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Planting guide

When to plant mulberry

Tough tree with juicy berries that stain fingers purple; dwarf forms suit pots. In Melbourne it goes in Jun–Aug.

Start as
Bare-root plant or Potted plant
Ready in
2+ years to the first crop
Spacing
400 cm
Depth
0 cm
Sun
Full sun (6+ hours)
Water
Low
Effort
Easy
Frost-tender
No

When it goes in

● means mulberry can go in that month, ○ means wait. Worked out from each town's climate zone and season, the way planting guides do it. Pick your town for the full list for that month.

Australian towns and cities
TownJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Sydney○○○○○●●●○○○○
Melbourne○○○○○●●●○○○○
Brisbane○○○○○●●●○○○○
Perth○○○○○●●●○○○○
Adelaide○○○○○●●●○○○○
Gold Coast○○○○○●●●○○○○
Newcastle○○○○○●●●○○○○
Sunshine Coast○○○○○●●●○○○○
Canberra○○○○○●●●●○○○
Central Coast○○○○○●●●○○○○
Geelong○○○○○●●●○○○○
Wollongong○○○○○●●●○○○○
Hobart○○○○○●●●●○○○
Townsville○○○○○●●●○○○○
Cairns○○○○○○○○○○○○
Toowoomba○○○○○●●●○○○○
Darwin○○○○○○○○○○○○
Ballarat○○○○○●●●●○○○
Mandurah○○○○○●●●○○○○
Bendigo○○○○○●●●○○○○
Launceston○○○○○●●●●○○○
Mackay○○○○○●●●○○○○
Rockhampton○○○○○●●●○○○○
Coffs Harbour○○○○○●●●○○○○
Blue Mountains○○○○○●●●●○○○
Bunbury○○○○○●●●○○○○
Bundaberg○○○○○●●●○○○○
Alice Springs○○○○○●●●○○○○
Mildura○○○○○●●●○○○○
Port Macquarie○○○○○●●●○○○○
Around the world
TownJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Auckland○○○○○●●●○○○○
Wellington○○○○○●●●○○○○
Christchurch○○○○○●●●●○○○
London●●●○○○○○○○○●
Manchester●●●○○○○○○○○●
Edinburgh○●●●○○○○○○○○
Dublin●●●○○○○○○○○●
New York City○●●●○○○○○○○○
Los Angeles●●○○○○○○○○○●
Chicago○●●●○○○○○○○○
Seattle●●●○○○○○○○○●
Austin●●○○○○○○○○○●
Toronto○●●●○○○○○○○○
Vancouver○●●●○○○○○○○○
Cape Town○○○○○●●●○○○○
Johannesburg○○○○○●●●○○○○
Singapore○○○○○○○○○○○○
Mumbai○○○○○○○○○○○○
Paris●●●○○○○○○○○●
Berlin○●●●○○○○○○○○

How to plant mulberry

  1. Plant dormant bare-root trees in a sunny spot.
  2. Water young trees in dry spells.
  3. Prune in winter to keep it manageable.
  4. Lay a sheet under the tree and shake ripe fruit down.

Mulberry varieties

Classic varieties are the reliable, widely grown ones. Adventurous ones are heirlooms, odd colours and rarities.

  • Black Beauty Classicsweet · heavy-cropper · 9–13 wksLarge sweet black berries
  • Hicks Fancy Classicheavy-cropper · 9–13 wksHeavy-cropping black mulberry
  • Pakistan Adventurousgiant · sweet · 9–13 wksVery long fruit, sweet and mild
  • Majestic Adventurousdwarf · pot-friendly · 9–13 wksDwarf black mulberry, great for pots

Shops shown are for Australia. The chooser picks shops for your country.

Good companions

Mulberry by month

More to plant

Not sure mulberry is right for your space? Answer a few taps and see everything that can go in this week.

Find what else you can plant now
When to plant mulberry in Australia — by town | Sow Now