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mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
Wow. I bought this as a 2 year old tree in 07 or 08 and this is my first fig. I've had no problems with the plant - no signs of FMV, etc. but she just wasn't ready to give up any figs -- til now. I will definitely keep this tree as these are pretty figs and even though this first one is a day early it was magnificent!
This is my favorite light fig. What a mellow and sweet very very clean flavor. Incredibly mouth watering after taste.
It better not take 7 more years!
I came so close to trashing this one this year - it must have got the vibe.
Thanks for looking.

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Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list:   Perretta, 

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
You were patient for a long time!  Glad your tree finally came through for you!  May you have many more happy years with it!

Suzi
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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
That is good to hear.
I have one that is three years old and a very large ,vigorous grower.  Even with pinching at every 4th or 5th leaf there was no sign of fruit this season.
Was thinking of sending it to Martin for his burn barrel treatment.
You have convinced me to keep it for now.
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
And I gave mine away. What was I thinking?
Now I'm going to bang my head on the brick wall, hope the wall doesn't break before I am unconsious.

Great fig BTW, thanks for sharing
drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Happy to send you cuttings rafed whenever you want.
Mine came from cuttings from Jon at Encanto. Listed as Mary Lane Seedless .
Probably too late to start an airlayer here in NH.
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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rafed

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Thanks Kerry but I will wait.
Let me know what you need.
drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
Thanks rafed.
Here is what I need :
I need more space for figs.
Someday I hope to get Maltese Beauty.
And I need my Mary Lane Seedless to produce great figs like Michael posted above.
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
I just had one fig on my first year old Marylane seedless which I bought from a nursery.
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of this beautiful fig.
The eye was totally closed as I had to look for it.
The size of this fig is the size of a Celeste. The flavor is very uniquely refreshing and sweet.
This fig tree is a keeper.

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jpeg 20131011_Marylane.JPG (249.91 KB, 149 views)
jpeg 20131011_Marylane_2.JPG (255.08 KB, 154 views)


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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Reading above I was  bummed that I bought a Mary Lane, because of the long time to bear, but then I got  down to Sas's comment about a first year fig. That  was good news.[image]  I'm 8A too. Here's hoping.   It looks like a good fig. I hope we all get to know first hand.
Soni
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
My ML is on probation for another year. I've read good reviews about it, but it was only fair-tasting to me this year. The one I tasted was grown from a cutting purchased from Jon. It was extremely virused during rooting (the worst of any cutting I've started), but the one that managed to survive seems to have pulled out of that vegetatively. Still not sure it's a keeper however. Maybe the level of virus infection affects flavor too.

Glad others are having good luck with it. :)
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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
I like the looks of it and it sounds really nice.  Mine are only 1yr old no sign of anything yet.  Thanks for sharing

goss
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mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
My MLS produced a bumper crop that started ripening on September 8th and there are still a few left. Once again this was a wonderful fig although the really pretty colors weren't as nice on the first ones that ripened. Perhaps the rainy spring was responsible.
The fruit varied quite a bit in size.
Somehow I got talked out of the cuttings I rooted that I was planning on keeping so I'll have to root a couple more for myself. I went out of my way to get a bunch of yellow figs this year so I can compare them with the MLS. Yellow figs are certainly attractive.
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Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list:   Perretta, 
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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Great motivation here. I have a Mary Lane Seedless and now at least I know I have to wait a looong while for fruit!  I wont get my hopes up for figs for a few years and just let myself be surprised when they decide to show up.
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Sarah
greater Portland, Oregon area
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DallasFigs

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Nice looking fig.  Looks yummy.  Can't wait for mine to produce.  Hope I don't have to wait as long as you did, Michael. It's been growing nicely, but no sign of fruit. My cutting came from Kerry (Thanks Kerry).  I had been debating keeping it or giving it away.  I gave away one already.  Can't remember who got it.
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James - Irving, TX - Zone: 8a

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MichaelTucson

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Very nice looking figs, Michael.  You too Sas.  Michael, I'm so glad to hear you got a bumper crop of these this year.  I had considered growing this one because I wanted to try out one of the "seedless" varieties (I ended up getting Janice Seedless instead).  Your report is making me think of trying this one too.  :-)    Nice pics, and nice report.

Mike  central NY state, zone 5a
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mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
thx Mike. PM me when dormancy starts if you want to try my MLS. 

Gina, mine's not shown any signs of FMV. Just let me know if you want to swap yours out.

Sas, I'll be very interested in pictures of the next crop as your fig.

