David, I have a white mulberry planted at my house. I think it's actually called Lavender. It's not producing yet. I used to eat black mulberries off the tree when I was a kid. They stained pretty badly. Do some varieties of blacks stain less than others? Do cooked berries stain less?

Ken W Wilson wrote:David, I have a white mulberry planted at my house. I think it's actually called Lavender. It's not producing yet. I used to eat black mulberries off the tree when I was a kid. They stained pretty badly. Do some varieties of blacks stain less than others? Do cooked berries stain less?

Yes, some of the blacks stain very little, apparently. Pakistan is claimed to be "non-staining." My Illinois Everbearing, though, definitely turned your fingers purple for the day.

Good luck with the white. I like their delicate honey-like flavor.

Thanks for making this a new topic. I should have done that.

The mulberry at my house is sweet lavender. It should produce next year. I hope I like them. I had an Illinois Everbearing but moved it to my farm after finding some wild ones and rediscovering how badly they stain teeth. Really need to have the tooth brush handy. Can anyone tell me if mulberry jam or pie would stain as much?

I've read that the Pakistan blacks don't stain as bad but aren't as cold hardy. I may look into that again.

I might take a cutting of the black and put in back in the yard. I'll probably sell the farm in a few years. I don't have room for many more trees in the yard,  but it sounds like mulberries can be kept as small as you want.