Pakistani Mulberry Tree Too Big

[Kevin Jones]

My Pakistani Mulberry tree is full of fruit right now. The problem is that the tree has grown too well... 40 or 50 feet tall.
Most of the fruit is out of reach. Not a good tree for climbing either.
I guess an extension ladder could get me up to where the fruit is growing, but that is not too practical.
Any suggestions for cutting the tree back to a more manageable height?
Thanks.

kj

[Chupa King]

Proper pruning. We keep ours really small by pruning it down after every big harvest. They fruit much better this way as well.

[venturabananas]

Proper pruning. We keep ours really small by pruning it down after every big harvest. They fruit much better this way as well.

How small are you able to keep it this way?

[Samu]

Proper pruning. We keep ours really small by pruning it down after every big harvest. They fruit much better this way as well.

Question, can we also control the invasive roots of Mulberry tree with "proper pruning" as well? (I have a small Mulberry tree, but worry about it's root becoming too invasive as to disturb my old sewer line someday...-it's currently about 12 feet away).

[sahai1]

The sewer lines are penetrated at the joints, if possible dig up around the connecting joints and encase in concrete, that might be proactive.

[greenman62]

my Pakinstani went in ground last spring (3-gal)
its already 15ft and looks likew it will bw a monster.

i had tried bending down the lower branches.
even tying weights to ropes etc...
and i cut the top central leader... twice.

only 2 branches it seem will be in arms reach.

already this year i have taken to shaking the tree to make the ripest fruit fall.

[NewGen]

I was out picking fruits this morning, had to use ladders and pull some branches down. I'm reluctant to cut them short because it provides much needed shade. The part of the house behind the tree faces southwest, intense sun in my area in the summer. I also notice lots of ants, and I'm sure the birds are coming. It's crazy how much fruits the tree produces, wherever there are leaves on a branch, there are also 3-4 fruits hanging off that point.

[FRUITBOXHERO]

You can just cut it down to 4 feet or so and then you can keep it under control

[arc310]

do the fruits grow on new branches or old? have the same problem....guess at least it means the tree is healthy.

[palmcity]

I have many black mulberry trees (maybe pakistan maybe not but growth looks similar).

When the leaves come out after the winter, immediately on new or old limbs with no leafs, the mulberries also start forming. So yes on both old & also new shoots coming up from older limbs.

To keep mine lower, I let the hurricanes topple it and never pick it up. Hurricanes split the limbs lowering it also and help me out. The tree grows just as fast split as whole but I prefer it split and lower to the ground.

The young trees that have not seen a hurricane yet need to have my lopper attack them after harvest. I'll attack them anytime I get in the mood but not often as a lot of limbs fall. I usually just lop them an extra time or two to shorten them and let them lay on the ground after pushing them close to the trunk and after a year or so they rot pretty good and just seem to disappear into the ground. I also keep all the low limbs low to block out the sun and not have to mow around the trees. If the limbs touch the ground & grow back up... Thats a plus for me and it does not affect their growth/fruiting. Hauling waste away is a pain & recycling in the ground is much easier. 

[pineislander]

It sounds like a tree you should chop chop chop. Best fruiting here in Florida is early spring when we have a dry season and not much else is in season. I recently put one in and chopped it back to 2 feet. As it grows I'll keep my target height within arms reach in spring with many new growing fruit bearing shoots at that time. Thanks.

[Cookie Monster]

I think they take to heavy pruning well. Do your chopping right after harvest to allow time for new growth to grow and harden before going dormant. They will put on 10+ feet of growth in a season, but you just keep chopping it every year. The nice thing is that they fruit on new growth, so harvest is rarely affected.

Same goes for hogs plum.

[Ulfr]

They take the pruning fine and you get plenty of new growth. I have found they don’t heal larger wounds well though.

A bit late now but I have found the best solution is a winter prune and a summer prune after fruiting (which also generates a new crop). I keep mine about 8 feet when pruned.

