners. Its natural vigor helps it resist many common pests and diseases.
• Supports Wildlife: The fruit is also a favorite of birds and other wildlife, adding to the ecological diversity of your garden space.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Illinois Everbearing Mulberry live plant is straightforward, ensuring a healthy and productive tree for years to come. These trees are adaptable and forgiving, making them a great choice for various gardening skill levels. For optimal growth and fruit production, ensure your plant receives full sun exposure, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. While they can tolerate partial shade, fruit yield may be reduced. When selecting a planting site, consider the mature size of the tree, which can reach up to 30 feet tall, and ensure it has ample space to grow without crowding other plants or structures.

The mulberry plant care for this variety thrives in well-draining soil. While adaptable to various soil types, a loamy soil amended with organic matter is ideal. Avoid heavy clay soils that retain too much moisture, as this can lead to root rot. Moderate watering is required, especially during dry spells and in the first few years after planting to help establish a strong root system. Once established, they are relatively drought-tolerant. Fertilize in early spring with a balanced, slow-release fruit tree fertilizer, following package instructions. Pruning can be done in late winter or early spring to remove dead or crossing branches, shape the tree, and encourage better air circulation and fruit production. This helps maintain the health and vigor of your sweet mulberry fruit tree.

The mulberry tree zones 5-9 designation highlights its cold hardiness. In colder zones (5-6), ensure the tree is well-mulched around the base to protect roots during winter. Common problems are generally few, but watch for birds, as they love mulberries! Netting can be used to protect your harvest if needed. Proper site selection and consistent, moderate care in the early years will set your Illinois Everbearing Mulberry up for a lifetime of delicious fruit.

Size & Details

This offering is for one Illinois Everbearing Mulberry live plant, which arrives as a healthy seedling. The plant typically measures between 5 to 8 inches in height upon arrival, ready for planting. Mulberries are known for their relatively fast growth rate, and this cultivar can reach heights of up to 30 feet tall at maturity, with a similar spread, forming a beautiful, broad canopy. It ships as a potted plant in a nursery container, ensuring its roots are protected during transit and ready for immediate transplanting into your garden or a larger pot.

The mulberries seedling will begin producing fruit within 2-3 years, with yields increasing significantly as the tree matures. Expect the tree to grow into a deciduous form, shedding its leaves in the fall and regrowing them in the spring. This robust plant is an investment in future harvests, providing delicious fruit for many seasons to come. Its adaptability to various conditions, including its suitability for mulberry tree zones 5-9, makes it a versatile choice for many home gardeners across the US.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: This Illinois Everbearing Mulberry live plant is 5 to 8 inches tall when shipped. At maturity, it can grow up to 30 feet tall and wide, forming a substantial shade tree.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: The plant is shipped in a small nursery pot, designed to protect the root system during transit and provide a healthy start. You should transplant it into a larger container or directly into the ground upon arrival.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The Illinois Everbearing Mulberry live plant is an outdoor fruit tree. It requires ample sunlight and space to grow to its full potential and produce fruit.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: This mulberry tree thrives in full sun, requiring at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day for optimal growth and fruit production.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the Illinois Everbearing Mulberry is considered relatively easy to care for once established. It’s a hardy and vigorous grower, making it suitable for gardeners of all experience levels. Its low maintenance needs make mulberry plant care manageable.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your mulberries seedling will arrive as a healthy, live plant in a nursery pot, carefully packaged to ensure its safety during shipping. Please unpack it promptly and follow the initial care instructions.
• Q: Can I use the mulberries in cooking? A: Absolutely! The sweet mulberries produced by this tree are excellent for fresh eating, making jams, jellies, pies, sauces, or even drying. They are a versatile culinary fruit.
• Q: How long until it blooms and produces fruit? A: Typically, the sweet mulberry fruit tree will start producing fruit within 2-3 years after planting. Fruit production will increase significantly as the tree matures.
• Q: When is the best time to plant this tree? A: The best time to plant your Illinois Everbearing Mulberry is in spring or early summer after the last frost, allowing it ample time to establish before colder weather.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: Yes, this particular variety is very hardy and thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9. It is well-adapted to survive cold winters within these zones, making it a reliable choice for many climates.