Mulberry Plant

I got a mulberry plant before Christmas 2016. I saw it in the plant section of the JEM NTUC Fairprice. It is near to the fruit section.

I was curious when I saw the green berries on the plant and didn't know what they were. I checked the label on the pot and it said "Mulberry". It was selling for $7.90. There were three pots. I selected one out of three pots. A lady standing behind me was saying to her partner that she wanted to buy the plant and the berries are edible. Her partner just simply brushed her away and moved to another section.

I knew that it was a surprise to find mulberry plant in the supermarket and I didn't want to go to any local nurseries to try to find one. So, I decided to buy it.

There were many green berries on the plant and none was ripe yet. Some green berries were quite small and I thought they would develop over times. Went to the internet to research on the mulberry and confirmed that they are edible. Another thing on the pollination, it doesn't require any human touch. So, the berries will grow by its own. Cool!

Mulberry Plant

I wouldn't call it a tree yet because it is still small. I hope that it will grow bigger and in a couple of months, I will repot it into a bigger pot. Right now, I did a bit of trimming/pruning because the branches were getting heavier. I removed about a third of the branches and stuck them into a pot of soil. Hopefully after three weeks, I can see new shoots growing from the cuttings.

I placed the plant in full sun for at least 6 hours per day. Of course, I water it every morning and maybe a little bit in the evening.

The green berries started to turn to red gradually. I noticed that when the berry turned into full red, it will take about a day to turn to purple. When it is dark purple, I will pluck it. I just wash it and then into my mouth. The mulberry has a bit of sweetness.

Mulberry turning red

Red and purple mulberries

You will see the purple mulberry near the center of the above photo (center, slightly left). It is ripe and ready to be eaten. I was careful not to let the ripen mulberry to drop to the floor. When it is squashed, the purple stain is hard to get rid of.