Does mulberry grow in Siberia? Winter-hardy self-fertile mulberry varieties for growing in cold climates

Mulberry, or mulberry tree (mulberry), for most regions of Russia can be considered an exotic plant, which is found only in climatic conditions that are very different from ours. However, the area of ​​its distribution is moving farther north, and today many gardeners successfully grow this southern tree, even in Siberia.

Two forms of mulberry: white and black

Of the more than two hundred varieties of mulberry, two forms are widely known and widespread:

• The mulberry is white. At home, in the conditions of China and India, it is a huge (up to 10-12 meters in height) tree with a life span of up to 300 years. It is considered both a fruit and feed industrial crop. The leaf reaches colossal sizes up to 25-30 cm in length. It is used as feed for silkworm, a producer of silk raw materials. Known since ancient times.
• The mulberry is black. The sheet is 6-17 cm long. It is considered a fruit tree. Gives clusters of small black fruits with a sharp, but pleasant taste. Berries in appearance resemble blackberries.

The main external difference between white and black mulberries in the color of the fruit. It is called white almost literally because of the very light color of the bark. Moreover, the ripe berries of white mulberry can be of different colors: white, pink and even black.

Even perennial branches of white mulberry have a light color.

In black, respectively, ripe fruits are always black and a darker bark.

Mulberry variety Black Baroness has good resistance to frost

Does mulberry grow in cold climates

The native regions of mulberry distribution in our country can be considered the southern regions:

• Transcaucasia
• North Caucasus,
• Crimea,
• south of the European part of Russia.

But today the area of ​​its distribution has advanced not only to Siberia, but also in the opposite direction - to the countries of Europe. In the northern latitudes, mulberries of the same variety cannot grow to enormous southern sizes. The harvest of the northern fruits is not so plentiful, and the berries themselves are smaller and sour.

Mulberry grows on different soils, but prefers fertile, loose, with high water-holding ability and acidity pH 5.5-7.0. Tree development is relatively slow, it begins to bear fruit only for 8-10 years, and in Siberia - for 10-12 years. Therefore, it is recommended to plant already formed three to five year old seedlings.

When working with mulberry seedlings, it is important to know that it has very brittle roots that require very careful handling. For the same reason, you can not dig the soil under these trees.

In mulberry, not only the roots, but also the branches are distinguished by increased fragility. Therefore, under the long branches of an adult tree, extending far away from the crown, sometimes it is necessary to put props.

The rest of the planting technology is similar to the planting of any trees:

1. Digging a hole a little wider and deeper than the root system.
2. A seedling falls into the pit, is covered with earth and rammed.
3. The soil spills abundantly for wetting and compaction.
4. A stake is stuck between the roots of the seedling, to which a newly planted plant is tied.
5. A layer of mulch is scattered on top.

Varieties for growing in Siberia

For cultivation in cold regions, including Siberia, several varieties of mulberry are recommended. All of them belong to the same species - white mulberry. They differ in characteristic foliage - the leaf from below is smooth, sometimes has small growths, the shape of the leaf is inaccurate, heart-shaped.

Table: Mulberry varieties suitable for growing in cold climates

In any case, when buying a seedling in a nursery, experts will tell you which varieties are adapted specifically to your climate. And you can also ask the owners of mulberries what varieties have survived and are successfully growing in your region.

Video: growing mulberries in Siberia

Features of growing mulberries in cold regions

There are simple techniques that you need to apply when growing mulberries in a cold climate.

Seat selection

It is known that on the street even in winter there are places where the trees are warmer. These are the southern slopes open to the sun, and they need to be selected for planting heat-loving crops. Due to their inclined position, such areas always receive more heat and light. Even in December, when the rays of the low sun glide over the surface of the earth and barely warm, the slope at a significant angle of inclination catches heat just like in summer with high sun. Of course, white snow reflects the rays, but in the fall the earth will freeze there later, and in the spring it will thaw and warm up earlier.

Even warmer to plants on the south side of buildings, especially large and heated. Buildings standing behind the trees in the north never shade, but only cover them from the cold northerly winds. It is highly undesirable to plant mulberry in a low damp place.

