WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Morus australis 'Unryu', WUCOLS IV

How often to water contorted mulberry in California

In July on the north-central coast, established contorted mulberry in loam needs a deep watering about every 13 days: about 55 gallons each time under a 10 foot canopy, about 29 gallons a week. Contorted mulberry, sold as Unryu, is a fast-growing deciduous mulberry with twisted, zigzag branches that show best after the leaves fall. Left alone it can reach 30 feet or more, but it is usually pruned to a large shrub or small tree. Once established it tolerates heat and dry spells, though it grows best in moist, well-drained soil.

TreeRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water contorted mulberry, month by month

Your city
Canopy width
10 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for contorted mulberry and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area under the branches, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure canopy width

A tree with its canopy width marked across the widest branches and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the branches, from the tips of the outer leaves on one side to the tips on the other. A tape works, or pace it out.

Water the whole circle under the branches, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that circle.

A wider canopy means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While the tree is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 4 inches down under the outer branches of a young tree means it is time for a deep soak
  • Large leaves drooping on a hot afternoon and still limp the next morning point to a dry root zone
  • Leaves yellowing and dropping in midsummer, long before their yellow fall color, can follow a long dry spell
  • Leaf edges browning in summer while the soil is moist can mean bacterial leaf scorch, which more water will not cure
  • Wilting and thin new growth over soil that stays soggy point to root rot from poor drainage

How to water it

  • Water a young contorted mulberry over its root ball and a ring of soil beyond it, then widen the ring as the crown spreads
  • Soak slowly until water reaches a foot or more down, then let the top few inches dry before the next soak
  • Cover the shallow, spreading roots with wood chip mulch, kept a few inches back from the trunk
  • Plant it in full sun in soil that drains well, away from low spots where winter water stands
  • Run drip or a soaker ring under the outer branches of an older tree, keeping water off the trunk

Through the seasons

For the first two or three summers, soak a new contorted mulberry deeply and widen the watered ring as its roots reach outward. Established trees need fewer, deeper waterings and handle heat and drought better. Leaves emerge in spring, turn yellow in fall and drop, leaving the twisted branches bare through winter. Cuts made during dormancy bleed less sap. WUCOLS rates contorted mulberry moderate water on the north-central coast and on the south coast, where winter rain covers the cool months. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Grown in a large container, contorted mulberry needs steady pruning to stay in scale, since it is a fast grower that can reach tree size. Check the mix 2 to 3 inches down every few days in summer, and daily in a heat wave. Water until it runs from the drainage holes, then empty the saucer so the roots never sit in water. A pot that dries out within a day is likely crowded with roots. In winter the bare tree uses little water, so let the mix dry further between soakings.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Contorted Mulberry for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Contorted Mulberry as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Contorted Mulberry: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.37–0.78–––
Feb0.53–0.81–––
Mar0.87–1.15–––
Apr1.18–1.4–––
May1.46–1.61–––
Jun1.61–1.74–––
Jul1.61–1.98–––
Aug1.49–1.86–––
Sep1.24–1.49–––
Oct0.87–1.15–––
Nov0.47–0.84–––
Dec0.31–0.65–––
Year12–15.5–––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated not evaluated in the Central Valley, like contorted mulberry. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Hawthorn MapleAcer crataegifoliumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMountain MapleAcer glabrumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMiyabe MapleAcer miyabeinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingEverglades PalmAcoelorraphe wrightiinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPink CedarAcrocarpus fraxinifoliusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingYellowwoodAfrocarpus falcatus (Podocarpus falcatus)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingNew Caledonian PineAraucaria columnaris (A. cookii)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFormosa Sugar PalmArenga englerinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingNeemAzadirachta indicanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBismarck PalmBismarckia nobilisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingAmerican HornbeamCarpinus caroliniananot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingJapanese HornbeamCarpinus japonicanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingAmerican YellowwoodCladrastis kentukeanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPagoda DogwoodCornus alternifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGiant DogwoodCornus controversanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingButterfly PalmDypsis lutescens (Areca)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes contorted mulberry, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much water does contorted mulberry need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established contorted mulberry needs about 4.1 gallons a day under a 10 foot canopy and about 16 gallons a day under a 20 foot canopy. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for contorted mulberry change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates contorted mulberry separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, not evaluated in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Does contorted mulberry produce fruit?

It can, but fruiting on this cultivar is usually sparse. The small fruits are sweet and edible. Fallen fruit can be messy, so keep it off drip emitters and paving.

When should I prune contorted mulberry?

Prune in late fall or winter, while the tree is leafless. Pruning then helps avoid sap bleeding from the cuts. Regular pruning keeps it at 8 to 15 feet instead of tree size.

How big does contorted mulberry get?

Left unpruned, it can grow into a tree 30 to 40 feet tall. Most gardeners keep it as a large shrub of 8 to 15 feet. It grows fast, so plan room for it.

Can I use contorted mulberry branches in arrangements?

Yes. The twisted stems are prized in floral arrangements. Cut them in winter when they are bare, as part of dormant pruning.

What pests attack contorted mulberry?

Whiteflies can mass on the leaves, and scale, mites and mealybugs also show up. Borers can tunnel into the wood. Coral spot cankers and bacterial blight can kill twigs and branches, so prune out dead wood.

More plant watering guides

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Sources