Mulberry (Morus)
This tree folk’s fingers and lips are purple from researching the featured tree of the month. Mulberries are ripening right now and boy are they delicious. Mulberries are deciduous trees or tall shrubs with a lovely round crown. The leaves are broad oval or heart-shaped often with serrated margins and can be lobed or not. Two species of mulberry occur in central Texas: Morus microphylla, aka Mountain mulberry or Texas mulberry, and Morus rubra (Red mulberry). But to be quite honest, unless your looking at a really big shade tree (rubra has a short trunk and grows to 64 feet while microphylla stays a more diminutive size and is often multi-trunked) it is pretty difficult to distinguish between the two unless you’re a botanist or a mulberry farmer. If you plant a mulberry on your property you’ll want to choose a site away from buildings and walkways as the fruit are very messy and the roots shallow, which can cause problems with underground utilities. Mulberries are very popular with birds, children, and other wildlife. Some of my fondest memories are of scrambling up the lower branches of a large mulberry planted in an empty lot to gorge on the sweet purple fruits. Mulberry preserves are one of life’s great pleasures. To harvest a nice crop lay a large sheet underneath the tree and send a young scamp up to bounce on the branches above or give it a good whack with a broom handle. The ripe fruit easily falls from the tree. Berries that are still red and tart are my favorite for eating out of hand.
Now that it’s time to mow the grass again, protect your trees from getting bumped by mowers and string trimmers by creating a mulch circle around the trunk. The vascular system of a tree can be seriously injured if its bark is removed by a tool or piece of machinery. Remove all of the grass and weeds around the base of the trunk out to the drip line of the tree. For larger trees you can make the mulch ring as wide as you like. Add a two-inch layer of wood mulch to the cleared area. Be very careful not to pile any mulch up against the trunk of the tree – this can rot the bark and suffocate the tree. – Colleen Dieter
Show your appreciation for Bartholomew Park by learning about urban forest ecology, how it is represented in the park and how it impacts the creek. The skills you learn will be put to use in the park AND are simple steps you can apply at home.
She had a good run, but our tree delivery truck has officially gone kaput – and we just gave her a new set of brakes too. With one month of tree deliveries left, we’re leasing a truck to finish out the tree planting season. If you can help us pay for this month’s lease, please 
