Mine is still young and about three feet tall,but fruited the first time this year.
Yes,the berries are a bit difficult to access.The biggest problem for me though were the tiny black ants that loved them.I tried putting a bait well on top the mulch to give them something sweeter,but then cats came and did their business and covered up the trap with mulch.
I did get to try a little for taste,but maybe picked them a little too soon because of the ants,but probably did get a few that came off easy and liked them. Brady

Brady,

Put duct tape or electrical tape on the tree trunk sticky side out and cover it with tanglefoot and you will have zero ants......it is what I do with the figs.

lucky_p,
Maybe that's why some of them tasted a little peculiar.:)

bamboo_rabbit,
Yes,I'm going to have to do that with a number of trees to keep the ants and earwigs away. Brady

I'm always blown away by how much things vary from place to place... here in the SW, which is swarming with ants, I've not had a single issue with them in any fruiting plants.

I have at least 6 kinds of ants like fabaceae_native here in east Kern County, California. No problem with them with garden or orchard. The little bitin' red ones will swarm up your legs if you disturb their nest and the big jawed red ones I use ant poison on so I don't have to remember where their nest is. Black Beauty mulberries don't have any bug problems here and only a minimal problem with squirrels, chipmonks, and birds. Those varmints work over the apricots, apples and peaches pretty good though. One 8-9 year old Black Beauty tree/bush yields enough berries for all year, roughly 6 cubic feet of berries and juice in a freezer. I pick every day for a couple of hours mid season and every third day, early and late season. Last of the berries in a week or two. There is considerable variation in even Black Beauty cultivars from different nurseries. I have both Burnt Ridge and Bay Laurel trees. They look different than L.E Cooke trees. Amount of fruit, how the berry stems stick to the tree, which side of the tree ripens first, different ripening period, flavor changes during the season, etc. But they're all good!

Late to the party, I know, but @Jacky5, where should I buy a Black Beauty Morus Nigra - Burnt Ridge, Bay Laurel, L.E. Cooke, or another outfit? I am buying one fruit tree as a gift for my little niece and nephew in Northern Illinois, zone 5a. I finally settled on this tree, but only have one chance to get it right!

Both of mine were from a local nursery that got them from either Dave Wilson or L.E. Cooke, I can't remember, but I think it was the latter. The local nursery had potted these bare root trees for a season, and they were nice and big when I got them.

Since they are often grafted very high onto M. alba with a pretty substantial and ugly grafting scar, you might want to consider the desired look, and choose grafting height accordingly. My next b.b. will be the low grafted type -- essentially a bush (brings to mind the popular song, probably from England, where M. nigra is really the main mulberry species grown). This makes harvesting and pruning easier.

ksosnow....difficult to say. The first tree will provide all the berries I can pick in a few hours so I'm searching for better methods of harvest. The first grafted tree came from Bay Laurel in California and half the berries will be picked from ladders this year. A very strong tree...crowds out anything but another mulberry within 18' radius. Tried pruning it to pickable height and had to cut too much to keep it short...gave up. Second three trees also from BLN and now are fruiting heavily with the same stature after 4 years. Last 10 trees were from Burnt Ridge, planted on less nutritious ground and were not sufficiently irrigated last year. They were larger initially as bare root (good plants-low grafted)), maybe to a different rootstock, seem to be lower in stature, more dense berry yield but the quality will be determined this season (2015). This is Joshua Tree country, essentially mountain desert, at 4200' so your results may vary :-)

I also bought a Black Beauty tree for a friend from Burnt Ridge this year. Came as a small two trunk bare root. Haven't seen it planted but it would have made a great experiment. I'd have to guess buying many trees from BR gets a more 'commercial' style service and possibly totally different grafting, different cultivars, or there was a mistake.

Sounds like Burnt Ridge might be the ticket. However, this is interesting Jacky5. You say you bought Black Beauties from Burnt Ridge, but all they have on their website is Morus nigra. I emailed asking which cultivar, and they replied, "There are other
varieties that originate from morus nigra & as such carry the same moniker,
but the original morus nigra(Asian origination) is naturally dwarfing & not
propagated for said characteristics. So it is the original dwarf black mulberry
variety."

I guess I'll email and ask if they will be having Black Beauty again. That's really the kind I want for my niece and nephew.

Meanwhile, the next problem is all the mail-order nurseries have stopped shipping because it's too late and the trees have broken dormancy. I wish there was a local nursery in northern Illinois with a live Black Beauty they could get and plant. Does anyone know of one??? Thanks!

