'Mulberry rain' a fleeting, unique occurrence

Dear readers, waking on this past Wednesday morning, after the truly brisk temperatures Albuquerque experienced Tuesday night, I was witness to one of my absolute favorite natural phenomenons that we have here in the Metro area. I’m talking about the “mulberry rain.”

Years ago, having recognized my first mulberry rain, I look forward to seeing it time and time again. It’s a fleeting happenstance, but nonetheless remarkable.

Since the temperatures fell to those chilly 20s, most all the mulberry trees still wearing leaves suffered a good frosting. Wednesday morning dawned bright and quite windless, but there was just enough air movement that made the “rain.” The top most leaves fall first usually and as they clink their way towards the ground, other leaves are bumped and dislodged. As the internal leaves get clinked by the ones dropping from above them, it starts to rain whole finished mulberry leaves.

If you are lucky enough, you can stand beneath a loaded mulberry and become covered with leaves. Watching as the trees shed this past year’s growth, so gently and in my opinion so beautifully, is something I look forward to. The mulberry rain is usually completed by noon, so if you miss it, well, you’ll need to wait another year to see a mulberry rain. The deep carpet created by this mass shed is a marvel too. Since it’s so contained, it’s easier to tidy up.

Now on that note I was sent a message from J.E. offering information about leaving the leaves. The info was from the fall edition of the BioScape (from the New Mexico BioPark Society) suggesting that rather than tidy up leaves for the upcoming city green cycle event, “people should resist the rake this fall — that is, leave some of those leaves right where they are. That’s because many pollinators live and overwinter in that layer of organic matter. ... Leaves also boost soil health as they decompose, and they help cool root zones come summer.”

That’s good information and I can see leaving the leaves in a perennial bed, tucking in a veggie garden for the winter, or filling water moats around established trees and shrubs. However, I believe that the city’s green cycle event is more focused on tidying up the hardscape. I refuse to leave piles of leaves/twigs/seedpods on my rock beds. I will fastidiously sweep up all the sidewalks and driveways on my property. I find it odd that there are many that leave the leaves for the wind to move along.

Keeping leaves and twigs swept up from the corners of the patio is a definite for sure. See spiders, (yes I know they are beneficial), creep me out. So by tidying up all of my edges, walkways, driveways and patios I will usually collect two or three bags of green waste the city will whisk away.

There are also a couple of shrubs that get pruned and the notorious trumpet vines that successfully invade my yard annually, so those bound-up branches and trimmings go away too. Leave the leaves where they can do some good, sure. Just not on my sidewalks and driveways, where they can easily become a slip hazard if wet. Tucked into corners, allowing spiders and the occasional centipede a cozy place to hang out — never. The city green cycle event has its purpose and I sincerely hope that it’s utilized.

Happy Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.