Description
Shangri-La is a Morus alba × Morus rubra hybrid mulberry developed in Naples, Florida — a cross that brings together the cold-hardiness of red mulberry with the fruiting power of white mulberry parentage. The result is a productive, vigorous tree that has earned a strong following in the South and warmer regions for its fruit and its precocious bearing.
The fruit is large for a mulberry — long, black, raspberry-like in shape — and ripens over an extended season from spring well into summer. Flavor is sweet-tart and richly aromatic, bridging the sweetness of white-mulberry lineage and the depth of red-mulberry parentage. The tree itself is vigorous and fast-growing, can reach roughly 20 feet at maturity, and bears notably young — many trees produce meaningful crops within a year or two of planting, even in containers, which is unusual among fruit trees.
Shangri-La is self-pollinating and especially well adapted to the South — Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the lower South — though the Morus rubra parentage broadens its useful range into the mid-Atlantic and warmer parts of the Midwest. It prefers full to half-day sun and tolerates a range of soil types, requires light pruning, and is comparatively low-pressure for pests and diseases across most growing regions.
Overview
- Morus alba × rubra hybrid; developed in Naples, Florida.
- Large, long, black sweet-tart fruit — raspberry-like in shape.
- Vigorous, fast-growing tree to roughly 20 ft.
- Precocious — bears within 1–2 years, even in containers.
- Self-pollinating; extended spring-through-summer ripening window.
- Especially well-suited to the South and warm temperate regions.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Morus alba × rubra ‘Shangri-La’
Site and Soil: 1/2 day to full day of sun; well-drained soil; tolerant of a range of soils
Hardiness: Cold-hardy across warm-temperate North America; especially well adapted to the South
Rootstock: Grafted onto mulberry rootstock
Bearing Age: Precocious — often 1–2 years after planting, including in containers
Size at Maturity: Up to roughly 20 ft; size manageable with pruning
Bloom Time: Spring
Ripening Time: Spring into summer; extended ripening window
Pollination: Self-pollinating
Pests & Diseases: Mulberry is comparatively low-pressure for pests and diseases across most growing regions
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Shangri-La’s precocious bearing is the cultivar’s standout practical trait — even young trees and container plants produce meaningful crops, which makes Shangri-La unusually rewarding to start with for new mulberry growers.
- Regional Insight: Mulberry performs broadly across temperate North America; Shangri-La’s Naples, Florida origin and Morus alba × rubra parentage make it especially well suited to the South, the Gulf Coast, and warmer temperate climates, while still extending usefully into the Mid-Atlantic.
- Explore more mulberry in our collection: Mulberry
