Blackberry tree?
 

I know you're going to say it is a mulberry-- but my wife is quite
sure it isn't.

She saw it today at a patient's house. [she's a traveling nurse].

She says the top branches were way too high for her to reach and the
lady said she used to keep it trimmed but hasn't been well enough to
keep it contained recently.

Looks like a tree, not a bush. There are no thorns. Berries are
tasty & look like blackberries. Leaves are like oak leaves.

Zone 5ish in New York. [Schenectady county]

We have a black mulberry & I showed her a branch. Nope-- the leaves
are wrong, and the berries aren't quite right.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Jim

Blackberry tree?
 

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
...
I know you're going to say it is a mulberry-- but my wife is quite
sure it isn't.

She saw it today at a patient's house. [she's a traveling nurse].

She says the top branches were way too high for her to reach and the
lady said she used to keep it trimmed but hasn't been well enough to
keep it contained recently.

Looks like a tree, not a bush. There are no thorns. Berries are
tasty & look like blackberries. Leaves are like oak leaves.

Zone 5ish in New York. [Schenectady county]

We have a black mulberry & I showed her a branch. Nope-- the leaves
are wrong, and the berries aren't quite right.

Any thoughts?

There is such a thing as a 'thornless backberry' but they are just like a
blackberry in every other respect ie, they have multiple stems and there is
no possible way that they could be described as a tree. I'll think about
it, but nothing comes immediately to mind.

Probably a red mulberry then. Red mulberries (Morus rubra) have quite variable leaf shapes, from nearly round to deeply lobed like black mulberry, as can be seen if you google images for it. The one shown on Wikipedia Morus rubra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
is a bit oak-tree leaf like. Despite the name, red mulberry fruits are black when ripe.

I think if there was another Z5-hardy tree with tasty blackberry-like berries, aside from the two kinds of black-fruited mulberry, I would know about it, because I've done a lot of research into tasty things I can grow. See this site. Plant Uses

Blackberry tree?
 

Derald wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:

Looks like a tree, not a bush. There are no thorns. Berries are
tasty & look like blackberries. Leaves are like oak leaves.

Is this it? http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=58

I have seen bushes grafted on the top of a tree trunk. I looks pretty
wierd but it works as decoration. Before following that like I thought
in terms of a thornless blackberry version grafted onto a mullberry
trunk.

Blackberry = Rosaceae (rose family)
Mulberry = Moraceae (fig family)
Both are within the order of Rosids, but it still seems implausible to graft at such distance of relation.

Blackberry tree?
 

Jim Elbrecht wrote:

I know you're going to say it is a mulberry-- but my wife is quite
sure it isn't.

She saw it today at a patient's house. [she's a traveling nurse].

She says the top branches were way too high for her to reach and the
lady said she used to keep it trimmed but hasn't been well enough to
keep it contained recently.

Looks like a tree, not a bush. There are no thorns. Berries are
tasty & look like blackberries. Leaves are like oak leaves.

Zone 5ish in New York. [Schenectady county]

We have a black mulberry & I showed her a branch. Nope-- the leaves
are wrong, and the berries aren't quite right.

Well-- she went to the patient's house again today. The patient
gladly gave her a branch so I could identify it.

It is, as we all suspected, a Mulberry. The berries are much
smaller than the ones on my tree--- but they taste good! Mine are
huge, but a sickly sweet with little flavor- these are a bit tart and
tastier to me.

The leaves on this one are mostly deeply lobed where you really have
to search our tree to find the deeply lobed leaves. Our tree [a
15-20 yr old volunteer] is about 20 feet tall [and I prune it heavily
every few years] which is a lot taller than this lady's tree,
according to my wife.

Thanks to all for your replies-- I was so looking forward to a real
blackberry tree. Darn it.

Jim

Blackberry tree?
 

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
...
Jim Elbrecht wrote:

I know you're going to say it is a mulberry-- but my wife is quite
sure it isn't.

She saw it today at a patient's house. [she's a traveling nurse].

She says the top branches were way too high for her to reach and the
lady said she used to keep it trimmed but hasn't been well enough to
keep it contained recently.

