Hello Folks,
This is James from Queens NY. I just joined this forum although I was around informally reading certain posts by Lampo, Herman, Harvey etc. I've got a humble collection and would like to add few more this year. I am looking for Violeta, I-258, Fico Gentile, Sofeno Preto and few others and found a seller on Facebook. His name is Ercan. I thought he was from the states but realised that he's from Turkey. Harvey mentioned to ask around on forums before going for any purchase. Has anyone bought any cuttings from this guy?. He offered me Violeta, Sofeno Preto, Brebera Preta, Paraiso, Bebera Branca, Camada 7 (Pingo de mel strain),Perola, Fico Gentile and Citrulara. Most of the pics he showed me were taken from members of this forum (please see below the pics he showed me) and convinced me that he acquired these varieties from Francisco and other members 3 years ago and his trees are big especially the Violeta. It's $30 for each cutting and with shipping he's asking for $520. I don't know if the price is right seems ok but I just wanted to ask your opinion before I pay for it. Hope it's not much to ask.

All the best,
James

Hi James... Welcome to the forum... I can't opine on Ercan as I have no personal experience with him although he is on FB and I do follow him and comment on his pics of figs.... He certainly posts some beautiful figs and if it were legal to do so, I would likely try and acquire some of them from him. The key point I would like to try and make is that acquiring fig cuttings from overseas and having them shipped into the US is ILLEGAL.... Big brother is watching and if the USDA becomes aware of your purchase activities, they will come after you... In most cases they confiscate and warn you on the first incident... after that the rules change and how they choose to proceed is up to them.

Don't get me wrong, people do acquire varieties from overseas via various channels... My recommendation would be to seek out the US based folks that are second and third generations growers of the varieties you desire and purchase from them. Wills and harvey and numerous others are excellent sources of well establish multi generation exotic varieties where your purchases are perfectly legal and you don't need to worry about the man and when he will come knocking on your door...

Best of luck in your pursuit and welcome to the forum...

Tony

James, I am new to collecting figs, too. Tony's advice is absolutely right! Not only is it illegal to import plants from foreign countries without a lot of phytosanitary inspections and legal paperwork, but we also risk accidentally importing foreign plant pests or plants infected with diseases that might hurt our fig collections and fig crops.

Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) is a fruit fly native to Asia. SWD infects developing fruits including figs with bacteria so that they rot and turn sour. SWD was introduced into Hawaii in the 1980s, and first discovered in California in 2008. Since then it has spread to all but 8 U.S. states, even though this insect cannot fly very far by itself. http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/109283 

Tony and Crademan,

Thanks for that. I will not buy cuttings from him, will wait for figaholics Jan 2018 sale.

Best
James

James...  A lot of us tech folks are into figs... How big is your setup? How do you overwinter? Back in a day, I worked at 1 Court Sq in LIC also in tech, I had a great windowed corner office on the 45th floor of the building.... Wish I still had that office, I used to have sills full of banana trees as well as other trees... i could overwinter a boatload of my fig plants on those sills and with the exposure, they would likely have never gone dormant...

I have bought from him. I know him. He's a con artist. He lives in an apartment with his wife in Bursa, he takes pictures of the countryside and claims that that is his farm. He has no farm. He claims to teach English yet his English is awful for a teacher so I rather doubt he does that also. If you ask him if he has a fig that you know doesn't exist outside of the States he will more than likely say he has it or he can get it.

He bought a cutting from my friend in the spring of this year and now claims it's a 2 - 3 year old Gentile, it's not. it's a cutting from February, I believe. This is the reply from a friend of my friend who asked on his behalf on Ercans new group...

Most of those photos are not his to use because they belong to a good friend of mine. Someone on this forum. 99% of the figs Ercan sells don't exist in his 300+ 'collection', most of the figs he sells are smyrnas and will never ripen if there is no fig wasps so he can call them whatever the hell he wants because very few people will ever discover what the really bought. Ercan even sells his smyrna figs to a German fig nursery - hortensis.de

Be extremely cautious with Ercan because he is very far removed from what he purports to be. He begged for a cutting from someone in Europe. The guy he got it from told him that since it was him who discovered the fig Ercan couldn't sell it. Well, he sold it for a small fortune in Asia. Do not be tempted by his BS!

Thanks guys,
Just got the internet finally at the airport. This is my first ever post and what I'm reading here is absolutely shocking. I don't wish to start any trouble as I was only looking for some guidance. The guy seems a bit doggy as he insisted to make the payment ASAP even tho I clearly mentioned that I'm in Florida for a business trip till Monday also send me like 6 private messages asking to delete this thread. Now I know few respected sellers in the US and will only buy from them.
Tony, I work in the petroleum industry and 70% of the time I'm travelling. I might settle down eventually. I've only got a VDB and Celeste. My dad takes care of it. I was actually buying those cuttings for him. Take care, speak soon.

You're not causing any trouble, you're only looking for advice and if any of us know the answer you will get it. There are just a few rotten apples out there and they make a great deal of money sometimes.

Kelo thanks for this information. Hopefully Ercan will respond to these accusations. I have been chatting with him lately. This is eye opening

Several of us have been taken in by him but I have it from a person of high regard within the fig world that Ercan is a fraudster beyond any doubt. His selling to that German nursery is disturbing to say the least. Lord knows what he's done in that regard.