My old mulbury tree

[SnowBerg]

Please help! Last year The mullberry tree in our back yard had a black
fungus-like growth on many leaves, the fruit was poor, if existed at all, and
parts of the bark looked darker than the other wood, almost wet. So far this
spring, it appears slow to bud. What do you think is going on and what do I
do??? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Darin]

Liabilities

considered "trash tree"
suckers
invasive
bacterial blight, leaf spot, canker, powdery mildewy, scale, witches' broom
tree looks unkept
fruit can be extremely messy, don't plant near walkways or parking lots

I would say you have a mildew problem. Just keep it dry in that area to get rid of it. Fruit never is good on a mulberry. Hope this answers some of you questions.
Darin

 

[rcarlson]

Mulberry trees are subject to a lot of foliar diseases, but most are not debilitating to the tree. The diseases are usually worse in years with cool moist spring weather.

The staining on the bark could be the result of a condition called wetwood, caused by bacteria that live inside the tree. It is quite common on mulberry, and again is not necessarily a life threatening condition.

The lack of fruit can be caused by weather conditions over the past two or three years. If the tree had a large crop of fruit last year, it may have a lighter crop this year, as it has less energy to spend on fruit production.

Find a good local arborist to check out your tree. The International Society of Arboriculture maintains a current list of ISA Certified Arborists. The searchable list can be accessed at the ISA Web site, at:
http://www.isa-arbor.com