The American landscape industry has done a disservice to the public and for wildlife by promoting fruitless (no messy fruit) mulberry trees as shade trees. They're not especially ornamental & male mulberries are notorious pollen producers as many allergy sensitive people are aware. The named varieties of mulberry we sell are all females, producing little or no pollen, but loads of sweet, nutritious fruit. Without a male, female mulberries produce seedless fruits that many people, birds, and other creatures find delicious.
The trick to avoid a mess is to plant in grassy areas away from patios, driveways, etc. where stain can be a problem. No staining varieties (White, Pink, Beautiful Day, Sweet Lavender or Pakistan) can also be planted.
Grown freely they can achieve the stature of a nice shade tree or with annual pruning they can easily be maintained as a bush since the fruits are produced on the new growth.
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