Permascaping, by Homegrown Foods

Build your planting plan

Place the trees you have, see every mulberry at mature size on your map, and order from the plan.

Open the planner →
Simple ordering on

9 mulberry varietiesComparison chart

Tea's Weeping Mulberry — the fruit
The fruit

Mulberries · Dave Wilson Nursery

Tea's Weeping Mulberry

A fast, heat-loving weeping mulberry that gives umbrella-like shade and blackberry-like fruit at the same time. Unlike the fruitless shade mulberries, this one fruits, so berries drop and stain and birds come. A good low desert shade tree for a spot away from the pool and patio.

Chill hours
Under 200 chill hours
Harvest
April to June in the low desert
Pollination
Self-fruitful
Mature size
About 20 ft tall and wide; easy to hold at 10–12 ft
Cold hardiness
Cover early bloom below 28°F. A weeping white mulberry rated to USDA zone 4, about -30°F. Phoenix winters never touch it.
Heat tolerance
Takes full sun and heat. Dave Wilson calls it heat-loving, so full sun is fine. The weeping canopy shades its own trunk, and fruit comes in spring before peak heat.

Which one

Every mulberrie side by side

Same fruit, different seasons and different jobs. Pick the row that fits your ground and your calendar.

A fast, heat-loving weeping mulberry that gives umbrella-like shade and blackberry-like fruit at the same time. Unlike the fruitless shade mulberries, this one fruits, so berries drop and stain and birds come. A good low desert shade tree for a spot away from the pool and patio.Large, glossy, deep purple-black berries with a rich, sweet-tart flavor like a good blackberry. It grows as a tree or a big shrub, fruits young and handles low desert heat easily. The fruit stains whatever is under the tree and birds love it, so plant it away from walkways, patios and parked cars.A selection of Pakistan with very sweet fruit that can reach 5 inches long, bearing heavily once it gets going. It is a low desert tree, since cold snaps below the low 20s can damage it and the nursery says it may not be reliably hardy in colder climates. Fruiting types drop fruit onto paths and patios, so site it with that in mind.A bush-form mulberry that keeps making sweet blackberry-like fruit through spring and early summer, and stays small enough for a big pot or a tight yard. Light pruning keeps it compact. It does well in the low desert and in mid elevation, but the juice stains, so pick over a tarp and not over concrete.The hardy mulberry, with sweet, mild, very small-seeded black fruit that keeps coming through the summer, and young trees fruit quickly. Hardy to well below zero, it also suits mid elevation and high country, where it blooms late and escapes most spring frosts, as well as the low desert. Fruit stains and birds love it, so plant it away from walkways.Long, firm, sweet red-to-black berries up to 3 inches, and the juice does not stain the way most mulberries do. It makes a large, vigorous, disease-resistant tree with a month-long harvest in late spring. A reliable low desert fruit tree, though tender wood can freeze in the low teens, so it is not a mid elevation pick.A white-fruited cousin of Pakistan, with long, sweet, pale fruit and juice that does not stain. It makes a fast, big shade tree that fruits heavily in spring, with a milder, sweeter flavor than the dark types. Plant it in the low desert and keep it away from patios.Another listing of the Pakistan mulberry, here as a potted tree: long, firm, sweet red-to-black fruit that does not stain like most mulberries. It is a big, vigorous, heat-loving tree that suits the low desert. Summer pruning keeps it to a size you can pick from.Sweet white fruit shaped like blackberries on a big, drought-tolerant tree that grows larger and faster with irrigation. It is a fruiting tree, not one of the fruitless shade mulberries, so expect fruit drop and bird visits. Fits the low desert and warmer parts of mid elevation, and needs lots of room.
HarvestApril to June in the low desertApril to June in the low desert; June to July at elevationMay to June in the low desert; heaviest in JuneApril to June in the low desert; June to August at elevationApril to June in the low desert; June to August at elevationApril to June in the low desertApril to June in the low desertApril to June in the low desertApril to June in the low desert; June to July at elevation
Chill hoursUnder 200 chill hours200 chill hours or less200 chill hoursUnder 200 chill hoursUnder 300 chill hoursUnder 200 chill hours200 chill hours or lessUnder 200 chill hoursUnder 200 chill hours
PollinationSelf-fruitfulSelf-fruitfulSelf-fruitfulSelf-fruitfulSelf-fruitfulSelf-fruitfulSelf-fruitfulSelf-fruitfulSelf-fruitful
Mature sizeAbout 20 ft tall and wide; easy to hold at 10–12 ft20–30 ft unpruned (tree or large shrub); easy to hold at 10–12 ft30–40 ft unpruned (fast, vigorous); easy to hold at 10–12 ft10–20 ft in the ground, far less in a pot; easy to hold at 6–8 ft25–30 ft unpruned (fast, vigorous); easy to hold at 10–12 ft30–40 ft unpruned (fast, vigorous); easy to hold at 10–12 ft30–40 ft unpruned (fast, vigorous); easy to hold at 10–12 ft30–40 ft unpruned (fast, vigorous); easy to hold at 10–12 ft20–60 ft unpruned (grows bigger with irrigation); easy to hold at 12–15 ft
ColdCover early bloom below 28°FCover early bloom below 28°FCover while youngCover early bloom below 28°FHardy hereCover while youngHardy hereCover while youngCover early bloom below 28°F
HeatTakes full sun and heatShade from late-afternoon sunTakes full sun and heatShade from late-afternoon sunShade from late-afternoon sunTakes full sun and heatTakes full sun and heatTakes full sun and heatTakes full sun and heat
From$39$39$54$20$21$45$39$21$42

More from this year's order

One standout variety of every other fruit in the order.