# Red Mulberry (Morus rubra)

> The native mulberry, with big sandpapery leaves and long, sweet, dark fruit that birds and people fight over.

Also called common mulberry. Category: Nut & Fruit Trees. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-mulberry/

![Red mulberry (Morus rubra) fruit ripening from green through red to black](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/red-mulberry-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MorusRubra1.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Medium tree
- Mature height: 35 to 50 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 9
- Grows wild in: Floodplain forests, rich moist slopes and the forest understory
- Native range: 33 states and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC), north to [Minnesota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MN), south to [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL) and west to [Nebraska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NE) ([Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Iowa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IA), [Kansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KS), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Minnesota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MN), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [Nebraska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NE), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV), [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC)). Also recorded, not native, in [South Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SD)
- Sun: Full, Part, Shade
- Soil moisture: Average
- Growth rate: Fast
- Flowers: April to May
- Fruit: Berries, June to August
- First crop: About 10 years (planted trees in an open field have fruited at 4)
- Mature spread: 40 ft
- Traits: Edible, Wildlife value, Rare, Tolerates shade
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Saplings ship [bare-root](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/planting-bare-root-trees-on-arrival/index.html.md) or [in a pot](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/a-sapling-in-a-pot/index.html.md), [usually 12 to 18 inches tall](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-sapling-or-big-transplant/index.html.md), in the dormant season, and their [height and age](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/reading-a-nursery-listing/index.html.md) are stated with the price, once available. Live plants ship February to May and October to November. Not priced yet: leave an email on the web page for one email when it is priced, with a code for 10% off the plants in that order, not shipping or tax, or write to captain@bluewhaletrees.com.

## Notes

True red mulberry is now uncommon because invasive white mulberry hybridizes with it and crowds it out, so seed source matters. It is a fast, shade-tolerant tree of rich woods, with fruit in June that stains sidewalks; give it a spot at the edge of the yard where the birds can have the mess. Ideal as a decoy tree that pulls birds off the blueberries, or over a chicken run.

## Size, growth and what to expect

Red mulberry is a rapid-growing tree, and our growth estimator models it at nearly three feet a year on an average site. In a yard expect 35 to 50 feet with a spread of 35 to 40. Wild trees run 15 to 70 feet depending on the site, with trunks up to 30 inches through. It usually lives 125 years or less.

Trees usually begin to bear at about 10 years, though planted trees in an east Texas field fruited at 4, and good crops come every 2 to 3 years. Bearing peaks between 30 and 85 years and ends by about 125. The fruit is a blackberry-like cluster 1 to 1¼ inches long, reddish then dark purple, ripe from June into August, and most birds, opossums, raccoons and squirrels favor it. Most trees are male or female, though some carry both.

It grows wild from Massachusetts and southern Ontario west to Minnesota and Nebraska and south to central Texas and southern Florida, in valleys, floodplains and low moist hillsides, often as an understory tree.

## How to grow Red Mulberry

Red mulberry takes full sun or light shade and any ordinary soil that drains. Its crown grows nearly as wide as tall, so give it 25 feet from the house. Keep it away from patios and driveways, because the fruit drops for weeks and stains. Set trees about 35 feet apart.

Plant a dormant sapling, bare-root or potted, between leaf fall and bud break, in a hole twice the root width and no deeper. Set the root flare at grade, put the native soil back in, and keep mulch off the bark. Seed wants two to three months of cold, damp storage before spring sowing. Press it into the surface, barely cover it, and screen it from birds and mice.

Water weekly the first summer. It grows fast, so a rabbit guard for two winters and a deer cage until the leader is above browse height, about three years, is all it needs. Train one leader early and prune in late fall or midsummer, since spring cuts bleed sap.

Most red mulberries are male or female, so plant three or more seedlings for a fair chance of fruit. Fruit usually starts at about ten years, though planted trees in an open field have fruited at four. Any white mulberry within pollen range will cross with yours, so never save its seed.

## Sources

- [USDA Forest Service, Silvics of North America, Red Mulberry](https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/red-mulberry)
- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Morus rubra](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/morus-rubra/)
- [Virginia Tech Dendrology: red mulberry, Morus rubra](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=58)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Morus rubra](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MORU2)
- [Illinois Wildflowers (John Hilty): Red Mulberry, Morus rubra](https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/red_mulberry.html)
- [USDA Fire Effects Information System: Morus rubra](https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/morrub/all.html)
- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Morus chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Morus.pdf)
- [USDA NRCS Plant Guide: Red Mulberry, Morus rubra](https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_moru2.pdf)
- [Missouri Department of Conservation field guide: Red Mulberry](https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/red-mulberry)
- [The Morton Arboretum: Red mulberry, Morus rubra](https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/red-mulberry/)
- [Flora of North America, vol. 3: Morus rubra](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500782)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Morus rubra, Red Mulberry](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.137019/Morus_rubra)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [Invasive or native? Telling tree of heaven, white mulberry, Norway maple, mimosa and Callery pear from the natives they resemble](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-trees-and-the-natives-they-resemble/index.html.md)
- [A native food forest: the layers and the species](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/a-native-food-forest/index.html.md)
- [Multistem or single stem? Sometimes the trunk is hiding the answer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/multistem-or-single-stem/index.html.md)

## Related

- Plants that share its sun and soil: [American Holly, select line](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-holly/index.html.md), [Florida Maple](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/florida-maple/index.html.md), [Bigleaf Magnolia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bigleaf-magnolia/index.html.md) and [Slippery Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/slippery-elm/index.html.md)
- Under its canopy: [Bottlebrush Buckeye](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bottlebrush-buckeye/index.html.md), [Florida Anise](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/florida-anise/index.html.md) and [Strawberry Bush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/strawberry-bush/index.html.md)
- Same size, similar character: [American Persimmon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-persimmon/index.html.md), [Swamp White Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-white-oak/index.html.md), [Redbay](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/redbay/index.html.md) and [Balsam Fir](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/balsam-fir/index.html.md)
- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Red Mulberry, add ?species=red-mulberry with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address; for example, the verdict for zone 4, part sun and average soil as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=red-mulberry&zone=4&sun=part&moisture=average
- [Companion species for Red Mulberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=red-mulberry): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Transplant planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=red-mulberry): whether Red Mulberry can be moved and what the move takes, the root ball, its weight, who can move it and the months, as Markdown at that address (add caliper= or height=, month= 1 to 12 and soil= sandy, loam or clay)
- [Tree growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate for Red Mulberry as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=red-mulberry (add height=, years= and site= poor, average or good)
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Red Mulberry is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan for it as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=red-mulberry (add state= and zone= for your own frost dates, method=fridge for the refrigerator route)
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Red Mulberry needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the verdict for 3 of them as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=red-mulberry:3
- [Planting-window tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md): when to plant Red Mulberry where you live, as a fall and a spring window from the local frost dates; the windows as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=red-mulberry&state=MO&zone=6 with your own state and zone in place of those
- [Planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md): how far Red Mulberry goes from a house, a septic field, a walk, wires, a property line and the next tree; the distances as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=red-mulberry&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Red Mulberry flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species; its own row and the gaps of a planting with it as Markdown at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=red-mulberry