Mulberry

A mulberry tree is an exercise in abundance — which becomes a problem when the abundance lands on your driveway. A standard-sized mulberry can produce fruit continuously for four to six weeks in early summer, and every ripe berry that isn't picked falls to the ground, stains whatever surface it hits, and attracts every bird, wasp, and raccoon in the neighborhood. The fruit is delicious, but the location you choose matters more than the variety.

Plant a mulberry where the mess is acceptable. Over grass, over gravel, at the back edge of the property — anywhere that isn't a walkway, a patio, or underneath a parked car. The staining is real, and it doesn't wash off easily. If you have a spot where fallen fruit can decompose into the soil without becoming a hazard, the tree tends to take care of itself and requires almost no maintenance once established.

Dwarf and weeping varieties solve most of the standard mulberry's problems. Girardi and Issai stay small enough to net or harvest from the ground, and they fruit heavily on a manageable canopy. A thirty-foot tree dropping berries you can't reach is mostly feeding wildlife; a six-foot tree you can pick over every few days becomes a genuinely productive part of the garden. The flavor is the same.

Mulberries are drought-tolerant once their roots are down, but they fruit more heavily and consistently with regular water during the growing season. A tree that gets no supplemental irrigation in a dry year may produce a light crop or skip fruiting entirely; a tree that gets a deep soak every two weeks during fruit development tends to produce reliably. Mulch helps retain moisture and keeps competing grass from stealing water.

Birds are the primary harvest competitor. Netting works if the tree is small enough to cover, but most gardeners with standard-sized trees accept that they're sharing the crop. The good news is that mulberries produce so heavily that there is usually enough for both the birds and the household — the key is checking the tree every day or two once the fruit starts to ripen and picking what's ready before it falls.

Avoid planting white mulberry unless you are certain it is not invasive in your region. White mulberry has naturalized aggressively across much of North America and tends to outcompete native vegetation. Red mulberry and black mulberry are generally better choices for a home orchard, and the fruit quality is often superior.