Hi bucky130, I can see a few fruits on it. Unfortunately the top 18-20" of it is dead and did not leaf out and will have to be cut off. So even an unhealthy 1/4" branchless whip of an Illinois Everbearing will fruit but 14-15' trees in other varieties do not? Looks like I purchased the right variety. Sure wish I had purchased a nice size tree from a different nursery. With our long seasons I'm told a Mulberry can grow 10' in one year. I was hoping for a tree that would do just that to shade my garden from the afternoon sun. Instead I will have a fruiting bush or at best a tree that will be 10' shorter at the end of the season than I had hoped. If the BR tree does not readily adopt a tree form and get at least 4-6' tall I will be purchasing another IE this Fall from a nursery other than Burnt Ridge. A 1/4" caliper whip is not a normal size variation for a tree described as large. None of the trees they sent me are thriving. I have 1-2" new growth on the Methley Plum they sent me. Of the four trees they sent me thats the tree thats doing the best. Trees I purchased from other nurseries already have 2-3' of new growth. Even trees I planted after my Burnt Ridge order have much more growth than the best tree purchased from BR. I don't think I will ever order from them again.

I am in Colorado, about 50 miles north of Denver. My mulberry trees were here when I moved in 12 years ago. They were large then, 25 ft at least, Four trees covered a large area of our yard. We have removed all but One now, and are considering taking that one out as well. My concern is that, as stated above, the birds and squirrels love them. To anyone wanting to know why grow a mulberry, that is the answer. They totally ignore the cherry tree right next to them. I would love to keep them in some form, but don't have room for the large tree. I have potted up a few of the seedlings and am going to try them as bushes. Wish me luck.

Thank you very much Drew 'Malus is a genus of crabapples and apples.' Exactly what I found on the internet. Most references to Malus link to apples and very few linked to 'white mulberry'. That is what confused me. Most of the deciduous trees here have dropped leaves so I'm not worried about the plant. I'll see what happens next spring when it leaves out. Even if it is a crab apple tree I will be happy. I love its blossoms. Happy gardening.

Kill it!? I will do no such thing! As I said I find it to be a lovely tree with a tropical feel to it, and one of the few trees remaining after they cleared the woods; it offers a bit of privacy. And unlike the pesky maples and stalks growing up through my fence and into my yard, it seems content to stay on the edge there for the past few years at least (been here 12 years, just now noticed it). Why on Earth would I try to kill it? (Hell, even if I wanted to, I'm far too lazy.) And I don't really care if it feeds the birds or not -- they have plenty of dogwoods, poison ivy, blackberries, field corn, and as I've discovered, mulberries for that. Just because it supposedly doesn't do something for birds, does not make it a "waste" tree! Just because anything does not conform to your wishes or desires does not make it a "waste" organism! That's entirely the wrong attitude to have, no offense. I digress, I don't think it's a Tree of Heaven anyways. I looked up pictures of both Tree of Heaven and sumac and they look so close as to be in the same family, perhaps the same genus, but I've not the time to look into it. Tree of Heaven looks to have spurs at the base of the leaves and the leaves of this tree are smooth. I was thinking it might be a staghorn sumac, but actually smooth sumac looks closer. I might have to wait til fall to figure it out, and then research how to propagate it. Since this forum sucks at resizing pics, here's some on photobucket (click to embiggen) : Assuming that's poison oak growing up it. Provides a nice screening effect but it might need to go if it interferes with my tree. They certainly do seem to be mulberry *trees*. Funny, I heard of mulberry bushes but not mulberry trees before. This is an excellent discovery; I can use some of the leaves to grow tomato hornworms! I was thinking about buying a mulberry and then I find two barely on the edge of the property, what luck! I just wonder howmany the killed when they tore up the trees. Neat how the leaves change shape/ are asymmetrical as you go up the stem; that's really different from a lot of plants: Still dunno what this thing is: I have to admit it's pretty in it's own way with the splotchy leaves like that, but it's invading my personal space a tad too much. Someone said to dig it up? CBA with that; too much like work and far too much of it. Like I said, it went crazy after they cut the trees down; I guess the trees were out-competing it / shading it out. It runs the length of the fence with a big ole stand of it at the edge of the farmer's field which is creeping into my yard. I figure I'll just chop it down and throw it on a compost heap if I start one (as long as it's not in seed, I'm guessing). And the entire time I was taking pictures a bird was chattering raucously above me. Figured I pissed it off somehow, then I caught of a bit of movement: 99% sure it's a fledgling oriole; he was hopping from branch to branch. Only caught glimpses of the dad as he flitted about; hard to take pics of him with the light behind him.