Morus rubra 'Illinois Everbearing'
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- MOR-russ ROO-bruh
- Description
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'Illinois Everbearing' red mulberry is a native tree species and has both edible and ornamental features. The bark is gray-brown with long, scaly ridges. This tree produces a 1 to 1.25 inch long cluster of drupes that matures in the summer. The fruit resembles a blackberry.
'Illinois Everbearing' is a winter hardy cultivar, enduring temperatures does to to -20F. It bears early fruit, sometimes as soon as the first year after planting, and becomes a large shade tree very quickly, often growing 3 to 5 feet per year in favorable conditions.
The fruit has a delicious and distinctive sweet taste, starts to ripen a later than some other cultivars, but ripens continuously throughout July, August, and into September, hence the 'Everbearing' name.
It can live up to 125 years but the weedy invasive character is not appealing.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Morus
- Species:
- rubra
- Family:
- Moraceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant is moderately resistant to damage from deer. It is a possible host plant for the Red Admiral butterfly. Its fruits are eaten by many birds, especially gray catbirds and northern mockingbirds, foxes, opossums, raccoons, and squirrels.
- Edibility:
- Jams. jellies and wine from ripe berries
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Oval
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Berry
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- It produces numerous reddish-black fruit that look like a blackberry but slender with a size of 1 1/4 inches. It will bear fruit through summer into fall.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Catkin
- Insignificant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Description:
- The small yellowish-green cylindrical flower of the Illinois Everbearing red mulberry is not showy. Male flower and female flower can bloom on the same tree or different trees.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Description:
- Has alternate, broad, simple green leaves with a notch at the base and a finely serrated margin. The upper surface is rough, the undersurface is full of soft hair.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Surface/Attachment:
- Ridges
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Naturalized Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Edible Garden
- Design Feature:
- Flowering Tree
- Shade Tree
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Salt
- Problems:
- Messy
