i have hoyas if you wantt o trade

YMMV - performance of mulberries in different sites can be quite varied. Illinois Everbearing is the 'gold standard' in zone 6 (M.nigra is frequently held up as the 'true' gold standard, but we really can't grow it here.) - precocious, and a heavy bearer of really tasty mid-sized berries with good sweet/tart balance over a 6-8 week period extending from early-mid June through late July. 'Stearns' is similar, and gets my nod for 2nd place. Collier is good, but the berries were always very tart here. Wellington has a really crappy growth habit and low productivity. Oscar's was a non-starter for me. I liked Kokuso's fruit when I had an opportunity to sample it, but the Easter freeze of 2007 killed it, as well as Collier, and severely damaged Oscar's. I have a couple of M.rubra selections that I really like - larger, juicier fruits than IE, and a bit sweeter, but their productive period is only a couple of weeks. I've never tasted a white-fruited mulberry that would have been worth the space it would have taken up in my orchard. Thomis - M.alba is NOT a native tree, unless you live in Asia. Around here, they're typically a weedy, unkempt thing, popping up in every untended urban/suburban fencerow or ditchbank. Fruit quality is usually pretty poor, though the birds do seem to like them.

I have 2 5-gal trees that I got last Nov from the electric company. Planted them late Nov. It's a mesquite tree & a desert willow tree. Now we're going to put a pool in, so the trees have to go. We would use them in another part of the yard, but I don't know where right now. I'd love to have them go to a new home. If you're feeling enterprising & live in the Tucson area & would be willing to come to my house & dig them up yourself, you're welcome to them. I live near Tangerine Rd & Dove Mountain Blvd. Send me an email to arrange a good time to come over. Thanks!

Thanks Phyllis, We have RWCD irrigation, so they get good deep soakings too. They seem like they are pretty healthy, though we do have a couple big branches that have died in each of the trees and need to be cut out. I don't know if these were ever hacked back like you see most people do with them. They are really huge, and are really tangled in the tops of them. I worry sometimes about big branches breaking out. That has happened a few times, though the wind on Saturday didn't do anything, so I guess I am ok. I would like to thin them quite a bit, but it seems like that just provokes more growth. Any tips on keeping them under control?