Illinois Everbearing Mulberry

$67.95

✓ Mulberries from early summer, in flush after flush, for weeks
✓ Cold hardy to zone 4 and self-fertile
✓ Grows fast into a real shade tree, 25 to 35 ft
$54.36 with code SAVE20 at checkout
Ships in 1 to 3 business days, delivery in 7 to 15 business days
Arrive Alive Guarantee: photos within 48 hours, replacement or refund, plus a 30-day guarantee
Free shipping on orders of $149 or more
In stock: live potted plant

Will it grow where you live?

Illinois Everbearing is the mulberry for a long season — the first sweet, blackberry-like berries in early summer, followed by wave after wave of smaller flushes that can continue into fall. It ships as a live potted plant and grows into a fast, handsome 25–35 ft shade tree.

Scientific name: Morus alba × M. rubra 'Illinois Everbearing'
• Most mulberries give you a glorious two weeks and call it done.
• Illinois Everbearing ripens its fruit over an exceptionally long season, the first sweet, blackberry-like berries in early summer, followed by wave after wave of smaller flushes that can continue into fall.
• The flavor is rich and sweet-tart, and unlike many mulberries the fruit quality stays high through the whole run.
• The tree itself is a hybrid of white and red mulberry that combines the best of both: vigorous growth, handsome shade-tree form, and cold hardiness down to zone 4 that southern mulberries can't match.
• You receive a live potted plant, shipped in its pot with roots intact.
• Mulberries are famously easy and fast, expect several feet of growth a year once the roots settle, and first fruit often within a year or two of planting.
• Plant with a little strategy: the dark fruit drops and can stain pavement, and birds love the tree as much as you will, so site it over lawn or mulch rather than over a patio, and consider it a wildlife tree you get to share.
• Within a few seasons you will have shade, fruit, and a bird show, all from one planting.
Second photo: B.navez, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Scientific name: Morus alba × M. rubra 'Illinois Everbearing'
USDA zones: 4–9
Sun: Full sun, 6–8+ hours
Mature size: 25–35 ft shade tree
Harvest: Early summer, ripening in flushes for weeks into fall
Format: Live potted plant

Watering:
• Water the pot before transplanting and water in with 1–2 gallons.
• First week: water every 2–3 days (about 1 gallon per session) to keep the root zone moist.
• First month: deep-water twice a week, roughly 2–3 gallons each time, without rain.
• First season: one deep watering a week in dry weather (about 5 gallons) drives the deep roots that make this tree so resilient later.
• Established trees are notably drought tolerant and rarely need irrigation except in prolonged drought, when a deep soak of 10 gallons or so every 3–4 weeks keeps fruit quality up.
• Mulberry roots dislike soggy soil: good drainage matters more than generous water.
Sun & soil:
• Full sun for the heaviest crops.
• Extremely adaptable to soil type, sand, loam, and clay all work, as long as drainage is reasonable.
• Give it room: this becomes a large tree, so plant well away from foundations, septic lines, and pavement.
Feeding:
• Mulberries need little to no fertilizer; rich feeding produces leafy growth at the expense of fruit.
• A compost mulch in spring is all most trees ever require.
• If growth is weak on very poor soil, one light balanced feeding in early spring is enough.
Pruning & winter notes:
• Prune in mid-winter dormancy to shape and control size: mulberries bleed sap heavily if cut in spring.
• Remove crossing limbs and keep the canopy raised over walkways.
• Fully hardy in zones 4–9; young plants benefit from a mulch ring their first winter.

Self-fertile. One tree fruits on its own.

• Flat $14.95 per order, however many plants you order.
• Free on orders of $149 or more.
• Orders are processed in 1 to 3 business days and typical delivery takes 7 to 15 business days.
• Your plant ships from a U.S. partner nursery, in its pot or dormant bare root, depending on the product and season.

Arrive Alive Guarantee: if your plant arrives dead or badly damaged, email us photos within 48 hours of delivery and choose a replacement or a refund. 30-day guarantee: if your plant dies within 30 days despite proper care for its zone, we replace it or credit you. Dormant bare root that has not leafed out by June 1 is covered for replacement or credit. Refunds go to your original payment method within 5 to 10 business days.

How long is the harvest really?
The first berries arrive in early summer, and smaller flushes keep coming for weeks, sometimes into fall, far longer than the two weeks most mulberries give you.

How big does it get?
This is a real shade tree, 25–35 ft tall, growing several feet a year once established. Give it room, well away from foundations and pavement.

Will the fruit stain my patio?
Ripe fruit drops and can stain paving, so plant it over lawn or mulch rather than over a patio, and let the birds share the crop.

Find Your Growing Zone
Cold Hardy Fruit Trees
Fruit Trees

Illinois Everbearing Mulberry

You may also like

Get our free Fruit Tree Planting Calendar

Your cart is empty

Your cart is empty