Question
QUESTION: Hi Tom,
      A few days ago I reluctantly chopped a black mulberry tree down to 26' from a whopping 31' - quite a bit taller than Mulberries should grow in my part of the world (South-east England).
It's never been pruned before as we were told that these trees bleed heavily & tend not to survive, but this year I really had no choice. On advice found in a very old 'Pruning tips' book, I did the cuts at a steep angle and brandished the wounds closed with a blowtorch (as a substitute for a red hot poker!), but have removed so much of it that I'm nervous that I may have killed the tree.
Is it possible to make branches from the 5' offcuts take root somehow, & what would be the best procedure if it is even possible?!

Thanks for taking the time to read this,
Pete

ANSWER: Hi Pete,
Thanx for your question and I apologize I could not get to you sooner.  I don't know how mulberries are in the U.K. but here in Middle America, one can hardly kill a mulberry and I consider them to be invasive pests.  One man's weed is another man's garden treasure.  I doubt that you have killed your tree and it is dormant right now.  Shoots will come out of the woodwork.  Just in case they don't, you can trim some of the thin, whip-like branches to about 6 inch segments, dip in a good rooting hormone and place them about an inch deep in warm, wet sand.  Keep the bottom warm and keep the entire planting sealed inside a clear plastic bag to conserve humidity and heat.  Rooting takes place in 8 weeks or so.  You will notice small leaves sprouting and you can probe gently around the cutting to look for root growth.  I hope this helps.
Tom

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QUESTION:  I'll try that out, Tom. As for one man's weed being another man's garden treasure, I was gob smacked to discover that some American gardeners grow 'ground elder' on purpose! Here it's considered the devil in plant form, sprouting from nowhere & spreading like wildfire!
Thanks for your advice,
Pete

Answer
Hi Pete,
It is interesting to me how a plant functions in one part of the world only to be a bane in another part of the world.  You are correct.  Here in Middle America the ground elder of which you speak is known as Bishop's Weed here and is fairly contained because we have a few weeks of vicious winter here.  It spreads slowly although I have read in Britain's climate, it spreads quickly.  By the way, I always find it interesting communicating with my English-speaking brothers and sisters around the world.  I was not familiar with the term "gobsmacked" although I'm familiar with a lot of British,Scottish,Welsh and Irish terms.  You threw a new on on me Pete and I'm a better man for it.  It was great to hear from you, Rule Brittania! and God save the Queen...and God Save America!  LOL.