James -- good luck. I came very close to dumping a fig I now consider one of my favorites.
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Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list:   Perretta, 
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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
I hate to be on the negative side of this thread, Michael, but my MLS, rooted in spring 2010 and delivering its 2nd crop for me this year, still teeters on the precipice of my fig discard pit. It has grown fairly well for me and was among the most productive of the my wildly unproductive figs this year, its most positive trait. Note: I set almost all of my collection back with far too vigorous root pruning, root butchering being a more apt description of the fig root abattoir my garage became last February.

Anyway, personal fig failings aside, I remain unimpressed with the taste. It's sweet, but there is not a great deal of character to the flavor beyond that sweetness. Perhaps it's taste relates to my particular growing conditions. I put it in the same taste class as Peter's Honey and White TX Everbearing (the same fig in my collection, though from two different sources) and Alma. I find all of them sweet but fairly bland. If it delivers the same again next year, as I'm doing with those other figs this winter, I'm selling it to somebody for whom fig sweetness without complexity is not an issue.   
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Neil
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mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
Neil,
Was that MLS from Me? Sorry - still suffering from halfhymers. If so I'll trade back for it in a heartbeat.
thx
mgg
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Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list:   Perretta, 
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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
My cuttings came from UCD, Michael. Thanks for the offer, though, and you're welcome to the tree if I do decide to part with it. It may be that it's a fine fruit and it's simply my palate in play here.

When it comes to fruit flavors, complexity is always a plus in my book. This is pretty much true across the board. Some folks love persimmons. My wife makes tremendous cookies out of them, but the unadulterated fruit bores me no end. I've eaten them mushy ripe and hard like an apple and it's always the same.
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Neil
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mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
Neil,
MLS is not a complex fig flavor-wise and perhaps you are just not a good match. I appreciate the offer but I'm not interested in the UCD one as mine hasn't shown any signs of FMV and I think I'll root a couple more of mine. Face it buddy your palate just has no patience and isn't interested in subtlety. I'll think on which figs were "intense" this year and maybe we can come up with something that's 180 proof fig-wise.
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Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list:   Perretta, 
Tam

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
Michael and Sas: Very nice and tasty figs, thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam
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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
But I'm so subtle in every other aspect of my life. I laugh at fart jokes (and farts!)...every time; I enjoy movies sensitive types gush about: Pacific Rim , the LOTR trilogy, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy (all childhood fantasy stuff for me) and Die Hard just a few stellar efforts among many in the pantheon subtle cinema; garlic, onions and chiles, a triad of easy to overlook flavors, are the base material of much of my cooking; I like half the sugar and a healthy shot of lemon juice in my raspberry jam recipe; I NEVER TYPE IN ALL CAPS, thus proving that I am a veritable Renaissance Man of subtlety. Why in the world would you conclude that I might not be able to appreciate a fig like MLS?

Really, though, there is a small corner of my taste buds that appreciate a honey fig. I like Lattarula. It's got plenty of sweetness, though isn't as sticky sweet as the others I mentioned, but it's juicier and has a certain depth of flavor that I enjoy. It's not my favorite fig by a long shot, but it will always have a home in my collection. I hope the search for the 180 proof fig doesn't prove too taxing.

Nice to see you actively posting, buddy. 
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Neil
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #23 


I think that this fig deserves some attention. First of all it is seedless for those who do not like seeds and at that time I thought that it tasted as sweet as a Celeste if not more.
I'm not sure how many figs out there are seedless. The experiences of other members in this thread tells me that this fig is moody.
Here in Texas, it's sitting in a 5 gallon container in full sun where the temperature on some days could easily go over 100 degrees. I still have a couple of figs that are not ripe yet.
I irrigate it with a 1 gallon/hour drip irrigation head for 30 min per day. So it gets about 1/2 gallon per day on hot days and perhaps less as I loose pressure half way through the line.
I gave it a hand full of Osmocote when I re-pot it it in the spring and nothing else the whole summer.
I  usually like dark figs. But this one surely fooled me as to how good it was.  It had a tropical fruit flavor closer to a banana than a strawberry which makes
it different than any other fig I currently have. I'm speculating that those brown spots are sugar burns, something you'd see on ripe fruits that are usually packed with sugar.
I cannot wait to try my second fig and report again. I'm hoping that perhaps next year it will be more productive.
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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
James, you gave me the other Mary Lane Seedless (thanks).  It put on a ton of new growth this summer but it looks very infected with FMV.  Nearly all of the new leaves are deformed.  I'm hoping in the spring it'll snap out of it with a good dose of fertilizer.  

Sas, I'm looking for ward to hearing your description on the 2nd fig.  So far, I'm really liking your description of this fig.
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #25 
It's starting to get a little chilly today but I thought I'd take some photos of my plant for reference. You can see the unripe figs and the interesting shape of the leaves ready to drop.

