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Mulberry or mulberry is a beautiful tree that performs decorative functions, and also bears fruit with tasty and fragrant berries. Mulberry Black Baroness is distinguished by juicy black fruits that are suitable not only for everyday use, but also for making jam, wine, syrups.
Description of Mulberry Black Baroness
Despite its name, the Black Baroness is a white variety because it has a light shade of bark. This variety is related to the early varieties of mulberry. The fruits ripen in June-July. From one tree you can collect up to 100 kg of berries.
The aroma of the berries of the Black Baroness is not strong, and the taste is sweet. The plant is able to withstand frost down to -30 ° C, but only if it is short-lived. Therefore, the tree can be grown in Central Our Country. Inflorescences with light green shade, fluffy.
Pros and Cons of Mulberry Black Baroness
The advantages of this variety are obvious:
- high yield;
- frost resistance;
- large fruits;
- adapts well to different climatic conditions;
- does not require additional pollination, since the tree is monoecious.
But there are some disadvantages of this variety:
- poor preservation and impossibility of transportation;
- needs a lot of light.
The plant is not capricious in terms of care and maintenance, and when pruned, any decorative shape can be formed from it. The “weeping” type of mulberry is perfectly obtained, when long branches with a beautiful bend are able to reach the ground.
Planting and caring for mulberry Black Baroness
To obtain a beautiful weeping tree and to harvest a large crop, it is important to follow strict rules of agricultural technology. In this case, a long-lived tree will delight not only its owner, but also his children and grandchildren. The first harvest is obtained three years after planting.
Preparation of planting material and site
It is necessary to plant a tree in an unshaded area. The black baroness loves a lot of sunlight, therefore, in the shade of buildings, she will bring a small harvest and develop poorly. At the same time, it is important that in winter the tree is protected from cold piercing winds.
The plant does not impose special requirements on the soil. The main thing is that the soil is not too saline.
Mulberry perfectly strengthens sandy soils, thanks to its strong and branched root system.
It is recommended to prepare a landing site in the fall. The depth, width and height of the hole are 50 cm each. Just before planting in the spring, you need to expand the size of the hole. The distance when planting between seedlings and other plants should be at least 3 m.
Rules of landing
According to the rules, it is necessary to plant a mulberry seedling in the spring. Drainage from broken brick, pebbles or crushed stone is placed on the bottom of the dug hole. The drainage layer is especially important when groundwater is standing close.
The nutrient mixture is poured from above. It consists of earth mixed with humus, with the addition of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
Therefore, the seedling must be carefully placed and the roots straightened so that they do not break.
After installing the seedling, the root system is carefully sprinkled, and the earth is rammed. Pour a bucket of water into the root zone. Then a layer of mulch from sawdust, peat or leaves is laid around. It will help retain sufficient moisture and nutrients.
Watering and top dressing
Mulberry Black Baroness tolerates dry conditions well, but with regular watering, its frost resistance increases. Active watering is carried out from early spring to mid-August. If there is heavy rainfall during the summer, you can not water the tree.
The first couple of years after planting, the Black Baroness mulberry does not need additional feeding. She has enough nutrients that are introduced during planting.
Then it is supposed to feed the tree twice a year:
- In early spring, even in the presence of snow, urea is scattered. When the top layer thaws, the urea will be perfectly absorbed and saturate the roots. Fertilizer is applied at the rate of 50 g per sq. m.
- In mid-August, potassium and phosphorus should be added.
With such regular feeding, the harvest will be good, and the plant will endure the winter without problems.
Trimming
Mulberry Black Baroness is formed by pruning along the height of the tree and width. The tree can be given a different shape, make it more sprawling or spherical. This allows you to use the mulberry tree as a decoration on the site.
To form the crown, it is necessary to cut off all side shoots at a height of up to 1 m. It is recommended to do this in the spring, before the start of sap flow. But at the same time, the air temperature should not fall below -10 ° C.
Sanitary pruning of the mulberry tree Black Baroness consists in removing all diseased and frozen branches. It can be carried out in parallel with the formative or separately every few years in late autumn.
In order to rejuvenate the tree, the Black Baroness is periodically sheared with the removal of the oldest shoots.
Preparation for winter
Despite frost resistance, the Black Baroness mulberry in some regions, for example, in the Moscow region, should be prepared for winter.
The procedure for preparing for winter includes several mandatory steps:
- mulching the trunk circle with sawdust and spruce branches;
- pruning all green shoots that are not woody by November;
- in the spring, smoky fires can be built to protect against recurrent frosts.
But it is not necessary to wrap the trunk specially in the fall, since it does not suffer from frost. Frost is dangerous for young shoots and unprotected root systems.
Harvesting
The yield of mulberry Black Baroness is high. But these berries are not subject to storage, as well as long-term transportation. Therefore, it is recommended to harvest carefully. There is no need to climb a tree for berries. You just have to wait for maturation. The finished crop itself crumbles to the ground. It is enough just to lay a waterproof material or polyethylene and lightly shake the tree. All berries that are ripe by this time will fall. Those that do not go into food during the first day are recommended to be recycled.
Diseases and pests
Mulberry Black Baroness is resistant to most diseases. When landing in a too damp place, the following ailments may occur:
- powdery mildew;
- small-leaved curl;
- brown spotting;
- bacteriosis.
For prevention, it is recommended to treat the tree with special preparations, which are bred strictly according to the instructions, spray the tree before the period of flowering and fruiting.
It is important to systematically inspect the tree and cut off the affected leaves, shoots and burn them. Mulberry also needs comprehensive protection against many pests, including:
- chafer;
- bear;
- spider mite;
- mulberry moth.
As a preventive measure, it is recommended to dig up the ground around the trunk every year in order to destroy the eggs and larvae of many pests that have wintered in the ground.
Reproduction
Mulberry Black Baroness can reproduce in several ways, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages:
- rooting green cuttings – the simplest and most commonly used method;
- seeds – a labor-intensive process that requires subsequent vaccination;
- layering;
- root growth.
Most often, cuttings are used, which are cut in June. The green cutting should have 2-3 buds. Lignified cuttings are cut 18 cm long.
Reviews about Mulberry Black Baroness
Many lovers of mulberries and simply sweet garden fruits note the Black Baroness with extremely positive reviews.
Conclusion
Mulberry Black Baroness belongs to frost-resistant varieties with high yields. It is popular not only as a fruit tree, but also for decorating the site. The main thing is to feed the tree and properly form the crown.
