Reptile & Amphibian Forums

would a mulberry plant survive in NW MA, it usually stays around -0 degrees F in the winter.. though it can go -30 below 0
and how about a paw-paw plant?

Thanks!

Both are hardy to zone 5, which includes NW MA.

Be aware of a couple of things: mulberries will sprout all over your property, as a result of bird redistribution, and paw-paws can form colonies as a result of fruit drop. Paw-paws are also raccoon magnets, do best in moister soil, and might be difficult to find at a nursery.

Both are good sources of food for turtles, though. I don't have alot of land, so I went with smaller fruiting shrubs like blueberries...

Hope that helps.

Blackberries are also good, although I have no idea how they do in in Massachusetts. They are similar to mulberries but grow on a vine, not a tree, they have a very high vitamin A content and I believe one of my turtle books list them as having an ideal calcium/phosphorus ratio.

Blackberries are a favorite food of my turtles, and the only reason I didn't plant them was because of the thorns and invasiveness.
If you have access to a good nursery or catalog, I think there are thornless cultivars out there.
They're not really a vine, but can behave like vines in that they can drape across other plants, etc.
We had blackberry frenzy here this summer, with turtles wandering around with purple beaks, looking for more. Even the timid ones would follow you if they saw you handing them out...
Very funny!
Ther's another shrub called Mapleleaf Viburnum which is a berry producing native that turtles eat, but I haven't found a source for it yet.

I just re-read your post, and thought I'd point something out to you...both mulberry and pawpaw are trees.
Mulberry can exceed 30' in height, pawpaw are smaller, 15'-20' tall is about average, although in ideal situations they an get much taller.
Didn't know if you realized this.
Also, if your a purist, not all mulberries are native, with the exception of Morus rubra, or red mulberry (which also is a much larger growing tree than the white mulberry)

Probably much more you wanted to know....

Stephanie

I just got done reading that on a different site,
I guess for now I'll just stick with the native fruiting plants(raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, grape, and black berry)
Thanks for the replies!

http://www.ediblelandscaping.com/

I am a HUGE fan of growing things and eating them. I just ordered and planted a week ago 4 trees from the site linked. I got two pawpaws, one white mulberry, and one fig. I'm in central NC, so I picked things suited to my zone, but you can see that on their site.
They have a TON of stuff. Next spring I plan on putting 50-100 trees and shrubs over my whole property (two acres).
edible landscaping nursery