The Biggest Downside To Planting A Mulberry Tree In Your Yard (And If You Still Should)

Mulberry trees (Morus spp.) produce enough fruit for you to use in jams, baking, and as frozen garnishes on your favorite frozen dessert and still have enough berries left on the tree to feed your local bird population. These deciduous trees grow up to 60 feet tall, depending on the species, producing raspberry-like fruit that matures in the summertime. Those fruit, as delectable as they may be to you and your avian friends, have a major downside. The berry juice stains almost everything it touches. Outdoor furniture, cars, sidewalks, and even patios can quickly become splotched with purple patches. Pets might track the squashed fruit into the house or your kids may stain their clothes, and once the birds have filled up on the sweet drupes, they'll add their droppings to the mess. That's why mulberries are one of the trees you should think twice before planting close to your sidewalk. 

There are a couple of other things to consider beyond the staining berries when you're contemplating adding mulberries to your yard. The milky sap is poisonous, and it's present in the bark as well as in unripe fruits. While they have low toxicity, they can cause hallucinations and intestinal upset. Mulberry trees can also look messy, so they don't fit in well with neat landscape designs, and they're favorites of catbirds, aggressive birds that don't mind taking on a human or the family pet. If you select a dioecious variety of mulberry, you'll need to have both male and female trees if you want fruit. If that weren't enough, the pollen from male trees can cause strong reactions in people with allergies.

If you really want to enjoy fresh mulberries, you may still decide to grow a mulberry tree in your yard. Red mulberry (Morus rubra), hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9, can grow in deep shade or full or partial sun. You can mitigate the biggest downside by mapping out where the canopy will spread once the tree is mature. Everything under that canopy, which can be up to 40 feet wide, is subject to staining by the berries, and the areas beyond are subject to the gastrointestinal habits of the birds. On the plus side, red mulberry trees are not particular about soil type and don't need fertilizer, and as long as you're not in a drought, the tree will not need irrigation. Small gold or green catkins appear in spring, followed by the multiple-seeded berries that are the cause of homeowners' love-hate relationship with this tree.

Stay away from white mulberries (Morus alba). Distinguished from the native red mulberry by its glossy leaves, the white mulberry is a non-native species considered invasive in 14 states in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest U.S., though it grows across the country. It was brought to North America as a possible food source for silkworms and spread rapidly, depriving native trees of resources. Don't introduce it anywhere on your property — there are better alternatives to grow instead of white mulberry trees. Consider other non-invasive trees with edible berries that won't make the huge mess mulberries create, like cherries (Prunus spp.) or chokeberry (Aronia spp.), but keep in mind this won't solve the bird droppings problem.