Janet Tweedy wrote:

A very keen gardener I know wants to buy a large Morus nigra (in spite
of me telling them how awful mine had been) He can't seem to find any
stockists of large 50 litre pot grown trees Any one know of a supplier?

Janet

Why does he want a large specimen?

To my mind one of the joys of gardening is watching plants develop over
the years. Gardening is one of the few areas of life where it is
possible for individuals to plan for 10, 20, 30 years and more ...... It
is one of the things which really anoys me about certain TV programmes
which produce instant gardens - this approach is completely at odds to
what real gardening is about.

We purchased a 4ft Mulberry ~2 years ago. It has been planted in what
will, in several years time, be the centre of a small lawn, ~half of
which will be a wild flower meadow. We expect that it will start getting
close to what we would like in ~10 years, including a good crop of
mulberries.

Can't understand complaints about red stains on the lawn. Mulberries are
so delicious, especially when sun-warmed. Taste like good red wine
smells. I can't see any staying on the tree long enough.

For anybody who wants to sample ......... Hatfield House (~20 miles N of
London) gardens have 4 large, old mulberries. Around about now, they
have pounds of fruit. The branches come down sufficiently low that it is
not obvious you are stuffing yourself. Although, the dark red lips and
generally sticky appearance can attract some odd looks ......
--
Larry Stoter