💗 Why gardeners say this is the best Mulberry ever

• 🍇 Illinois Everbearing Mulberry (Morus alba x rubra) is a recent discovery we’re excited to share. It may be the best variety we’ve grown, and if you only plant one mulberry, this should be the one.
• 🍇 Very hardy and adaptable. Illinois everbearing is a cross between the white and red mulberry, and it seems to have inherited the best qualities of both. It is suitable for USDA zones from 5 to 10! It survives -20F and even colder, yet it also thrives in heat and poor soils. That wide adaptability makes it one of the most dependable fruiting mulberries for many regions.
• 🍇 Quick shade, quick fruit, long season. The tree grows fast, about 3 to 5 feet a year, turning into a 20 to 30 ft shade tree in just a few years. It has a long, everbearing harvest season and early start: some people have even had fruit the first year after planting. The berries are about an inch and a half long, shaped like stretched out blackberries. They ripen steadily through summer, not all at once, which is why it is called everbearing. That means you can walk out and pick handfuls from July right into September.
• 🍇Delicious and abundant. The flavor is what really sets it apart. Sweet, juicy, with a little tang, many gardeners say it is the best tasting mulberry they have had. You can eat them fresh, dry them, or cook them down for jam. Birds love them too, so you may end up sharing. But there will be enough for all: it produces abundant yields of 15 to 25 pounds per tree by year two or three.
• 🍇 Easy to grow. It is a low maintenance tree, generally free of pests and diseases. Once established it is easygoing.
• 🍇 Universal and long-lived. Plant it for the fruit, plant it for the shade, or plant it for the wildlife it draws in. Its foliage is also attractive, with deeply carved, oak-like leaves that add ornamental value to the tree. Illinois everbearing is not just a productive tree, it becomes part of the rhythm of your summer garden. While most mulberries live a few decades, some Illinois Everbearing trees may endure much longer with good care.

🛒 Pick your Mulberry tree

📚 Learn more:

• How to have fruit year around: Dwarf Everbearing Mulberry
• Mulberry season!
• The best Mulberry varieties
• Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #7. Mulberry
• How Mulberry fruit helps with diabetes

📱 Dwarf Everbearing Mulberry

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🌿 What is Neem and why do millions use it daily? The tree that makes toothpaste and bug spray.

• 💚 Ever notice Neem listed in toothpaste or skin cream? Or even in natural insecticides and garden treatments? What is this tree and why is it everywhere? Neem products come from the Neem Tree - Azadirachta indica, native to India. It's been used for thousands of years in medicine, farming, and daily life.

💚 How can you use Neem?


Almost every part of the tree has a purpose.

The leaves are brewed as tea, applied to skin for soothing, and used in villages to ward off mosquitoes or protect stored clothes from insects. They are bitter but medicinal, valued for treating malaria and even for lowering blood sugar in diabetics.

• Dental cure. Neem twigs, thin and pencil-sized, are chewed and used as toothbrushes to strengthen gums and fight bacteria. Today, toothpicks and dental sticks are still made from them.
• Neem oil for your Garden. The seeds produce neem oil, a natural insect repellent and fungicide for the garden that doesn’t harm bees or butterflies.
• Bark extracts are used in medicine
• Ripe fruits are eaten fresh and considered beneficial too.

💚 Why do people plant Neem?

It’s more than a medicine chest. In India, Neem is planted along streets and in villages as a source of shade, air purifier, and natural pest control. One tree supports health, provides garden protection, and even supplies food.

💚 Is it easy to grow?

Yes. Neem tree thrives in hot, dry conditions and needs little care. Once established, it only needs low to medium water and grows well even without irrigation. It can be grown as a street tree, in the yard for shade, or in poor soils where other trees struggle. Hardy, fast-growing, and evergreen, Neem is one of the most practical trees you can add to a tropical or subtropical garden.

🛒 Plant a Neem Tree and Explore Neem benefits

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🌷 Four best low-growing perennials that bloom all summer

🌼 1. Crossandra



Crossandra is one of those plants that never really takes a break. Its ruffled orange blooms pop almost nonstop in warm weather, making it a reliable color source for borders, pots, or even as a filler around taller shrubs. Unlike many flowering plants that fade in midsummer, Crossandra keeps going through heat and humidity, thriving where others give up. It's compact, easy to trim, and works beautifully in small gardens or patios.

