Do I have a right size pot for my new Mulberry plant?

[acb]

I just bought a Mulberry plant from Bunnings yesterday and have an eye for a Northcote W57cm x H34cm half-whisky barrel looking pot.  Experts out there please advise if it is deep enough for its root and if it requires special potting mix?  I have Scott Osmocote Premium Potting Mix, is it good enough?  Thank you, AnChi

[EricL]

Hello @acb (Anchi)

Would it be possible for you to post a photo of your Mulberry Plant? This will give our members an idea of how big your plant is. Once we see its size we will be able to offer suggestions as to how big the next pot should be. However, If you've purchased the 140mm Berrylicious Dwarf Mulberry - Morus nigra the Northcote Pottery 57cm Natural Oak Whiskey Barrel Planter you've mentioned should be ok. The Scott Osmocote Premium Potting Mix should be fine for the Mulberry. My number one tip for this type of plant is when you see the roots sticking out of the drain hole of the pot, it's time to re-pot the Mulberry.

Let me tag our garden gurus @Adam_W and @Noelle for their recommendations.

If you need more advice or information, please let us know.

Eric

[acb]

Hi Eric

Thanks for your reply.  The one I got is not a dwarf specie unfortunately. It’s Morus rubra hybrid and will grow to 10m on the ground.  I was looking for the dwarf specie but could only find this one and I was hoping growing it in the pot might limit its size. Was I wrong?

AnChi

[EricL]

HI @acb

Choosing the Morus rubra hybrid is ok. There is nothing wrong with your choice. As the plant grows bigger you may have to trim it, so that it will not excessively grow bigger. Once it has settled in its new home, you will be able to judge how big it will get after a year.

Eric

[Jason]

Hi AnChi (@acb)

Please take a look at the very helpful guide by @Noelle How to pot a plant.

In the guide, Noelle gives the following excellent advice:

"The pot should comfortably hold the plant, with about 3-4cm clearance between the existing root ball and the sides. Don’t think that by choosing a pot several sizes larger you will be doing the plant a favour - you won't! Excess potting mix beyond the roots may turn sour, becoming smelly and also possibly damaging developing root tips."

Hope that helps,

Jason

[acb]

Hi Eric

That’s great to have the confirmation as I feel more confident as to what to do.  Please see a photo of the plant as requested for your reference. The height  is around 110cm.  Jason’s post quoting Noell’s advice is also helpful.  I’ll just have to be patient and change the pot size as it grows.

Thank you.

AnChi

[acb]

Hi Jason

Thank you for the advice which i like as I have several spare pots of different sizes that the young tree can gradually grow into until it gets to the stage where I’ll need the 57cm pot!

AnChi

[Adam_W]

Hi @acb 
I totally love mulberry trees! I reckon they are the easiest fruit tree to grow across a huge range of climates.
Okay, the variety you have will want to get large but it will tolerate being in a pot for quite few years.
Good potting mix is a must & you've got that covered. Pot size wise... either keep taking it up size by size or put it into a larger pot now, it will fill it soon enough.
To keep the size down you can easily prune the plant just do it after the main flowering/fruiting time.
As it wants to get big it's roots will get quite congested so you'll need to take care to keep it well watered (mulberries love good moisture) and it will be hungry so feed annually at least with Osmocote for fruiting plants and then regularly supplement this with liquid feeding, personally I find Nitrosol is still one of the best as it has a good nutritional boost for the plant as well as feeding the potting mix biome.

[acb]

Hi Adam

Thank you for the most useful tips.  I have found Bunnings Workshop Community most responsive and supportive, and I am pleased to belong to it.  

You mentioned this variety will be okay growing in a pot for "quite few years", how do I know it has reached that stage and what happens after that?

AnChi

[MitchellMc]

Hi @acb,

Let me mention @Adam_W so he is alerted to your question. One way to know if it has outgrown the pot is to check whether it is root-bound. Gently dig the surface soil back and check to see what's underneath it. If it's a solid mass of compacted roots, then it's rootbound and will need to be re-potted into a larger container. You should need to check for at least 2-3 years.

Mitchell