Happiness is a kid with a mulberry tree

My first ripe mulberry

I grew up climbing a mulberry tree and gorging myself on the fruit. Our next-door neighbour had a massive tree that was perfect to climb and hide in, and we hung out up there for hours on end during the summer holidays.

My dwarf mulberry isn’t going to be much fun for climbing. Apparently it won’t reach any higher than 3 metres, but I plan to prune it to keep it lower.

I received my tree in a pot in mid January, and despite my abuse it has already fruited. Today the first berry finished ripening, and I couldn’t wait for my 3 year old, J to taste it. I wasn’t disappointed – she was mighty chuffed!

Another one starting to ripen

I have several other berries ripening on the tree. I lost quite a few after spraying (inappropriately) with iron chelates, so I know I would have twice as many now if I hadn’t been overly enthusiastic. The remaining ones shouldn’t be long, and I’m hoping I’ll get another flush of fruit before the season is over.