When to Plant Mulberry in Melbourne, Cool Temperate Guide
What this month normally looks like in Cool Temperate
In October the Cool Temperate zone normally runs 19°C by day and 8°C overnight, with about 67 mm of rain over 9 or 10 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -3.0°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 28 postcodes, SILO.
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This Mulberry guide is written for the Cool Temperate zone, which takes in Melbourne, Hobart and Geelong. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Planting window
- Jun to Aug
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
Possibly the easiest fruit tree to grow in Australia. Virtually indestructible, tolerates poor soil, drought, neglect, and a wide climate range. Black mulberry (M. nigra) produces the best-flavoured fruit.
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Best Planting Window for Cool Temperate
- Jan -
- Feb -
- Mar -
- Apr -
- May -
- Jun P
- Jul P
- Aug P
- Sep -
- Oct -
- Nov -
- Dec -
P = Planting window
Plant bare-root trees in winter. Fruit ripens from late spring into early summer.
Want a nudge when it is sowing time?
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How to Grow Mulberry in Cool Temperate Australia
- Soil
- Tolerates almost anything including heavy clay, sand, and poor soils. Performs best in well-drained fertile soil but genuinely undemanding.
- Salt
- Sensitive. Struggles with salty bore water or salty soil. Give it rainwater if you can.
- pH Range
- 5.5-7.5
- Sunlight
- Full sun for best fruit. Tolerates part shade.
- Good companions
- Anything, mulberries are not fussy
- Keep away from
- Paths, driveways, clotheslines, swimming pools (staining), Anything you don't want purple-stained
Cool Temperate Growing Tips for Mulberry
Recommended Varieties
- Black English (best flavour)
- Hicks Fancy
Key Challenges
- Popcorn disease in wet springs
- Shorter fruiting season
Pro Tips
- Excellent mulberry zone. Melbourne gardens grow outstanding mulberries.
- Black mulberry has the best flavour but is slower growing than white.
Pests and problems for Mulberry in Cool Temperate
Harvesting Mulberry
When ready: Black mulberry: fully black-purple and soft. White/Shahtoot: pale pink to white and sweet. Ripe fruit falls at a touch. Lay a clean sheet under the tree and shake branches.
How to harvest: Shake branches over a sheet or pick individually. Wear old clothes, staining is inevitable.
Storing and preserving mulberry
How to keep it
- Freezing. Spread on tray, freeze, bag. Best preservation method for mulberries. Keeps: 12 months.
- Dehydrating. Spread on trays, dehydrate at 55°C for 12-18 hours. Keeps: 12 months.
- Jam. Simmer with sugar (1:1) and lemon juice to setting point. Jar hot. Keeps: 12 months.
- Syrup. Simmer berries in water, strain, add sugar, reduce to syrup. Bottle. Keeps: 6 months refrigerated.
- Wine. Ferment juice with sugar and wine yeast. Traditional use. Keeps: Years.
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Mulberry
When do you plant mulberry in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Oct to Dec
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Jun to Sep
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Jun to Aug
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Jun to Aug
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Jun to Aug
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): May to Jun, Aug to Sep
- Mediterranean (Perth): Jun to Aug
When should I plant Mulberry in Melbourne?
Plant bare-root trees in winter. Fruit ripens from late spring into early summer.
How do I know when Mulberry are ready to harvest?
Black mulberry: fully black-purple and soft. White/Shahtoot: pale pink to white and sweet. Ripe fruit falls at a touch. Lay a clean sheet under the tree and shake branches.
What are the best Mulberry varieties for Melbourne?
Recommended varieties for the Cool Temperate zone include: Black English (best flavour), Hicks Fancy.
What grows well with Mulberry?
Good companion plants for Mulberry include: Anything, mulberries are not fussy.
Are mulberry salt tolerant?
No. Mulberry are salt-sensitive, one of the more sensitive veggies. Use rainwater if your bore water is salty, or grow them in a raised bed of fresh mix if your soil is.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cool Temperate zone, Melbourne is its reference city.