Description
The Himalayan White Mulberry (Morus serrata) is a vigorous, cold-hardy mulberry native to the high-altitude Himalayas of northern India, Nepal, and Pakistan. It is grown for long clusters of sweet, mild, pale fruit and for the fast shade a young mulberry throws, and it is one of the more cold-tolerant species in the genus thanks to its mountain origin.
The fruit is carried in slender clusters that ripen in midsummer, honey-sweet and mild the way a good white mulberry is, and pleasant fresh off the tree as well as dried or baked. Like most mulberries it begins bearing while still young, so a garden or container tree rewards you quickly.
Left to its own devices it wants to be a large tree, so most growers keep it pruned to a comfortable picking height, or grow it in a large container. It is deciduous, tough, and undemanding once established, and it shrugs off cold that many mulberries cannot.
Overview
- Cold-hardy Himalayan mulberry (Morus serrata) grown for sweet, pale, mild fruit.
- Long clusters of honey-sweet berries ripening in midsummer.
- Fast, vigorous deciduous tree that bears while young.
- Among the more cold-tolerant mulberries, from its high-elevation origin.
- Good fresh, dried, or baked; easy and undemanding once established.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Morus serrata
Site and Soil: Full sun; deep, well-drained soil; adaptable to a range of soils once established
Hardiness: USDA Zone 5-8; hardy to roughly -20°F
Propagation: Grafted onto mulberry rootstock
Size at Maturity: A large tree if left unpruned; easily held to 8-15 ft with summer pruning, or grown in a container
Bloom Time: Spring
Ripening Time: Midsummer
Fruit: Long clusters of sweet, mild, pale white to pink berries
Pollination: Self-fertile; a single tree will fruit
Uses: Fresh eating, drying, and baking
Pests & Diseases: Generally healthy, vigorous, and low-maintenance
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Mulberries fruit young and heavily, so keep this vigorous tree pruned to a comfortable picking height, or it will quickly reach well overhead and drop fruit out of reach.
- Regional Insight: Its high-altitude Himalayan origin makes it one of the more cold-hardy mulberries, at home in cooler temperate regions from the Pacific Northwest and upper Midwest through the Northeast, as well as milder areas farther south.
- Explore more in our collection: Mulberry
