I planted four mulberry trees for the wildlife. Mulberry trees are fast growing and reach a height of 50 to 70 feet. I never liked mulberries much, but the racoons and birds like them. When planting trees you want to make a hole twice as big as the rootball. Or with bare root stock you can make a hole as big as a half bushel. Remove the old soil and fill the hole with good potting soil. I buy 40 lb bags of "potting soil" at walmart for 1.50 ea. It's not potting soil, it's some kind of swamp dirt. But it's nice and black, better than the red clay we have here. So then you have to add stuff to lighten it up. I add perlite, osmocote plant food, and peatmoss. I figure it's at least half as good as Miracle Grow potting soil and only about a quarter as expensive, even with the admendments. Then i put plant protectors around the trees so the deer don't eat them up. I ordered plant protectors, but you can also use sewer pipe to protect your trees.

Plinker

Plinker, you're a good 'un to do this and all manner of critters do love the mulberry. And if it's over water, the fish eat the berries that fall in river as well. Only thing wrong with Mulberry trees is they don't live long.

The mulberry trees i planted are growing out of the shelter tubes. That's pretty good; the tubes are 4' and the trees were about 15 to 18" to start with. Anyway, the deer liked that new growth and were nibbling off what they could reach. So i had to tape other tube sections to extend them out of their reach.

Found two naturally growing mulberry trees growing in the area. Was able to reproduce one by air layering. To do this, you cut a half inch ring of bark off of a branch and leave it attached to the tree. Put rooting compound on it, then put damp peat moss around the wound and wrap tightly with saran wrap. Tape air tight with electrical tape and wrap with tin foil to reflect heat. It should get some roots in a month or so. Mine didn't get many roots and the leaves fell off. I cut the the branch off below the layered area and put it in a pot of soil. It developed buds and now has a few leaves.

Plinker

Had a Mulberry Tree in the frontyard for years.
The kids when they were little,use to spend hours watching the different birds that came for
the berries.It was a good time.Tree is long gone
due to Age and winter damage. Thanks for reminding me of the Mulberry.

I used to eat the berries from the tree as a youngster growing up on an eastern pa farm, but I also got beatings with a switch made from a new growth branch. Sometimes I wished that tree was farther from the house. Memories.......both good and bad.

Plant some persimmons too if you can get them.

There were 5 deer in under the persimmon tree at the edge of the driveway when I came home las night.

Most critters love em.

Wonder if the asian persimmon would grow here, MUCH bigger fruit.