Fruit Tree Planner

Plan compatible pollination partners, compare varieties, and understand flowering compatibility for apples, pears, plums, blueberries, cherries, and more.

Step 1

Choose a fruit type

Fruit type

Start here. The helper uses different rules for apples, plums, blueberries, kiwis, and other fruit groups.

41 options available.

Type to narrow the list.

Selected fruit

Mulberry

8 tracked varieties

Many named mulberry cultivars can fruit on their own, but an extra mulberry nearby can still improve fruiting and gives you a longer harvest window. Seedling mulberries are less predictable because some are male and never fruit.

Mulberries are often wind-pollinated, so close spacing helps but they do not need to be packed as tightly as pawpaws or blueberries.

Step 2

Choose what you want to check

Current goal

Single variety

Choose one variety and Willowbottom will show the best pollination partners.

Step 3

Choose your variety

Main variety

Choose one variety to see the strongest pollination partners.

8 options available.

Optional comparison variety

Optional direct pair check.

7 options available.

USDA zone (optional)

Used to sort matches and flag climate cautions.

Pick a variety first, then scroll to Step 4 for ranked partners, warnings, and the optional pair check.

Step 4

See recommendations

Selected variety

Kokuso

Mulberry

Mid bloom - mid bloom

Can fruit alone, but still benefits from a partnerPartner guidance included

Bloom timing

Bloom group mid - mid bloom.

What to do

Named fruiting mulberries often fruit alone, but mixed plantings can improve harvest size and give you a longer season.

About this variety

Kokuso is very sweet with low acidity and real depth, with juicy flesh with moderate firmness and large fruit. Choose it for fresh eating, jam, wine, and a large-fruited sweet mulberry, but skip it if you want very cold climates or an extremely long bearing season. It usually ripens around early July.

This shows compatible pollinators. Choose based on flavor and harvest timing.

Usually grown in USDA zones 5-9.

Kokuso can fruit alone, but it still benefits from a partner. Named fruiting mulberries often fruit alone, but mixed plantings can improve harvest size and give you a longer season. It flowers in mid bloom, which is worth knowing if you add a second tree later. Usually grown in USDA zones 5-9.

No single variety stands out as the obvious partner, but that is not a problem here: Dwarf Everbearing, Hicks Everbearing, Illinois Everbearing, Persian, and Wellington all bloom close enough to work. There are 2 more in the list below. Pick whichever your nursery actually carries. Mulberries are often wind-pollinated, so close spacing helps but they do not need to be packed as tightly as pawpaws or blueberries.

One thing to keep in mind. Named fruiting mulberries are usually the safest picks. Seedling mulberries can be male and never fruit.

To put that into practice: at a minimum, one named self-fruitful mulberry is usually enough for home harvests. Better still, plant two named fruiting mulberries if you want more fruit, a longer harvest, and a backup if one tree fruits lightly. If you already have an unknown seedling mulberry, wait to confirm it fruits before counting on it as your only tree.

Good backups

These are still useful choices when the very best option is not available at your nursery.

Dwarf Everbearing

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - mid bloom

Good backup

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Dwarf Everbearing is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and small fruit. In this group, it is one of the softer, juicier choices, so it leans more toward fresh eating than long holding. Choose it for containers, small-space growing, and a compact mulberry with a long picking season, but skip it if you want heavy bulk harvests or full-sized mulberry crops for jam and syrup. It usually ripens around early July, later than most of the others shown.

Hicks Everbearing

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - mid bloom

Good backup

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Hicks Everbearing is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and medium fruit. In this group, it is one of the softer, juicier choices, so it leans more toward fresh eating than long holding. Choose it for extended fresh eating, long-season picking, and backyard mulberry plantings, but skip it if you want one intense concentrated flush of fruit rather than a drawn-out season. It usually ripens around early July, later than most of the others shown.

Illinois Everbearing

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - mid bloom

Good backup

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Illinois Everbearing is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and medium fruit. In this group, it is one of the softer, juicier choices, so it leans more toward fresh eating than long holding. Choose it for fresh eating, jam, syrup, and long-picking harvests, but skip it if you want firm transport, spotless harvests, or dry, crisp fruit. It usually ripens around early July, later than most of the others shown.

