'Illinois Everbearing' mulberry has both edible and ornamental features. The bark is gray-brown with long, scaly ridges. This tree produces a 1 to 1.25 inch long cluster of drupes that matures in the summer. The fruit resembles a blackberry. 'Illinois Everbearing' is a winter hardy cultivar, enduring temperatures does to to -20F. It bears early fruit, sometimes as soon as the first year after planting, and becomes a large shade tree very quickly, often growing 3 to 5 feet per year in favorable conditions. The fruit has a delicious and distinctive sweet taste, starts to ripen a later than some other cultivars, but ripens continuously throughout the summer and early autumn. It can live up to 125 years, but the weedy invasive character is not appealing. More information on Morus rubra .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Fills a similar nicheMorus rubraMorus rubra 'Townsend'Morus rubra 'Travis'
Full plant profile
Growing Conditions
Plant type
Edible; Tree
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
24-60 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
2 - Understory
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Oval; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Has alternate, broad, simple green leaves with a notch at the base and a finely serrated margin. The upper surface is rough, the undersurface is full of soft hair.
Flower color
Green
Flower form
Catkin; Insignificant
Flower detail
The small yellowish-green cylindrical flower of the Illinois Everbearing red mulberry is not showy. Male flower and female flower can bloom on the same tree or different trees.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Black; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Berry
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit size
1-3 inches long
Fruit detail
It produces numerous reddish-black fruit that look like a blackberry but slender with a size of 1 1/4 inches. It will bear fruit through summer into fall.
Bark color
Dark Brown
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Wildlife value
This plant is moderately resistant to damage from deer. It is a possible host plant for the Red Admiral butterfly. Its fruits are eaten by many birds, especially gray catbirds and northern mockingbirds, foxes, opossums, raccoons, and squirrels.
Attracts
Butterflies; Songbirds
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Fruit
Harvest time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Berry
Edibility
Jams. jellies and wine from ripe berries
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Coastal; Naturalized Area
Landscape theme
Edible Garden
Design feature
Flowering Tree; Shade Tree
Garden tags
#deciduous #drought tolerant #messy #edible garden #bird friendly #butterfly friendly #larval host plant #non-toxic for cats #non-toxic for horses #non-toxic for dogs #showy fruits #wildlife friendly #winter hardy #HS304 #weedy