I'm confused.  I know these, and other cultivars were on many peoples Figs 4 Fun Scion lists and we didn't get them, but now I see them on Ebay.

I was under the impression this was a non-profit foundation, and members of Figs 4 fun foundation would get first pick before ebay.  I was ok with one of you getting a cultivar over me, but ebay!

Now as usual, only those with the means (money) will have a chance at them.  While newbies will have to take years acquiring them.

I mean like whose gonna trade me a Col de Dame for Hardy Chicago, Scott's Blk, etc.?  It's gonna be a while.

The argument that newbies will kill them is ridiculous.  Many of us have been gardening for years, and rarely lose plants even in extreme drought circumstances.  Figs are relatively easy comparatively speaking to some other fruits.

I see what you are talking about:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Col-de-Dame-Fig-Tree-Cuttings-3010-A02-/281281774273?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417db342c1#ht_310wt_1232

He may have kept those two for himself or they were donated to be sold. It's not like he held back 20 cuttings and it is a fine line between the businesses.

Put your ucd order in by the November deadline for 2015 for anything you want.

not really. you can always order them from USDA/UCD. if things go as planned, you will get the cuttings by march of 2015. beside, jon is doing service to us. he really doesn't owe us anything. we don't "deserve" cuttings. sometimes we get it, some times we don't. 

Good point Bullet.

I see what your saying, but I wanted to vent anyway.

Not to mention, now that I mentioned that they are on EBAY, the price will go even higher!

So I am helping out....

problem with CdDs is they grow like a flag pole. hard to get a branch off them. i pinched it last fall. BM just grows really slow. i'm sure there will be something this fall.

I'm 100 percent behind Jon on selling these. I think his first priority should be this glorious foundation he has built. He needs to keep it running and if selling some highly sought after cuttings helps him attain his goal, then more power to him. We need to appreciate the big picture
Coop

If you are patient and make friends with people on the forum, there will be opportunities to aquire those varieties. It happened to me with black Madeira, I asked and asked and finally a very generous member gave them to me free. I will not mention names but I am very thankful to him. I will do the same for members on the forum.

It doesn't seem to say whether the Col de Dames are Noir, Blanc, or Gris.

Or doesn't it matter? Are all three varieties equally desirable?

Craig

I had to read and then reread this  because I didn't believe what I was reading. When did America change from the land of working for or earning what you get? When I want something I either save my money and buy it or I don't get it until I can afford it, it's that plain and simple.
  If a fig tree or cuttings come up for sale on ebay you are able to bid whatever you want to get it. Yes, the "good" figs are expensive and rightly so, but in a short time they will come down in price as the supply goes up.
  There's a saying that I like, "The longer you wait for something, the better it will be when you get it." Just my thoughts on the topic.

I have make a point here and hopefully not piss anyone off. You know, to say Jon's water bill is a lot is an under statement. And the same goes for his compost bill and not to mention the after work hours of working in a plant nursery. If the man wants to save some cuttings and list them on ebay for some extra cash, who are we to judge? Be mindful that WE got first dibbs on the cuttings and to me, that speaks volumes.

So, please very thankful and blessed to have what you have and think positive that one day your wants and needs will be met.

These cuttings don't belong to the Foundation, they belong to Jon.  The fact that Jon set some aside for ebay is a smart move on his part.  So I won't get Big Al this year.  Jon has to have money to support his > 1,000 trees and it doesn't all come from the $2 - $6 we pay per cutting.  He loses a fortune by offering them to us at a fraction of what they would go for on ebay.  We're essentially taking $$ out of his pocket.  (Not that that stops me :- )  It's Jon's personal desire that his fig cuttings get widely distributed to people who will maintain them.  He's said that.  He probably figures that the members here are more likely to be successful in growing and redistributing them than the general public.  That's the only imaginable reason that he sells ANY here.  These cuttings are the result of decades of his hard work.  He doesn't owe us anything.  And when the foundation is up and running, IT wont owe us anything. 