Persian

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - mid bloom

Good backup

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Persian is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and medium fruit. In this group, it is one of the softer, juicier choices, so it leans more toward fresh eating than long holding. Choose it for fresh eating, baking, and all-purpose backyard mulberry harvests, but skip it if you want the richest, most intense dark-mulberry flavor or a very long extended season. It usually ripens around early July, later than most of the others shown.

Wellington

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - mid bloom

Good backup

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Wellington is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and large fruit. In this group, it is one of the softer, juicier choices, so it leans more toward fresh eating than long holding. Choose it for fresh eating, baking, and backyard plantings where a sweeter, milder mulberry is preferred, but skip it if you want the richest dark-mulberry intensity or a very compact tree. It usually ripens around early July, later than most of the others shown.

Oscar / Pakistan Mulberry

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - mid-late bloom

Good backup

Blooms close enough to overlap in many home plantings. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here.

Zone unknownNearby bloom window

Why choose this?

Oscar / Pakistan Mulberry is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and large fruit. In this group, it is one of the firmest choices, so it handles baking, slicing, or holding its shape better. Choose it for fresh eating, jam, and a novelty mulberry with dramatically long fruit, but skip it if you want cold climates above zone 7 or a quick-bearing compact tree. It usually ripens around early July, later than most of the others shown.

Shangri-La

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - mid-late bloom

Good backup

Blooms close enough to overlap in many home plantings. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here.

Zone unknownNearby bloom window

Why choose this?

Shangri-La is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and medium fruit. In this group, this is one of the richest-tasting options. Choose it for fresh eating, jam, and Florida and Gulf Coast backyard mulberry plantings, but skip it if you want cold climates where a more hardy variety performs better. It usually ripens around mid June, earlier than most of the others shown.

Minimum planting guidance

Use the minimum, ideal, and fallback plan to size the planting to your space and goals.

Minimum setup

One named self-fruitful mulberry is usually enough for home harvests.

Ideal setup

Plant two named fruiting mulberries if you want more fruit, a longer harvest, and a backup if one tree fruits lightly.

Fallback plan

If you already have an unknown seedling mulberry, wait to confirm it fruits before counting on it as your only tree.

Important notes

These notes keep the key cautions and practical details easy to scan.

Warnings

Named fruiting mulberries are usually the safest picks. Seedling mulberries can be male and never fruit.

Helpful notes

Mulberries are often wind-pollinated, so close spacing helps but they do not need to be packed as tightly as pawpaws or blueberries.

Want to understand why these pairings work? Read the full pollination guide →

New to fruit trees? Start with fruit tree husbandry →

Every fruit and variety we cover

444 varieties across 41 fruit types. Open a crop to see the varieties, or pick one to jump straight to its pollination partners.

Apple25 varieties

Peach17 varieties

Pear22 varieties

Cherry25 varieties

Plum21 varieties

Blueberry31 varieties

Strawberry13 varieties

Raspberry16 varieties

Blackberry13 varieties

Grape14 varieties

Fig8 varieties

Apricot10 varieties

Nectarine8 varieties

Persimmon9 varieties

Pomegranate2 varieties

Mulberry8 varieties

Elderberry10 varieties

Quince7 varieties

Serviceberry8 varieties

Pawpaw7 varieties

Currant9 varieties

Gooseberry7 varieties

Jujube9 varieties

Aronia6 varieties

Honeyberry29 varieties

Hazelnut21 varieties

Cranberry7 varieties

Lingonberry6 varieties

Goji Berry5 varieties

Hardy Kiwi6 varieties

Kiwi5 varieties

Passion Fruit / Maypop4 varieties

Mango14 varieties

Avocado7 varieties

Mandarin5 varieties

Tangerine5 varieties

Kumquat5 varieties

Calamondin4 varieties

Citron4 varieties

Cherimoya6 varieties

Date Palm6 varieties