[quote=“hoosierquilt, post:20, topic:9744”]
There is just some very specific behaviors on fig forums - all of them - that are unpleasant. I have exited all of them due to this particular behavior. I don’t fully grasp the entire dynamics of it, but it is very specific to the fig forums. I’ve not quite seen anything like it on any other forum I participate on, gardening or otherwise
[/quote]That is why I started my own fig forum. It’s technically for all plants, sort of became a fig and pomegranate forum. The other fig forums they do not want to moderate the forums at all, some of them seem to even like the disorder of the forums.
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I think I remember you from Jon’s forum, I am seriously thinking about leaving the fig community all together because it brings out the worst in people these days, I used to like it when it brought the best out of people. Now it’s like watching preschoolers fight over lollipops.
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The fig community is turning very cult like actually.
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The most well organized and most reliable source I’ve found for fig cuttings (with a huge variety) and it’s not even close -
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I know all about Harvey 
Yet I like many others loved the idea of the trees grown for us. At the time I bought I thought I would not have the resources to root my own cuttings since I planned so much more to go on than happened. plus I had 7 pomegranate plants to take care of, 4 citrus to take care of, I forget how many potted fig trees I had to take care of. Also people who kill the cuttings they try to root also loved the idea of cheap trees. I will give James a chance to make things right for everyone before I choose whether or not I’d fully trust James again.
Have you tried Harvey’s chestnuts?
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Not sure why my name ended up behind Mavra Sika… It is not my introduction and I warned Harvey that it was badly infected with FMV before we traded, I’ve since discarded it. Harvey was the only person I ever traded it to so he might as well use his own name 
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No. thx for info.
Thx for link! Yes it is very well organized with description and pictures!
Your name ended up on it because Harvey keeps meticulous records as to where he got his trees particularly for certain varieties which have identity issues. One of the largest problems in the fig community is that people are selling trees as a particular variety when they are not that variety or in some cases there may be closely related trees that are actually different but being sold as one variety. Even when it appears to be the same variety, some sources appear to produce trees that are much weaker in growth or more heavily infected with FMV or perhaps a different strain of FMV.
I did tell Harvey my source as well and there was no reason to suspect it was a different “version”. There is no info to find from me, so people are left to their imaginations and could be mistaken in thinking it is special.
I always let people know if a tree has FMV, or if I have not fruited/confirmed the variety. No secrets.
It’s not about secrets, it’s about sources. Even with wood he obtained from UC Davis trees, Harvey will specify that the wood came from their trees. UC Davis keeps track of their tree sources just as Harvey does. For some varieties of different fruit trees they may have wood from 3 or 4 different sources and it is sometimes clearly different. All major ag universities track their acquisitions just as Harvey does although their record keeping style may be different. Your name is an identifier of the source of the wood Harvey got from you. He may have wood from the same variety next year from a different source and the wood may look totally different.
Record keeping is different than marketing, one being private and the other being public. I appreciate that there is lots and lots of confusion regarding figs and in some cases adding additional info to the name is beneficial to the buyer, just not in this case.
I agree. Harvey lists it as “Brent’s Version” which suggests it’s different than the other Mavra Sika figs.
Saying “version” isn’t specifying where a tree comes from. To me it seems misleading.
Why do you think it’s marketing? He doesn’t do it for marketing purposes.
It only suggests that there may be a dispute somewhere about what the correct variety is. Are you saying there are no disputes anywhere about what the correct variety of Mavra Sika is?
It’s not misleading at all. It tells exactly where Harvey got the wood which is the only thing he knows with certainty.
I understand where hoosierbananna is coming from. I’d be a bit upset if I gave a cutting or scion to someone else, and they started selling it as VSOP’s variety.
I wouldn’t mind (very much ) if someone specifically inquired where it came from and my name came up, but as a very private person, I wouldn’t want my name attached to the product being sold as a matter of course.
At the very least, I think it would be common decency to ask instead of assume it would be ok to give out my name to all and sundry.
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[quote=“hoosierbanana, post:30, topic:9744”]
I did tell Harvey my source as well and there was no reason to suspect it was a different “version”.
[/quote]if you had given me cuttings from the same tree I would have either written down your source, or that person’s source, I would have listed as far back as I could. Yet I would have listed in my notes, the trail of people who supplied it, only telling people that much detail if they request details.[quote=“castanea, post:29, topic:9744”]
Your name ended up on it because Harvey keeps meticulous records as to where he got his trees particularly for certain varieties
[/quote]I think it should come down to what Harvey should keep in his own notes, and what he should just give out publicly. The thing is that Harvey is so busy, his fig tree business is only a small part of the work he does on his farm. I think that Harvey should put the name of hoosierbanana’s source or maybe even find out hoosierbanana’s source’s source and use that. Like I mentioned to hoosierbanana, If people request more info then Harvey could tell them more details. Some people might want to know if the nasty FMV can be traced to a certain supplier, or it happened farther back that it can be traced. Other than that I see no reason to know any more detail than just one of the people before hoosierbanana.
Harvey is attaching the name to tell buyers where it came from and differentiate it from other sources. If you gave wood to a university they would always keep your name on file and provide it to anyone who wanted it. If there is confusion with regard to a particular variety they will list the source name whether anyone asks or not. They do this to help accurately identify varieties which is the same reason Harvey does it. Harvey is also very precise with the names he uses. Lebanese Red and Red Lebanese for example are two different fig varieties. Some sellers don’t seem to be keeping the names straight but Harvey does. I certainly understand why some people might be annoyed by having their history attached to a variety but everyone who sells it later should be doing it. The big issue is accurate scientific identification of all fruit and nut trees. With figs in particular the biggest problem is massive misidentification and outright fraud in the fig cuttings business. Cuttings of some varieties on ebay can go for over $500. Harvey wants his buyers to know exactly where his trees originated, unlike most ebay sellers, some of whom are making a lot of money on misidentified cuttings. Because he lists sources is just one of the reasons Harvey is the most credible and reliable private source for fig cuttings. You can go to some other sellers and they will be glad to provide a buyer with $100 cuttings with no source. Does that make a buyer feel better or worse?
I’m not sure what you are confused about. Marketing is a broad term and you can’t avoid doing it when you sell something. Specifically, identifying a product with a name is marketing, even if nothing is added or taken away from the name it identifies the product and therefore is a part of marketing.
I went back and read my messages with Harvey, apparently the FMV or source never came up unless a message got lost somewhere. Believe it or not, both topics have been/are considered taboo by some people. I had a terrible fig bud mite infection later that year which spread FMV to many of my plants so Mavra Sika might not have had any symptoms when he and I traded. Of course the experience changed my perspective about disclosure about pests and viruses.
I traded 3 other varieties with him and my name is not behind those, so it is just not consistent with simple disclosure.
Just regarding FMV, Harvey has apparently had good luck grafting onto vigorous rootstock and getting plants to push out of FMV. No comment on the rest.