I assume Black Beauty is a variety of Morus nigra. Naturally dwarfing is another problem as my heavy yielding Black Beauty trees from Bay Laurel are at 10' high and not slowing down.

Yes, Black Beauty is a variety of Morus nigra. You said you bought 11 Black Beauties from Burnt Ridge and 4 Black Beauties from Bay Laurel Nursery. Are you not sure they were sold to you as Black Beauties? Jacky5 From what I've read, Morus nigra in general is only hardy to zone 7. Black Beauties are said to be hardy to zone 5 or even 4, which is why I'm focusing on them.

I'm in USDA zone 8b. The black beauty's from both nurseries are well suited to my climate. Bay Laurel says:

Mulberry, Black Beauty (Morus nigra sp.)

Bush form mulberry, large, black fruit with blackberry-like
flavor. Very attractive to birds. Grows to fifteen feet. Zone 4.
Self-fruitful.

Burnt Ridge says:

Black Beauty- a natural dwarf to 10' branching low to the ground. zone 7-10. Hot, dry, summers.

Both descriptions match so far, but mine from Burnt Ridge were sold as "grafted low" so there may be a 3rd variant. I don't think Black Beauty is suitable for zone 4 or 5, but good luck!

In general Black Beauty is damaged below 10 degrees F.

First black mulberries today. BR very sweet, half the size of BLN. I should have planted every other tree from the same nursery for space considerations and also to alternate between ladder and 'on the knees' picking :-) No berries in the bucket :-)

PS I haven't planted Black Beauty below 10 degrees F....it's just what I read about them in the past.

Kayla, many people consider all Morus nigra to be extremely similar. There has been some suggestion on this forum that they are naturally occurring sterile hybrids (they are seedless) and that the different varieties are either merely bud sports or derived from slightly different hybrid origins.

In terms of cold hardiness, they should all be the same, any differences you see listed just have to do with who's listing them. For me, BB has survived zone 4 temps (-23F), and shows less dieback than any of my other mulberries (Morus alba) from early fall and late spring frosts. I've heard that it does not do well in cold wet winters, thus the oft-repeated zone 7 designation, but in the arid SW at least, it is plenty hardy.

Other Morus nigra sold locally here (Persian, Chelsea) are appparently similar.

Black Beauty Mulberry Grower Jacky5 expands to 40 trees! It is good that there's 100% shade in those trees on a desert summer day! Still picking by hand as the structure of the tree branches at ground level so can't easily get sheets or tarps under the tree to get the ripest naturally falling deep black ones. Those deep black ones are always immediately eaten off the tree :-) Am pruning off any growth above head height so ladders and climbing are eliminated. Tree variety needs a 30' diameter circle. Bush variety seems to reach 10' diameter but with much less fruit. Very strong root system so no other plants, including another mulberry should be planted in the 30' diameter circle. If anyone has a robot that can pick ripe Black Beauty mulberries I'm interested! Have a great gardening New Year!

I just wanted to chime in about the "seedless" comment. I have been growing a Noir de Spain for about 10 years, bought from Raintree. (It too is grafted, but they don't say to what.)

I agree nigras are the tastiest mulberries, and I make blue ribbon jam/jelly from them every year. But while I think the seeds in my mulberries may be sterile, they are NOT seedless! If you cook the fruit whole, a bunch of tiny white seeds will float out, and in jam, they look like bugs--not very appetizing! You can't really taste them, but they are gritty. I have learned to either mix them with raspberries so the seeds blend in for jam, or to juice the mulberries and make jelly.

Carla in Sac

Seeds of Morus Nigra: Not noticeable with Black Beauty in jam. In raw BB berries short stems sometimes are noticeable but disappear in jam.

correction...I had not noticed them but today we opened another jar of jam and about 5 seeds ARE visible in Black Beauty jam. They look like tomato seeds. Can't taste or feel them on the tongue though.

Black Beauty....BUSH vs TREE............There is another problem that came up, and that is what a bush is and what a tree is? The answer is: Black Beauty Mulberry tree will/might be grafted Black Beauty on a 4-5 foot Morus Alba Tatarica rootstock (Russian mulberry) so branching begins at 4-5' (at the point of the graft) and it would have the trunk of a tree. When a Black Beauty is called 'bush' it means it branches at, near, or below ground level and therefore can be pruned to pick berries standing on the ground and without pruning could grow 15' tall. The other option is to espalier the high grafted 'tree' and train the branches more or less at an ideal picking height which would not look like a tree! This option is more intensive I'd bet and I've not heard it done before. Also, any pruning reduces the fruit production. If this sounds confused, it's because I'm learning it the hard way.

