Question: I live in Syracuse New York- the middle of the state, zone 5, heavy clay soil. I would like to grow Black Mulberries for the fruit. What is your thinking in terms of the black varieties you offer for my locale?
Regards,  Jim

Answer: Jim,

It seems the popularity of fruiting mulberries continues to grow every year, and rightly so.  The fruit can be delicious.  What is a favorite food for people of Middle Eastern descent has been discovered by a wider population.

Black Beauty Mulberry fruit

There are two issues involved in answering your question.  One is the cold hardiness of the tree and the other is the root system to handle the poor drainage of the clay soil.

All our Mulberries are grown or Morus alba tatarica - Russian Mulberry rootstock.  It can handle cold to zone 3 and it has proven itself durable for most soil types.  We ship mulberries throughout the Eastern states and tens of thousands of them into the Ontario, Canada area.  I am confident it can handle normal clay.

The variety I know will grow and fruit for you is the Persian Fruiting Mulberry.  It is cold hardy to USDA Zone 4. The Black Beauty Mulberry is a smaller tree also with excellent fruit.  I do not have as wide a history of it as far as extreme climates.  I am confident it will survive in Zone 5 and will probably go into zone 4 as well but do not have actual confirmation of that.  Unfortunately, the Cooke's Pakistan with its huge 2"-3" tasty fruit will not survive in your winters.  It will go in Zone 7 and maybe Zone 6 with some early year tip damage.   Another alternative is the Teas Weeping Mulberry (Zone 3) which has small blackberry-like fruit.  This tree is often used in formal landscapes because of its weeping shape.

Hope you enjoy your fruit!