[venturabananas]

Sounds like if you are diligent about pruning from the get go, you can keep them to a size where the fruit are within reach.  That's reassuring.  I just put one in the ground, with the hopes I'd be able to keep it a reasonable size.  Thanks to everyone for their helpful comments.

[palmcity]

They take the pruning fine and you get plenty of new growth. I have found they don’t heal larger wounds well though.

Mine heal nothing like a oak tree/mango tree either. They (mulberry trees) stay split when they are healed good enough to bear more mulberries. They don't grow the cambium back around the split or at least not significantly and apparently don't need to in Florida to keep on growing and fruiting. They do fall easier and stay lower but that's ok with me. I guess we don't have many insects diseases that can outgrow them; so they just keep on growing...

They (mulberries) are rapidly becoming my second favored sugar crop as they come in before mango season with my sugar high and they require no extra watering once large in my yard and they always bear fruit in my yard. They taste great, grow effortlessly when big (never sprayed them), always produce a crop in spring in my yard, a long season of about 2 months in my yard, and of course my early sugar high.

Negatives are: 1. looks crappy in summer with leaves turning yellow since I do not water them unless a "baby" size and I let the big trees burn in the summer/fall heat till spring & hopefully slow down their vegetative growth.  2. Looks dead in winter with no leaves 3. grows fast so will be a monster unless trimmed or hurricane comes. 4. drops mulberries on ground as unable to eat all of the huge crop. 5. stains my hands/mouth till next bath/shower washing with soap. 6. Weight gainer as a lot of fructose in them. 7. stains clothing when even picking under the limbs with them falling/brushing up against you. 8. eating the stems makes a smooth constant daily bm, and can be excessive with too many and colored with berry remains (may be a positive for those needing to go). 

[Ulfr]

Too right Palmcity. I'll add a bit here about my favorite mulberry.

The red shahtoot (what we call pakistani mulberries here - don't know why) is much less vigorous than my white and I prefer the taste. They are an awesome tree. Here they are grafted onto normal white mulberry rootstock and I have followed suite by grafting my own onto white mulberry as well. I imagine they must have a root issue to bother with grafting? I'm not sure on that but had the rootstock so it didn't matter.

[pineislander]

This is what I'm shooting for. Takes up a lot of space but I found the right spot for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBgOUrJjWhI

[greenman62]

The local one here in Southern Louisiana is the Red Mulberry (Morus Rubra)
its basically a fast-growing weed.
you can cut it to the ground 3 times a season or more, and it comes back every time with vigor.
i use the extra long branches it makes as posts for Muscadine and other vines, or other uses.
every single one i put in the ground grew.
cuttings start very very easily, every time.

i have a dwarf everbearing with similar habits...
 - grows fast, cuttings strike easily, and pruning just makes it grow faster.
The difference with the 'red'  is the fruit is larger, and its wild locally.

Now that i have Pakistani and Shangri-La and a few others
i will be doing some grafting, and try to get them all on one tree.
i figure the root-stock should be a 'red' , since they are so vigorous, and cutting strike so easily
i figured grafts should take easily also ?
I will be finding out shortly.


Ulfr
if the leaves are turning yellow due to water
you can put cardboard around the trunk in a circle
(keeping it 3 to 4 inches away, not letting it hit the trunk)
and put some mulch on top... it keeps moisture in.
or, you can grow a ground cover the shade the soil....
peanut is a good choice.  Peanut is a nitrogen fixer, the nitrogen feeds the tree also.

[Ulfr]

Ulfr
if the leaves are turning yellow due to water
you can put cardboard around the trunk in a circle
(keeping it 3 to 4 inches away, not letting it hit the trunk)
and put some mulch on top... it keeps moisture in.
or, you can grow a ground cover the shade the soil....
peanut is a good choice.  Peanut is a nitrogen fixer, the nitrogen feeds the tree also.

Hmm not sure that one was meant for me?

Mine look great

That red shahtoot I mentioned is actually a white mulberry (M. alba). I know you can’t use black mulberry rootstock, they are incompatible. Not sure if the actual red mulberry (M. rubra) would work for white varieties, I have never actually seen red mulberry the species here.