Looks like a tree, not a bush. There are no thorns. Berries are
tasty & look like blackberries. Leaves are like oak leaves.

Zone 5ish in New York. [Schenectady county]

We have a black mulberry & I showed her a branch. Nope-- the leaves
are wrong, and the berries aren't quite right.

Well-- she went to the patient's house again today. The patient
gladly gave her a branch so I could identify it.

It is, as we all suspected, a Mulberry. The berries are much
smaller than the ones on my tree--- but they taste good! Mine are
huge, but a sickly sweet with little flavor- these are a bit tart and
tastier to me.

The leaves on this one are mostly deeply lobed where you really have
to search our tree to find the deeply lobed leaves. Our tree [a
15-20 yr old volunteer] is about 20 feet tall [and I prune it heavily
every few years] which is a lot taller than this lady's tree,
according to my wife.

Thanks to all for your replies-- I was so looking forward to a real
blackberry tree. Darn it.

Plant the cutting as mulberries grow from cuttings.

Blackberry tree?
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message

-snip-

Well-- she went to the patient's house again today. The patient
gladly gave her a branch so I could identify it.

-snip-

Plant the cutting as mulberries grow from cuttings.


I'm going to give it a try. She cut a 3-4' branch- wrapped the
cut end in paper towels & placed in a plastic bag. So, even after
a summer day in the trunk of her car, after a night in the pond it
looks pretty healthy today. I'm going to try a couple grafts on
my tree-- and try to root the remainders.

Mulberry isn't a common tree in my part of the world- so I just always
thought they were all as un-exciting as the one I have. It will be
nice to have one for the birds & squirrels and one for people.g.

Jim

Blackberry tree?
 

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message

-snip-

Well-- she went to the patient's house again today. The patient
gladly gave her a branch so I could identify it.

-snip-

Plant the cutting as mulberries grow from cuttings.


I'm going to give it a try. She cut a 3-4' branch- wrapped the
cut end in paper towels & placed in a plastic bag. So, even after
a summer day in the trunk of her car, after a night in the pond it
looks pretty healthy today. I'm going to try a couple grafts on
my tree-- and try to root the remainders.

Mulberry isn't a common tree in my part of the world- so I just always
thought they were all as un-exciting as the one I have. It will be
nice to have one for the birds & squirrels and one for people.g.

Jim

The damn things would take over my yard if I let them . But you're right ,
the birds and aquirres love 'em .
Anybody want some peppervine starts ? I'm continuously pulling them out of
my garden . The ones in the "grass" I just mow .
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

But check how you have to do it first. They aren't one of those plants where you drop a twig on the floor and a new plant grows, you have to get the conditions right.

Blackberry tree?
 

On Jul 1, 6:04*pm, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:
I know you're going to say it is a mulberry-- but my wife is quite
sure it isn't.

She saw it today at a patient's house. [she's a traveling nurse].

She says the top branches were way too high for her to reach and the
lady said she used to keep it trimmed but hasn't been well enough to
keep it contained recently.

Looks like a tree, not a bush. *There are no thorns. *Berries are
tasty & look like blackberries. * * Leaves are like oak leaves.

Zone 5ish in New York. [Schenectady county]

We have a black mulberry & I showed her a branch. * *Nope-- the leaves
are wrong, and the berries aren't quite right.

Well-- she went to the patient's house again today. * *The patient
gladly gave her a branch so I could identify it.

It is, as we all suspected, a Mulberry. * *The berries are much
smaller than the ones on my tree--- but they taste good! * *Mine are
huge, but a sickly sweet with little flavor- these are a bit tart and
tastier to me.

The leaves on this one are mostly deeply lobed where you really have
to search our tree to find the deeply lobed leaves. * * Our tree [a
15-20 yr old volunteer] is about 20 feet tall [and I prune it heavily
every few years] which is a lot taller than this lady's tree,
according to my wife.

Thanks to all for your replies-- I was so looking forward to a real
blackberry tree. * *Darn it.

Jim

You may have a discovery of interest to mulberry growers. There is a
mulberry market with named varieties, and probably some university
research programs - try googling "good tasting mulberry" or some such
for further info. -- H