That inner feeling you had was correct. Have a look at this thread:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/gagarden/msg0814415010072.html
The company that offers those selections has very bad ratings.

One mulberry that will be hardy in WI is the Red Mulberry (Morus rubra).

I forgot to put the link in the helpful link box. Here it is:

Here is a link that might be useful: Mulberry Co. Link

We have Mulberries growing all over around here, 2 hr. north of Madison. They spread quickly by seed just in my lifetime, and I always thought they were a kind of wild tree like the elderberry.

Would these be the Morus rubra? Berries are plentiful and tasty, but I guess they have a cycle of good years and bad years.

There are native (not planted by humans) Red Mulberry trees in WI. The map at the link below shows the locations that have been documented by the WI State Herbarium. Here's a photo of what the berries look like:
http://www.botany.wisc.edu/wisflora/pictures/xl_photos/MORRUB_RWF1_XL.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1351927}}

They didn't have my counties on the map, but then the ones I've seen has always had the parent tree near homesteads.

Thanks for the link :)

Die-Back? What should I expect die-back to look like? These are 4-5 foot trees and the ends are yellow and soggy. The bark on the main trunk peels off pretty deeply with the rub of my thumb. Do you think the root system is still intact? I keep reading that these Red Mulberry should survive in Madison Wi.

What you're describing sounds like a lot more than winter dieback. The link below describes some of the winter injuries that can happen to trees. It also has some good ideas on how to minimize the problem of winter injury. Since Red Mulberry is a fast growing tree, it is quite susceptible to some winter injury when it's young. Combine that with an extreme winter, and the damage can be severe.

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Damage to Trees

I am just south of Madison.

I have eight natural mulberries growing on my place.I regularly cut new saplings down.

Actually I have eleven, but three were growing close together as small saplings, and a friend, thirty five years ago braided them as a joke. Now they appear to be one tree with the root system melded and a braided trunk.

I may cut it down this year as it has been deteriorating for the last few years

Moreover, the mulberries drop, rot,ferment, and stink. The birds chomp them down which results in purple bird droppings all around the place. If it stays for more than a day or two on a light colored car it stains.

Hi,

I have a couple of questions regarding Mulberries:

1. I read that Morus rubra (the US native mulberry) only grows to 20' in the northeast - that it only grows to 50 or 70 in the south or mid west? I live in NJ and hope that the tree is a small one (as in around 20').

2. Will the taste of Morus rubra's berries be significantly worse then the commercial M. alba x M. rubra hybrids, such as 'Illinois Everbearing'?

3. I really want(ed) to stick with the native variety (M. rubra), but don't want to significantly compromise on taste - could I graft a M. rubra limb onto my non-native M. alba x M. rubra hybrid (sapling) so that I have both varieties - I'll actually end up just keeping most of the tree M. rubra and only a single maintained limb of the original hybrid.

4. Will grafting the M. rubra onto the M. alba (x M. rubra) rootstock minimize the risk that M. rubra often experiences of root disease (spread by M. alba)? I figure that since the roots are not M. rubra's (at least I think they don't use M. rubra to do grafts) this would be an advantage.

5. Is M. rubra self-fertile - some sites say yes - and some say that it varies. I guess if it's female, the M. alba x M. rubra self-fertile limb would fertilize it.

6. Do you think that a 10' tall and wide Mulberry tree provides all the fruit one would want; if so, I might keep it pruned small.

Thanks,
Steve

Has anyone found Morus Rubus for sale in WI? I am also looking for one for my husband.

Hey, if anyone has any baby mulberry trees that they would want to part with, especially sucker types as long as they have some roots, I would love em. My sis has an incredible huge black mulberry tree, and I could graft her variety onto them. I will share too......thanks!!