🌼 2. Heliconia psittacorum Lady Di



Heliconia Lady Di adds a tropical accent with its upright, torch-like blooms in fiery orange and yellow. What makes this variety practical is its manageable size compared to giant heliconias - it fits well in small gardens and large pots. Its flowers last long, both on the plant and as cut flowers, making it popular for summer arrangements. Once established, it keeps sending up flower stalks all season, giving a steady display of color and drama.

🌼 3. Plumbago



Plumbago is a gardener's friend in hot climates because it covers a lot of ground and throws out flower clusters all summer (sky-blue, white or red). It's versatile - train it as a shrub, hedge, or let it spill over walls and trellises. The flowers attract butterflies, and the plant is low-maintenance, tolerating pruning, sandy soil, and neglect. If you need a reliable plant to soften fences or add a cool color contrast to reds and oranges in the garden, plumbago is a winner.

🌼 4. Spathoglottis ground orchids



Ground orchids like Spathoglottis are practical because they give you the exotic look of orchids without the fuss. These hardy, clumping perennials send up spikes of purple, pink, or yellow blooms that last for weeks, repeating through summer in warm climates. They’re perfect for edging walkways or filling beds where you want constant color with minimal care. Unlike potted orchids that bloom once and rest, Spathoglottis keeps producing flowers right in the ground, almost year-round in frost-free areas.

🛒 Discover more flowering perennials

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🌷 Ten shrubs you need to have for winter colors

Many snowbirds ask what to plant when they’re here just for the season. The answer is simple: go for trees and shrubs that bloom in winter. Fall is the perfect time to get them in the ground so your garden will be bursting with flowers once the cool season arrives. In our earlier video, we shared 8 best flowering trees that will bloom for you in Winter. Now, here are the shrubs that will complete your colorful winter garden.

• 🌷 1. Mansoa alliacea - Garlic Vine
Known for its garlicky scent, it also puts on clusters of lavender to purple flowers in cool weather. Reliable and eye-catching, often trained on fences or trellises. 👉plant it
• 🌷 2. Dombeya wallichii - Tropical Hydrangea
Large pink pompom clusters hang like lanterns from the branches. Sweetly fragrant and showy, it creates a hydrangea effect right in winter. 👉plant it
• 🌷 3. Brunfelsia pauciflora Compacta - Dwarf Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow
Small and manageable, it opens purple flowers that fade to lavender and then white, giving the look of three colors at once. A cheerful winter bloomer for pots or borders. 👉plant it
• 🌷 4. Clerodendrum minahassae - Fountain Clerodendrum
This shrub lives up to its name with cascades of long white flower sprays, blooming heavily in the cooler months and brightening shaded corners. 👉plant it
• 🌷 5. Tibouchina multiflora (grandifolia) - Glory bush, Quaresmeira
Covered in clusters of soft, fuzzy purple blooms, this shrub adds tropical flair during the cooler months. Its velvety leaves are ornamental year-round. 👉plant it
• 🌷 6. Holmskioldia sanguinea - Red Chinese hat
Cup-shaped bracts form red “hats” around small flowers. This shrub stands out with unique form and long-lasting blooms. 👉plant it
• 🌷 7. Barleria cristata - Philippine violet
A hardy shrub with masses of purple-violet blooms in the cool season. It flowers when many plants are quiet, adding dependable winter color. 👉plant it
• 🌷 8. Thunbergia erecta - King’s Mantle
A compact shrub with velvety purple blooms and bright yellow throats. It’s neat, easy to manage, and flowers generously in winter. 👉plant it
• 🌷 9. Eranthemum pulchellum - Blue Sage, Lead Flower
Few shrubs can match its electric-blue spikes of flowers in winter. Compact and low-care, it brings a rare color to the cool season garden. 👉plant it
• 🌷 10. Petrea volubilis (racemosa) - Queen’s wreath

A woody vine-shrub that bursts into cascading sprays of lavender stars. It flowers heavily in winter, resembling wisteria in the tropics. 👉plant it
🛒 Explore Winter bloomers

📚 Learn more:

• 8 best flowering trees that will bloom for you in Winter
• 9 best tropical shrubs that bloom all summer long or year around
• 4 best low-growing perennials that bloom all summer

#Hedges_with_benefits #Discover

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