If you planted bare root mulberry trees this spring, you’ve begun nurturing one of the fastest-growing and most rewarding fruit trees available. Mulberries are beloved for their shade, resilience, and abundant fruit, but like any young planting, their first year is a time of establishment and vulnerability. By fall, your young mulberry has spent months sending out roots and producing leafy growth. Now it needs your help to finish the growing season strong and transition smoothly into winter dormancy.
Understanding the Mulberry’s Autumn Transition
During its first spring and summer, a mulberry focuses on anchoring its roots and putting on canopy growth. As autumn arrives, the tree begins hardening its tissues and redirecting energy into its roots. Leaves will gradually yellow and fall as the tree conserves resources for dormancy. Supporting this natural process means protecting roots, safeguarding bark, and minimizing stress as the colder months approach.
Watering and Fertility Practices
By the close of summer, fertilization should be halted. Applying nutrients too late can stimulate new shoots that will not mature before frost, leaving them vulnerable to damage. The goal now is to allow the tree to rest and strengthen what it has already grown.
Watering, however, remains important. Mulberries are adaptable, but young bare root trees still need consistent soil moisture in their first year. Keep watering during dry periods until the soil begins to freeze, focusing on deep soakings that hydrate the roots without leaving the ground soggy. Well-watered roots are far less likely to suffer from freeze-thaw injury in winter.
Mulching for Root Protection
Mulch is a simple but vital step for protecting your young mulberry tree through winter. Apply two to four inches of organic mulch—such as straw, bark, or shredded leaves—around the base of the tree. This helps moderate soil temperatures, retain moisture, and shield delicate roots from the stress of repeated freezing and thawing.
Be sure to keep the mulch a few inches back from the trunk to reduce the risk of rot or rodent damage. In colder regions, a heavier mulch blanket provides additional insulation for the crown and shallow roots.
Guarding the Trunk and Branches
Young mulberry trees are especially susceptible to winter injury. Thin bark can crack when daytime sun warms it, only for freezing nighttime temperatures to cause expansion and splitting. Wrapping the trunk with a white tree guard or breathable wrap prevents frost cracks and also deters animals that may gnaw on bark during the winter months. Trunk protection should be put in place in late fall and removed in early spring.
Cleaning and Light Maintenance
Fall is also the time to prepare the orchard floor. Rake up fallen leaves or fruit to reduce overwintering pests and fungal spores. A clean planting site creates healthier conditions for spring. While heavy pruning should wait until late winter or early spring, damaged or diseased branches can be removed now to reduce stress before dormancy.
A Final Autumn Check
Before frost arrives, walk around your tree and check that mulch is refreshed, soil moisture is adequate, the trunk is protected, and the orchard floor is clean. These details, though small, are what ensure your first-year mulberry tree not only survives the winter but thrives when spring growth resumes.
🛒 Where to Buy Bare Root Mulberry Trees
When it’s time to expand your orchard or add more mulberries, the best place to buy is Ty Ty Plant Nursery, LLC:
✅ Best prices on premium bare root mulberry trees
✅ Non-GMO, climate-appropriate varieties
✅ Fast shipping so your trees arrive fresh and ready to plant
✅ Free 1-Year Plantsurance™ Guarantee – store credit if your tree doesn’t survive 🛡️
At Ty Ty, planting mulberries is always zero stress and all success.
🌟 Closing Thought
Mulberry trees are fast growers and highly rewarding, but their first winter is a pivotal time. With balanced watering, mulch insulation, trunk protection, and orchard clean-up, you’ll give your young tree the best chance to establish itself and grow into the resilient fruit tree it’s meant to be.
Order your bare root mulberry trees from Ty Ty Plant Nursery, LLC today and start building a fruitful future for your landscape.
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