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jpeg 20131016_MS.JPG (525.60 KB, 74 views)
jpeg 20131016_MS5.JPG (565.43 KB, 71 views)


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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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Posted Reply with quote  #26 
Sas, I don't recall the leaves on mine looking like yours. I got mine from Jon as a cutting, probably around 6-7 yrs ago. Still no fruit while everything else fruits immediately w a little phos. Very frustrating. By one of the fruit pics from mgginva and your comments about the flavor, I wonder if this fig is different from the banana fig? Sure looks similar in pics. Also, I think the early ripening one is a different cultivar. Mine hasn't even had an embryo no matter what I've tried in all theses yrs. good thing I'm patient w my fig love. :)
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #27 
It's starting to go dormant. Here are the leaves.

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jpeg 20131115_MS.JPG (406.17 KB, 29 views)
jpeg 20131115_MS2.JPG (448.82 KB, 28 views)


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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #28 
It looks like when the plant is still young, leaves could have all kinds of shapes. So I would not go by that alone.
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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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Posted Reply with quote  #29 
My  Mery Lane cuttings all had figs the 2nd summer but the roots were crowded . Rex
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Posted Reply with quote  #30 
Just wanted to check on this one again, see what folks think who have it.  I just had my first fig of this variety from my 3 year old tree.  It was definitely seedless, yellow inside and out as the photo above.  Taste was blah though.  Not even that sweet.  Maybe I didn't let it get ripe enough, I don't know.  To be honest the complete lack of seeds threw me off too.  I've come to expect the seedy crunch in figs, so it felt like something was missing. 

Maybe my palate is like Neil's.  I don't think Peter's Honey is that great either.  Not going to give up just yet, but it's definitely still trying to earn its spot in my collection. 
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Rob
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Posted Reply with quote  #31 
My opinion hasn't changed from last year, Rob. It's a productive tree for me, but the fruit just doesn't peg my flavor meter. I'm selling it next spring to some lucky local who likes sweet but not rich flavor and doesn't want to wait a couple of years for a nice crop of figs.
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Neil
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #32 
Just picked another fig today. The flavor was not intense after two days of rain. It's was sweet with a diluted tropical flavor such as fig/Pineapples perhaps.
(One cannot be too accurate when describing a flavor.)
This year it is not my favorite fruit on the high heat unit list as it needs hot weather to ripen.
However it has one good thing going for it besides being sweet,  it's seedless for people who cannot eat seeds.
If you are looking for an intense and complex fig/berry flavor for example you must look elsewhere.



20140919 MS.JPG

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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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Rob

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Posted Reply with quote  #33 
Well if anyone is looking for a 3 year old Mary Lane Seedless, I am willing to sell/trade it.  I can bare root it in a month or two and ship it out.
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mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #34 
Still loving mine after buying in 07.
I'm beginning to think there is more then one cultivar as mine just don't match most other pictures.
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Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list:   Perretta, 
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Posted Reply with quote  #35 
Looks tasty to me! Adding another to the wish list. Nice photos too
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Jenn
Austin, TX Zone 8b

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Will hopefully have cuttings to trade next year as my yearlings mature
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Posted Reply with quote  #36 
mgginva mine looks like yours and are bigger then celeste.
No tropical flavors just honey sweet goodness and basically seedless
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mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #37 
Daniel.
Where did you get your MLS?
Sounds like you have the same one I have. Real nice clean flavor. I love the berry tasting figs like RdB and these MLS are perfect for eating between "courses" -- just like sorbet.
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Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list:   Perretta, 
Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #38 
I agree with Michael. I was thinking last night that it might be great for making seedless jam. Unfortunately I don't have enough to try it.
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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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Posted Reply with quote  #39 
We love our Mary Lane. Got it by default plus a few others when buyer who piggy-back on my order to Jon to share shipping
and phyto-certification costs decided to quietly fade away. I ended up paying for the plants and all the costs of importation. It
was an internet fig hobbyist I never met from USA and has a 2nd home in Vancouver.
GRamaley

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Posted Reply with quote  #40 
I hope mine works out someday, I have not had any cuttings do well, I still have one with leaves but not many roots... sounds like it is worth the trouble so i will keep trying..
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Gloria
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7a, maybe 8
mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #41 
Gloria,
If you need cuttings PM me after dormancy,
mgg
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Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list:   Perretta, 
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Posted Reply with quote  #42 
Will do Michael!!
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Gloria
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Posted Reply with quote  #43 
Wow this is great news.  My Mary Lane seedless (from Jon) are growing like weeds.  It's only a year old.  I'll try and snap a picture of it.
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