For shading a patio, I much prefer this fruitless clone to a cropping mulberry. It gives the same broad canopy and dense summer shade without fallen mulberries staining the ground. The main point to anticipate is its vigour and eventual width, unless it is regularly trained as a parasol tree.
Fruitless Mulberry – Morus alba ‘Fruitless’
Price range: 28,00 € through 69,50 €
A vigorous fruitless mulberry forming a broad shade tree with large glossy leaves. Its male flowers produce no messy fruit, making it particularly useful beside patios and paths.
Fruitless Mulberry – Morus alba ‘Fruitless’ is a male, non-fruiting selection of white mulberry, also widely known under the older name Morus kagayamae ‘Fruitless’.
It develops into a broad, spreading shade tree with large glossy green leaves that create dense summer shade. The foliage turns yellow in autumn before falling. Mature trees generally reach around 8 to 10 m in height and a similar width if left unpruned.
The major advantage of ‘Fruitless’ is exactly what its name suggests. The clone bears male flowers only and therefore produces no mulberries. There are no fallen fruits to stain paving, garden furniture or vehicles, which makes it particularly useful around terraces, paths and seating areas.
The tree tolerates heat and dry conditions well once established and performs particularly well in sunny, warm positions. It accepts a wide range of well-drained soils, including relatively poor and calcareous ground. It also responds very well to regular pruning and is often trained into a broad parasol or roof-shaped canopy.
Variety characteristics
The precise origin of the horticultural clone is poorly documented. It was long distributed as Morus kagayamae ‘Fruitless’, now generally treated as Morus alba ‘Fruitless’.
Origin and identity
Male clone, parentage unknown
Morus kagayamae ‘Fruitless’|Morus bombycis ‘Fruitless’|Morus alba ‘Fruitless’
Growth and adaptation
Vigorous and fast growing, developing a broad, open, rounded crown around 8–10 m high and wide when unpruned. It responds very well to parasol and pollard training.
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