yupe. every single one of them. even the IE that rooted. the one that rooted, started drying up. but there is no rot anywhere. not sure what happened. maybe it spent too much energy growing the top and didn't have enough left to sustain itself. not sure. all the others didn't even root. they just stayed in there and started to dry up.

oh well. i have some new ideas to try next yr.

How were you rooting them?

tami, just like figs. but i have some ideas to try next time. and i'll have less figs to play with, so i can devote more time to them.

It is so frustrating when things like this happen. 

Pete,

My 2 cuttings are heading downhill too.  I haven't seen new roots and half of the leaves are drying up.  Not looking good at all.

next year, i'm shooting for massive roots by scrapping and scoring, and possible bottom heat. might use alchole rub per other post. making sure all the cutting is under the soil level with only one node showing above the soil level. sealing the top of the cutting with wax to prevent moisture lose. if that doesn't get it going, i'm just going to go buy me a tree. i'm telling you.. this fig thing is spoiling me rotten. everything should be as easy as fig.

bad news. i was hoping for good results to emulate. i found a new very promising white mulberry. ill default to grafting it now.

bummer,,,,

I've been trying to understand what the mulberry really require to root. I had good success with sticking some cuttings in my garden bed and they have rooted without any treatment. I tried rooting in the greenhouse and some take some don't. 
So, one thing that I look for, is a thick one year old cutting, make a clean cut and just  place it in a pot. I would say at least 3/4" thick were an ideal size.
I also air layered mulberry with success.

not good news! Sorry Pete! Some of mine are doing ok, half did not make either.

there has to be some sort of "build order" or "SOP" something like what we do with fig. this will start the root/callus.. this will ensure that roots are growing well.. this will ensure it's ready for 1 gal pot. just need to find out what works for mulberry.

I had zero success last year. USDA advised that they require bottom heat, which I did not have.

This year, I took the cuttings, and bagged them and set the by the front door (inside, 66F or so). and didn't get around to doing anything with them. After a couple months, they had very developed calluses on them. So I potted then in tall pots and put the in the greenhouse. Since removing them from the greenhouse, about 1/2 have died, but several are looking good. The next bunch I dipped in Clonex, put about a dozen in a 5 gallon pot (together) and put a bag over them. They are outside and get some filtered light. So far they are looking to be about 95%. They have been slower to push top growth than the ones in the greenhouse, which may have been in their favor.

I suspect the "callousing" gave them a head start on rooting before they were exposed to lower humidity, and, also, that the Clonex interacted well with the callous. I started a 3rd batch that way about a week ago.

These were all Pakistan cuttings.

i put in order to UCD. hopefully i'll get them next year.

nice! i never considered green cuttings

They do not have a good success rate, but I find a mix of moss and vermiculite with  anti fungal helps the best

I stuck roughly 20 IE cuttings in a 15 gallon pot last winter. They leafed out and had fruit too which gave me hope. Then they all died when the sun hit them because they had no roots. 

This week I planted a Pakistan and a Morus Nigra. Next time I plan on trying CloneX and bottom heat.

Jon, which Pakistan was it that you tried rooting?  I see more than one listed: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/swish/accboth?query=Morus+pakistan&submit=Search!&sort=swishrank&si=0&.cgifields=si&.cgifields=reverse

Pete, what type of mulberries were you rooting?  I remember reading your post before but don't recall what varieties you were working with.

In my experience, Morus alba 'Oscar' is extremely easy to root.  My attempts on two different Morus nigra varieties ('Noir de Spain' and an unknown) were unsuccessful, though I did have a long root form on a 'Noir de Spain' which just never leafed out (probably rotted, I'm guessing).  I used bottom heat and wrapped top in Parafilm equivalent.  I have grafted Morus nigra 'Kaester' onto my Morus alba 'Oscar' and it is growing and has a small amount of fruit on it but it appears to be less than fully compatible.

Jon, I believe you know Mark Albert well. He says that once I eat a M. nigra I won't bother to grow anything else (though alba is earlier so I'll probably continue growing my 'Oscar').  He says that he has a Mulberry 'Black Beauty' which roots more easily and is compatible with M. nigra.  I don't know if it's the same, but I see Bay Laurel and others offering it for sale and they list it as a M. nigra.  I'm going to get cuttings from Mark next winter to try out.

UCD recommended using mist propagation methods for rooting mulberries..  I have never tried rooting mulberry cuttings but the varieties that are being offered are tempting and the pictures of the fruit are mouthwatering.  How difficult could it be to set up a tent, timer,piping, mister heads solenoids, drain system?  Anyone with experience?

I got the mist setup and still don't root easily. Grafting them is easy enough, and have lots of wild mulberry around.

Harvey,

It is just "Pakistan". Got it from a friend several years ago.

I ordered USDA mulberry cuttings last year and they arrived around summer.  They all leafed out too and then died.   Big let down.  Then, my USDA order came this year for the figs a few weeks ago, and they also gave me the same mulberry cuttings as last year even though I didn't request them again.   I put them all in a humidity chamber near the window.  While I was traveling, apparently it got hit with direct sun for a couple hours a day.   But, all the cuttings did great and leafed out even though it got superhot and steamy in there. I've left them in there for another few weeks and will find out next week when I get back if they have roots this time.    

This is how easy M. alba 'Oscar has been for me: I got more cuttings than I really wanted/needed a few years ago, about 3 sticks that were each about 3' long.  I stuck 4 of them in pots after treating with IBA.  I used bottom heat, no misting, stuck in potting mix.  All 4 rooted.  I had two long sticks laying around on the ground next to my greenhouse under a  pear tree for 2-3 weeks and thought "what the heck?" and stuck them in the ground that was wet from soaking my pear tree.  The pear tree probably got watered a few more times that winter.  Those cuttings grew and I dug them up and gave them to a friend.  I recently grafted Nor de Spain on my unknown M. nigra.  I was afraid birds might land on those valuable grafts so I stuck some 'Oscar' prunings in the ground next to them to protect them.  They rooted too.  I tried rooting about 10 cuttings from my unknown M. nigra a couple of months ago and none of those rooted.  They leafed out, but no roots.  They were treated with IBA, tops wrapped in Parafilm equivalent, and kept on my propagation mat set at 85F.

I have had good success rooting mulberries in baggies with moss. The trick is to keep them a lot more moist than fig cuttings. I generally leave the moss quite wet, which creates a very humid environment. How humid? My bags are practically raining inside. This seems to help create really strong callusing and then roots. I keep mine on top of the cabinets in the kitchen.

If you see any mold, just wipe it off the surface with a paper towel. I do not treat with rooting hormones, bleach or anything else. All of my cuttings get these thick calluses and green shoots, followed by roots. I then separate the bundle and pot up in a mix of about 70 percent potting mix and 30 percent Perlite. So far, very few losses. Works beautifully with hardwood or softwood cuttings and with pomegranates as well.

john,

same experience. if i leave them in the baggie, the callus will form heavily. however, roots never showed. when i moved them to the cup, one of them rooted, rest didn't show any roots. after they dried up, i pulled them out and there were no roots at all. i have few idea as to what to do when UCD mulberry cuttings arrive sometime next yr.