Mulch

When preparing mulberries for wintering or during autumn planting, you need to fill the soil with a thicker layer of mulch. It is better if it is heat-saving. Such options are suitable:

• dry needles mixed with humus,
• rotten sawdust,
• loose humus,
• peat.

Mulch is poured in layers of 15-25 cm. Such a coating will help protect the root system from freezing. Fresh sawdust is also used. But they have the ability to take nitrogen from the soil during decay. And only finally decaying, they give nitrogen back to the ground. Therefore, it is recommended to pour fresh sawdust:

• nitrogen fertilizers
• urea
• ammonium nitrate.

Based on at least 40-60 g per 1 sq. Km. m

Trim nuances

In cold climates, it is advisable to carry out pruning, forming a low standard form in the form of a bush. The lower the mulberry, the greater part of it will be covered with snow. And the easier it is, if necessary, to cover it from above with covering material. A tree with a height restriction lends itself easily, because even without pruning, the mulberry grows more wide in width than in height.

In cold climates, mulberries are cupped

The two-century mulberry on the warm island of Brittany, which spreads its crown to 600 square meters, is considered to be the record holder for the area. m

The rest is carried out sanitary and thinning pruning according to the rules common to all cultures and regions. The only difference is that after early spring pruning, the temperature should not fall below minus 10 ^aboutC, because then there will be a risk of freezing of fresh cuts and death of branches.

Shelter

As far back as the 18th century, after Russia had learned the secret of silk production, attempts were made to cultivate white mulberry culture in our climate on an industrial scale. Experience has shown that groves could grow and develop normally for several years. But when extreme frosts occurred, and this is not uncommon with us, the mulberry froze exactly according to the level of snow. Everything that was under the snow survived. It is clear that sheltering vast groves is very problematic. But one or several trees in your garden can be covered with snow from below, and in case of severe frosts, cover with modern covering material, even used ones.

Shelters primarily require young shoots. Experience has shown that lignified branches of an adult tree do not freeze even in severe frosts.

Local planting material

A tree that has been growing for several years in a cold climate already has changes in its genotype towards maximum cold resistance. Of course, it is recommended to plant mulberry with adult seedlings in order to get fruiting sooner. But if the seedling is brought from a subtropical climate, you can never wait for fruiting. Therefore, to spread mulberry in a cold climate, one should try to use local planting material, which is created by cuttings from local surviving and successfully growing mulberries. It can not be called zoned, from a scientific point of view, but it is already a significantly adapted plant.

How to prepare and plant seedlings:

1. After the leaves fall, annual growths are cut off over the selected upper kidney and 15-17 cm lower.
2. Slices are dipped in heteroauxin or a solution of any root preparation. Tied in bundles of 10-15 pieces, placed vertically in a container and covered with sand almost the entire length.
   

   Heteroauxin is a potassium salt that is used to treat bulbs and roots of seedlings and seedlings

3. In winter, store at a temperature of minus 3 ^aboutC to plus 7 ^aboutC.
4. In the spring, before the buds begin to swell, grooves are made in the soil with a depth of 15-17 cm. Put cuttings in the furrow at a distance of 25-35 cm from each other and cover the earth almost completely, leaving only a tip 2-3 cm long on the surface.
5. In autumn, the cuttings that gave the roots are transplanted as a full-fledged seedling to a permanent place.
6. For the winter they fall asleep with snow.

Mulberries in cold climates are propagated mainly by seedlings.

Also, local mulberry can be propagated by root shoots, vaccinations, seeds and layering.

As we see, the question "does mulberry grow in Siberia", judging by the numerous information on the network, we can answer - it grows, but with two reservations:

1. It does not grow throughout Siberia.
2. It grows, but not like in the homeland in its climate.

Of the cold regions, relatively confident white mulberry grows in Bashkiria, Kazan and Orenburg, Altai, Primorye, and in the south of the Khabarovsk Territory. Here, mulberry can even bear fruit, which is not always the case in unsuitable climatic conditions. But even in these regions, due to severe frosts, mulberries often freeze out uncovered annual shoots and even perennial branches.