Every chukar, quail, squirrel, chipmonk, oriole, etc discovered Black Beauty this year! Had friends helping to pick for the first time and we couldn't stay ahead of the 4 trees. 100% survival on the 30 new trees planted this spring (2017). 6' fencing with sparrow mesh plus 6" deep 1/2" hardware cloth skirt underground, and squirrel shielding on top for the first four trees going in before winter. Also topping/pruning all trees at head height for picking. Due to dryness (unknown factor?) of the last few years had to water more frequently and deeper than expected. No insect infestations. Jam and cold pressed juice are 'out-of-this-world' :-) Limbs rotate to fill the openings to get into the center to look out to pick so winter pruning access routes (3 per tree) are hhelpful. 1/3 berries lost due to droppage but haven't wanted to pick anything up off the ground. Trees might use 30' diameter circle or more.

Black Beauty season approaching. Just ran out of juice from last year. The cold pressed juice is strong and dark. Loaded with antioxidants, anthocyanins, etc. Mix with 1/3 Mountain Dew for Zing! Will learn to pick with both hands and belt/shoulder bucket this year. Had mid April frost/freeze that got Anna Apple, Nakita's Gift Persimmon, but Morus showed it's wisdom here in 8b.

So cool to hear about your nigra orchard Jacky5! A lot has changed with mulberries for me since I started this thread (under my previous name)... I still prefer the taste of BB mulberries, but they are too tart for everyone else in my family. On top of that, they have turned out to lack vigor and productivity for me. All of my attempts to propagate them have failed, including the air layers, which declined over a few years. Now one of my two established trees has died, and the other is unpredictable. So I have turned my efforts to illinois everbearing and similar varieties. They are much easier to propagate, are very vigorous, and I'm hoping productive here as well. Unfortunately my dreams of rows of bush size BB's propagated from my original trees won't become reality, but I'll likely be picking mulberries of some sort through much of the summer in a few years.

interesting, but something's not right

Looked over some of your comments. I have very strong trees...loaded with fruit. They are bushy, but tree sized. 10' tall and twice as wide and still growing. Your location, USDA zone, elevation, soil & water conditions please.

I'm in zone 6b, Santa Fe, NM, at 7,000 feet elevation with dry clay soil, which probably explains our differing experiences. The trees have survived some very low temps, below 10F every winter, but my guess is that they are marginal here due to the overall climate regime of cold nights, aridity, and drastic temperature swings. I also have lots of gophers, as well as wind, and those high grafted trees are really not ideal for that. I'm sure they would do much better here in a protected microclimate though. I would love to be two zones warmer!

Black Beauty, natural bush (12'), hardy to USDA 6 they say. I'm testing high grafted now but prefer the 'natural bush form'. High winds...no effect here at 4000'. I believe the trees prefer constant moisture and deep soil. They will aggressively go to water so drips, 3 at the outer limits of each tree probably are required. Soil need not be 'rich' but clay may be too fine. DRY clay sounds bad. Nothing here at 4000' in 8b can be overwatered in gravel/sand alluvium. Image is the amazing root base of 11 year old tree. Large pocket knife stuck in trunk in the center.

Awesome pic Jacky5, I love that 'natural bush form!' I imagine my soils and moisture regime are challenging for BB, as they are for certain other plants.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, and enjoy your harvest this summer!

Your enthusiasm and encouragement is appreciated. Pushing the limits of supposedly semi-tropical species (and others) is interesting. Microclimates might be the BB (black beauty) answer as some of my trees appear to be dwarfed as they were planted further up the hillside from the water upwelling from the now absent spring. Water is now pumped from a well.

growing mulberry.org for overview

http://www.arthurleej.com/p-o-m-July09.html (best information)

nmfruit..........here we go again! SPRING! Heavily pruned out everything not in reach. Carefully sealed cuts. Training limbs horizontally when possible for picking. Best juice I ever cold pressed and drank. A little like Concord grape juice from where I grew up in NY. 1/3 Mountain Dew in tall glass adds a bit of caffeine. Wife wants Black Beauty Liquor! Always go for the Black Beauty Mulberry jam here on the east Sierra desert.