Cheapest place for mulberry trees?

[justjumpit621]

Does anyone know where I can get the cheapest mullberry trees? I probably wouldn't be able to buy one even if it was very cheap but I want to find a cheap place anyway. Preferably a miniature mulberry tree (if those are safe for silkworms) so I could grow it on the porch.

 

[summoner12]

I know there are different kinds of mulberry trees... I saw a weeping mulberry tree at the garden show held at the mall where my GF works. They wanted 160 dollars for a 6' weeping mulberry tree. It sure looked great..... but I was not willing to pay that kind of money.

I have three mulberry trees... and a tree growing on your porch will not provide enough leaves for very many silks.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Does anyone know where I can get the cheapest mullberry trees? I probably wouldn't be able to buy one even if it was very cheap but I want to find a cheap place anyway. Preferably a miniature mulberry tree (if those are safe for silkworms) so I could grow it on the porch.

Howdy,

Your best bet is to find giant Mulberry trees growing around your own neighborhood. A single batch of 100 silkies might go through a hundred leaves which would strip anything other than a big tree. I managed to locate around 6 trees within a few miles of my house. The tree owners just about beg me to pick their Mulberry tree's leaves . When I pick a hundred leaves from a big tree, it hardly makes a dent. I can usually pick leaves from one tree every week or two and you'd never notice it.

 

[dodolah]

Like Dave said, the cheapest place will be your neighbor's
White Mulberry grows a LOT of leaves. Most of the time, it can be nuisance for people's backyard.
I have at least 3 people in my neighborhood who gave me a routine call asking if I need more mulberry leaves.

 

[justjumpit621]

Are there any located in my area? I live in new hampshire and I don't know if they can live here.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Are there any located in my area? I live in new hampshire and I don't know if they can live here.

Howdy Kayla,

I think you may be in luck . It looks like the town of Boscawen NH, is about 30 miles away from you in Manchester, NH and there are historical references from the 1800's:

"Dr. Samuel Wood of Boscawen, an educator and a preacher, and well-known for his hobby the production of silk worms which fed on the leaves of the mulberry trees that grew in his back yard. At this fair, Dr. Wood was acknowledged the first person to plant the mulberry tree and to make silk in New Hampshire, and he received five dollars for a piece of finished material."

What you'll want to do is check-in with your local plant nursery business and see if they know where some are located nearby so that you can at least know what really big mulberry trees look like. Then wait until the leaves are actually being produced (May?) and start searching around the rest of your neighborhood. I must have driven by 2-3 of the half dozen that I located at least a hundred times before I realized that they were Mulberry trees! Elementary school playgrounds often have them. The schools used them for growing silkworms as class projects. I made a deal with the local elementary school that I would give them some silkworms and they would give me permission to pick their mulberry leaves .

 

[justjumpit621]

Howdy Kayla,

I think you may be in luck . It looks like the town of Boscawen NH, is about 30 miles away from you in Manchester, NH and there are historical references from the 1800's:

"Dr. Samuel Wood of Boscawen, an educator and a preacher, and well-known for his hobby the production of silk worms which fed on the leaves of the mulberry trees that grew in his back yard. At this fair, Dr. Wood was acknowledged the first person to plant the mulberry tree and to make silk in New Hampshire, and he received five dollars for a piece of finished material."

What you'll want to do is check-in with your local plant nursery business and see if they know where some are located nearby so that you can at least know what really big mulberry trees look like. Then wait until the leaves are actually being produced (May?) and start searching around the rest of your neighborhood. I must have driven by 2-3 of the half dozen that I located at least a hundred times before I realized that they were Mulberry trees! Elementary school playgrounds often have them. The schools used them for growing silkworms as class projects. I made a deal with the local elementary school that I would give them some silkworms and they would give me permission to pick their mulberry leaves .

Thanks! I will definitely take a look. There are alo many parks near my house and a lot of woods in the area. I'm sure I should be able to find some if they are common.

 

[reptoman]

freezing mulberry leaves

http://rms1.agsearch.agropedia.affrc...ty/34-3405.pdf

I ran across this article awhile back so thought i would post it again. I have been able to keep many bags of leaves through the winter to keep silkworms fed after the leaves on my mulberry fell off.