Also, the accumulated experience of northern gardeners has shown that mulberry is able to acclimatize to the cold and adapts to the new habitat much better than other southern cultures. In addition, frozen shoots do not lead to the death of the plant and do not even greatly affect the general condition. In the first summer, instead of shoots lost due to frost, new ones grow rapidly. Although, of course, this slows down the overall normal development, but not critical.

Pests

All the difficulties with growing mulberries in a cold climate are offset by one remarkable fact - it has virtually no pests and diseases. It does not need to be processed. Sometimes mice that gnaw a bark can harm a tree - mulberries have a leaf and a bark rich in protein, and it is to the taste of rodents. The protection is the same as all fruit ones, for example, against hares - the trunk at the base is wrapped with rolled material and tied with wire.

To protect against rodents, mulberry trunks are wrapped with roll material

Sometimes birds ripen on a ripe harvest of berries, as well as on cherries and other berry crops.

Birds can harm mulberry crops

There may be harm from sunburns, against which the trunks are whitened with a solution of lime in the fall. Most often this is done for some reason in the late spring, but any tree can get burns from the early sun only before the sap flow, in February-March, therefore it is right to whiten it in the fall.

Care

In addition to the above anti-freezing measures, mulberry may require watering during an abnormal drought, and then only in the period no later than mid-August. From this moment, the tree begins to prepare for wintering, and he does not need excess moisture at all.

There are recommendations to feed the mulberry with mineral and organic fertilizers in order to spur growth. But long-lived plants do not like rush. They grow slowly century and more and almost do not require leaving.

Mulberry Growing Reviews

Mulberry grows well and bears fruit in urban conditions, even near industrial enterprises, it does not suffer from dry air, and tolerates a haircut. Use it in alleyways, group and single landings, for landscaping city streets, creating beautiful dense hedges. Breeders are working on new varieties of tuta. G. I. Babaeva and N. A. Alekseichenko bred 7 high-yielding, winter-hardy, disease-resistant mulberry varieties and selected 14 promising fruit varieties and forms of different colors, from white to pink, from pink to reddish-purple and almost black in color . The mulberry in this superextreme winter of 2010 was very cold, in terms of snow. But such winters happen once a hundred years, so I’m not going to lose heart. I think in two years it will grow and begin to bear fruit. Enough for a hundred years.

G. Kazanin

From an article in the magazine "Homestead Management"

And our mulberry should bear fruit! I have already shoveled so much information - even in the north of the Moscow region it bears fruit. Frost resistance is acquired over the years. Of course, the yield is lower than the south, and the berries are smaller - but still it should work! So you have to plant. One thing is bad - it is not known what kind of seedlings. If grown from seeds, they may be infertile.

Katia

//d-48.ru/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1149

As for the pink (pink-fruited) mulberry, I can only say positive. Sweet fruits (in hot summers are like honey), about 2-2.5 cm in size. Naturally, unlike aronia, it does not smear the hands when eating berries. After frosts this year, I thought that I would be left without berries, but no. On yesterday’s visit to the site, I found that with the newly blossomed leaves, berries were also present.

nicky

//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=537&sid=b9367287b8e753b14c42b76cc11acb74&start=360

White mulberry with black berries grows in Samara. In the winter of 2009-2010 it withstood frosts of -40 ° C. In frosts of more than -35 ° C, the ends of annual shoots freeze, which, in general, is not scary. Even after -40 oC, it bore fruit in me. Propagated by cuttings both winter lignified and green in the summer. Reproduction by seeds I do not advise. The fact is that with seed reproduction a purely female plant, a purely male plant (silk) can be obtained and at the same time both male and female (this is what cuttings should be taken from).

Sensible dolphin

//otvet.mail.ru/question/89044596

In general, mulberry is a hardy, enduring plant that does not require special care. Difficulties in growing it in Siberia are freezing in winter and a short warm period in summer. As you can see, they can be significantly mitigated if certain conditions for planting and growing a tree are observed.