Has anyone had any luck growing these in pots like fig trees?
Or do they need to go in ground.
Thanks

Anything is possible and it's been done--I think even by members here that may chime in. But I would say overall it's one of the less amenable fruiting plants for container culture... they're pretty vigorous.

Hi Luke.
Grew up eating mulberry's and mulberries around town Illinois everbearing  across from grandmothers yard in Chicago and figs from her inground.
Mulberry tree was abundant also in suburb of Chicago at one time but then suddenly vanished 1 x 1.

 Lucile (owner) desribed to me in email as her best at whitmans farms mulberry called Noir of Spain its in the morus nigra family.  She has business started in 1980.
She has the Illinois and others as well.

While Illinois everbearing i can attest is hardy anywhere in Illinois (inground) as i know where some are that withstood 23 below zero
the Noir of Spain or as some nurseries label it Noir de Spain  -means same thing in translation cannot .
Thus i try in container this season.

It produced a few mulberries a couple fell down and some ripened that were a little tart so i give more time if it survives dormancy with figs in garage.

  I keep in this container to see if i like more than the Illinois type if so i put in my largest container. 
If there still the same taste i grow the Illinois everbearing which im familar with as its a wonderful tasting mulberry.



Tree 1 full season old.
1st pic taken May 3rd when bought
2nd picture of unripe mulberries in early July - they turn black when fully ripe.
3rd picture taken today -tree loseing leaves due to end of season.

Morus nigra is a whole other beast of flavor IMHO. Easily amongst the greatest fruit in the world when the tree is happy. Unfortunately doesn't do so well in my climate, but Martin you are the master of containerizing premium and difficult to grow varieties. I don't think nigra can tolerate the humidity/wetness like alba/rubra, I think the humidity more than hardiness issues tarnish nigra performance here outside its native climate. If you are going to grow in a container and control the moisture, I would go the whole nine yards and grow a nigra. In fact I think there is an ever so slightly dwarfed version out I always considered growing in a pot.

I should clarify my opinion though, some alba and rubra and rubraxalba crosses still taste fantastic to me, real fantastic I'd say. I really love mulberries period. But the nigra is something qualitatively different.

Martin, I was under the impression that it takes 3-5 years to get fruit is that clearly not the case ?

persianmd2orchard, thanks for the info, am I correct in saying they need good sunlight to ripen ?
Does alba= white, rubra= red nigra = black ?

Ok, now I need to do some homework to see what works in my area, I guess the worst case scenario is I will have to plant the tree in ground, I also read they don't like to be pruned does that also mean root pruning.

Thanks for all the feedback

I think it is common to get a few fruit on first year grafted tree, maybe a coupe years for significant fruit.  I think they respond very well to pruning and Mulberry fruit on new wood so you can prune severely and still have fruit.  I have known people to even pollard them.  Many cultivars are very vigorous and almost require it if you want fruit within reach as opposed to “sheet n shake” .   

“Does alba= white, rubra= red nigra = black ?”  Yes but not in reference to fruit color. IE: many Alba are red and black fruited.  If I recall the color denotation is in reference to small hair like fuzz on the buds or young growth, but I am not sure about that. It does not denote fruit color. There is quite a bit of dispute on how many species there are and identification, and that some of the species hybridize further muddies identification.  

Nigra does have pretty much have acceptance as the best flavored as a species.  More Complex than just sweet to me, but many others are not far off.  I like most all I have tried with the exception of some Alba being just plain bland, other Alba can be great.  I don’t know I ever had a Rubra or a Nigra that was not at least pleasant.

 If you really want to try pot, some of the Nigra certainly trend more bush then tree. My Black Beauty is taking a bush form, but Nigra is a supposedly more finicky in climate, and probably will not like a humid climate.  I have a Geraldi Dwarf, which I have seen a couple other close spellings as Gerardi as well as different species listing, but think most classify it as Alba. It is a true dwarf with very close fruit nodes and stated to stay very small and have to think it would be a good pot candidate.

Luke not sure being honest here on how long to produce.
This one was grafted down low and produced about a dozen berries its first season though some fell in red color stage.

If it survives dormancy it will be fun to watch it grow next season if fruit is not for personal palate
i just get the Illinois everbearing that i know is and still might anyways to compare on palate.

I planted a mulberry 3 years ago.  It was knee high in a  5 gal pot when I bought it, now its over 20 ft!  Y'all just need to come to the south where these things grow like weeds. 

Last year, I planted in the ground 1 Illinois Everbearing and one Pastian Mulberry.  Both are taller than me and doing well.  In a few weeks winter will hit but they should be fine.  I also planted 4 persiommon trees.  All of mine were in a pot until they out grew my garage.