 

[boj3434]

I would go look at parks and other places with alot of trees or just drive around. They are easy to spot if you know what your looking for

 

[DGray]

http://rms1.agsearch.agropedia.affrc...ty/34-3405.pdf

I ran across this article awhile back so thought i would post it again. I have been able to keep many bags of leaves through the winter to keep silkworms fed after the leaves on my mulberry fell off.

Sounds interesting. The link doesn't seem to work for me. Did you save a copy?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

Try this link to it: http://rms1.agsearch.agropedia.affrc.go.jp/contents/JASI/pdf/society/34-3405.pdf

I'm still using the ones that I blanched and froze months ago. They tend to dry-out a lot faster than fresh ones but the silkworms eat them at least while they are still moist and soft after defrosting. I'd say to not put out more than what they will eat within 4-8 hours. I tend to keep the humidity high (80%?) in my silkworm bin so as to not let the food dry-out too fast.

 

[DGray]

Thanks

Thanks Dave for the link.

To the OP: it looks like you can take cuttings of Morus alba and root them over the winter. This would be a cheap way to get a number of plants, but it will take some time and patience.

Oct. would be a good time to gather your cuttings right after leaves drop off. Cuttings about 8-10 in. are taken from tip growth and buried in pots of perlite with the tips only emerging. I usually group a large number of cuttings into one pot for the rooting process. Pots should be left outside in a sheltered spot with partial shade for the winter. Its wise to protect the cuttings from pets and pests, especially curious squirrels. With no rooting hormone at all, you can expect about a third of them to root. Pot up individual rooted cuttings into larger pots in spring as leaves emerge. Viola`.

I'm guessing it would take several years for the new plants to be big enough to give a significant harvest of leaves. Patience is a virtue, particularly in the garden.

 

[reptoman]

Sounds interesting. The link doesn't seem to work for me. Did you save a copy?

If i did, i cant find it. I cant get to the pdf through that link anymore either. The study basically stated that there was very little loss of nutrition value if the leaves were blanched for 1 to 3 minutes before freezing. I will keep looking and post again if i find it.

I see Dave had it. nevermind.

 

[ladysilkworm]

You guys are good at finding trees

I have so many around me as well. See, it just confirms my theory that mulberry trees grow every where .They really do, they are very hardy and tolerate bad conditions.. they are like weeds!

 

[ladysilkworm]

havn't you noticed Wormman is selling trees???

 

[TylerStewart]

Do any of you So-Cal guys know of a nursery down there that sells smaller mulberry trees at good prices? There's a bunch of nurseries on the drive down, but I don't know which are cheap or expensive, and I'd rather know before heading to one. I've been wanting to get some of the trees, but it's illegal to sell them here in Southern Nevada (they give some people allergies). There's a bunch of massive trees here from 30-40 years ago, but you can't get new ones. I've been wanting to take a stealth trip down to So Cal some time this fall and smuggle back a half dozen of them. Any ideas? Preferrably closer to the Nevada line?

 

[DGray]

here's a couple of threads on the topic:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-kind-mulberry-tree-silkies-31607/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/mulberry-tree-37496/

hope that helps.

Keywords: Mullberry Mulberries Morus

 

[ladysilkworm]

comon guys, worm man sells them! you just have to pre order NOW! I wish I was selling. LOL

 

[DGray]

allergies suck

...
I've been wanting to get some of the trees, but it's illegal to sell them here in Southern Nevada (they give some people allergies). There's a bunch of massive trees here from 30-40 years ago, but you can't get new ones. I've been wanting to take a stealth trip down to So Cal some time this fall and smuggle back a half dozen of them. ....

Th pollen from the trees really is one of worst allergens; a lot of people suffer badly for the weeks that these are flowering. There is really no excuse for planting a fruiting variety, since there are good non-flowering varieties that have been selected and named. Do your community a favor and find a sterile variety.

 

[critterfeeders]

I live in Los Angeles my children and I started a silkworm colony we buy about every other week silkworm Chow it gets expensive does anyone know where in Los Angeles I can pick some leafs for free?

Howdy,

Your best bet is to find giant Mulberry trees growing around your own neighborhood. A single batch of 100 silkies might go through a hundred leaves which would strip anything other than a big tree. I managed to locate around 6 trees within a few miles of my house. The tree owners just about beg me to pick their Mulberry tree's leaves . When I pick a hundred leaves from a big tree, it hardly makes a dent. I can usually pick leaves from one tree every week or two and you'd never notice it.