Chinese Mulberry (Cudrania tricuspidata) CHE NORRIS

Early ripening female Cudrania variety with strong growth. Requires minimal maintenance and is drought tolerant. Endures poor soils like a mulberry tree. Young shoots have small thorns that lose with age.

Origin: USA, this cultivar was discovered by nurseryman Cliff England on the site of the TVA's Norris Dam in northern Tennessee.
Vigour: strongly growing tree with a height of 3 to 6 m and a width of up to 5 m. We can regulate the tree growth through regular pruning. Is grafted on the Maclura pomifera rootstock.
Site requirements: full sun location. Che will grow in a range of soil types. Deep, well-drained loam is the best.
Blossom: monoecious, female. Female flowers of variety Norris need pollinator with male flowers to create fruits.
Fruits: on average 1.5 - 2.5 cm, red or maroon-red. The che fruit is not a berry but a collective fruit, in appearance somewhat like a round mulberry crossed with lychee. The ripe fruits are an attractive color with a juicy, rich red flesh inside.
Taste: ripe fruit has a watermelon taste. The sugar content is similar to that of well-ripened figs.
Harvest season: the stem does not bleed white sap when the fruit is picked fully ripe. Fruit ripens on the tree individually, not all at once, and does not ripen further once picked.
Yield: medium, regular yields if pollenizer is nearby. The Che begin to bear at an early age. The tree tends to drop ripening fruit when very young but gets better at retention with age.
Disease resistance: generally highly resistant to disease and pests, suitable for organic or no-spray culture
Frost resistance: frost-resistant throughout Central Europe