Without Jon at the helm (about 70 years from now) the Board may decide that ebay is the best way to sell all of the cuttings.  Think about it.  Maybe there were 10 CdD Gris cuttings for us @ $6/cutting.  On ebay they go for $50/cutting or more.  $440 down the drain.  Most of the cuttings Jon sells are rare and valuable, whether you're aware of the value of some of the lesser known ones or not.  If you think about 1200 trees, perhaps a total of 15,000 cuttings at  a loss averaging at least $15/cutting that's $225,000 he's let go to fulfill his dream.  Or if it's 7000 cuttings with an average loss of $10/cutting it's still a $70,000 gift he's giving us.  That's more than some of us make in 2 years!  I'd like to hear more about how amazingly generous Jon is than musings on how I wont get this or that fig.

Jon is above being generous. We have many new members joining daily and they have questions. It was a great question. The cuttings on Ebay are for his personal business that cost $$$ to run, specially in California with all the extra taxes.  I have bought fig trees from fellow collectors and always think of Jon, maybe because many come from his Nursery. Jon for me is like the Great Oz and he is amazing with all that he has done for the Fig Community.

i paid $$$ for a black madeira plant on ebay last year, but I will soon have an air layer and a couple rooted cuttings for trade or sale.  i expect the going price will be a little lower this year as supplies are up, but i think i will make back the investment, not to mention the joy of trying a fresh ripe black madeira fig this year.  i think the free market works making this variety available to more and more people over time.  I think the foundation is there to make sure the varieties are not lost over time as fig fashions come and go.

A lot of people will hate me for saying this but maybe Jon should triple or quadruple his cutting prices to help recoup some of his expenses.

how about them figs? i think he gets the msg. lot of folks feels that they need most desirable cuttings right now. and it's human to feel that way. i also did wonder how to get all those nice cuttings when i first joined the forum. everyone were trading the cuttings, getting more desirable ones.. as a newbie myself, i asked myself where was the source for all those nice cuttings. found out rather quickly, it's not the money that get you the cuttings. participation in the discussion, being a member of forum who can, in some small way, contribute to the forum. yes, it takes time. and sometimes it might rub wrong way with others. but the idea is to be a member of the forum. not just getting cuttings. this forum's name is figs4fun. have fun and the cuttings will come sooner or later. 

PM me in dec. i should have both CdDB and BM cuttings. as i mention, they are not exactly most productive varieties as far as growth of possible cuttings are concerned, but i should have at least one cuttings per tree. i already promised another member for air layer on BM.. so we'll see what comes out of it in dec. 

He is probably doing fine financially and just needs to continue whats best for him. He can go up or down, its up to him. Sometimes people want to Bless others. Great Comments and opinions, keep it coming.

I am changing my tune, he has some good ones on Ebay. Didn't check out the full story. Yeah the Black Portugese should be 3.99 ea....LOL

Hi Don. I as well am a rookie here at figs4fun and in fig growing in general. I'm just starting to get my feet wet and to be absolutely honest with you i am loving it.
Now that said i may be a rookie here but believe me when i tell you i am a veteran at other fields. You don't just waltz in and make demands. You should be thankful for anything you get whether it's a Brown Turkey or a Mavra/Vasilika. What ever happened to working your way up. I also have to agree with Scott. If you want something that bad save up for it. Purchase it. Raise the tree like your own child and when you prune it you can then trade your cuttings for something else or sell them or even offer them up for newbies to have and enjoy.

Be thankful you live in the USA and you can get cuttings relatively easily. Some of us don't have that luxury.

ok.. i'm not defending don. but he just had an opinion. it's doesn't go with my conservative streak thinking he should be entitled, but do we really have to throw heap on him? 

Pete i couldn't agree more with you. I too am usually quite laid back. But there is more than one way to present an opinion.
Being somewhat disrespectful in my opinion isn't a great way of doing it.

Don,

If you can find Figo Preto, it is known to be very similar to BM and even ripens a little earlier.

Just a thought, but it is possible the BM and CdD cuttings were assigned to an order that
didn't get paid for. I can't imagine the logistics nightmare of running the annual F4F cutting
offerings. I would guess that if someone is lucky enough to draw highly sought after cuttings
and then fails to pay, the cuttings probably end up on Ebay. Jon already put the effort into the initial
lottery, going through a couple more rounds for the popular left overs is too much to ask.

Or maybe he is just defraying expenses.

Either way, I'm extremely appreciative of the F4F lottery. I got 1 out of 5 I requested this year.
I'll be bidding on Ebay for a couple of un-fulfilled "wants" again this spring.

The one in the Ebay doesn't matchup with the one on the availability list.

From the availability list