Featured plant: Red Mulberry tree (Morus rubra) zone 3-8

This weeks featured plant is the Red Mulberry tree (Morus rubra) zone 3-8. There are several kinds of mulberry trees. The Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) is a native tree found in Minnesota that grows to over 40 feet tall and is considered rare.  It is different from the White Mulberry (Morus alba), which is not native and only grows to 30 feet tall.  Unlike the White Mulberry; the Red Mulberry does not easily spread. Other types of mulberries are a hybrid black mulberry: the berries are longer, or you can get everbearing (these mulberries need a zone 6 or warmer climate). Another type is the European Black Mulberry bush which is the smallest of the mulberries only growing to 20 feet tall. In June the trees bear fruit which look somewhat like raspberries. Do not plant them where you will park your cars because the birds LOVE mulberries and will leave mulberry stains on everything. Mulberry can be eaten fresh from the tree as a summer snack or turned into jams and jellies.  The trees are thornless and easy to pick. They prefer sandy soil and will die in clay.