What's wrong with me? This has become one of the most beautiful springs with desperately needed storms creating dramatic, picturesque skies and the blossoms bursting out all over - and here I am missing it all!
Jan 16, 2010
Tim, owner of Old Towne Nursery in Tehachapi, CA, shared with us the way he uses the Point of Sale pages to help sell his trees. He uses the large wooden fruit bins for holding the trees and attaches the laminated pages to the bins.
Jan 16, 2010
Point of Sale (POS) Information Pages
I am always amazed at the vast amount of knowledge every retail nursery person maintains in their heads. I have a hard time remembering all the details about our own products - to know the details of the thousands of other products is mind boggling.
But even if you know it all, you cannot always be available to answer every customer's question. You need the silent helpers in the form of Point of Sale signs.
Dec 02, 2009
4-N-1 Combination Fruit trees are popular - in spite of their cost. Let me tell you a little about the extra work that goes into making these premium trees.
Nov 30, 2009
Two Saturdays ago (11/14/09) I took my camera for a walk through one of our fruit tree production fields. This is a two year field with one year tops. Here is some of what I saw - a very pleasing field even for my critical eye.
The first section is in the Cherry block.
Nov 27, 2009
The Autumn Blaze Flowering Pear happens to be my favorite of the Calleryana Pears. This photo simply shows why.
On the left is Aristocrat Flowering Pear and the colorful row on the right is Autumn Blaze. It colors up magnificently every year - both in the cold winter areas but also in the mild winter areas like San Diego. It's fall colors are the earliest and the best of the pears that we grow - both in our climate and the mild winter climates where nice fall color is far harder to find.
My production people like it because it goes dormant earlier allowing us to balance the harvest workload.
I also like it because of how well it branches as a young tree and the branching is well behaved later in life, not like the Bradford which can have problems if not pruned properly in its early years.
Spring bloom is showy just like the other Pyrus calleryana pears.
Nov 25, 2009
Earlier I wrote about the Massively Fruiting Granny Smith Spur Apple. Today I get to show the real benefits of this tree.
Granny Smith Apples are not only great for fresh eating - they are excellent for making pies.
Oct 31, 2009
Over 700 high school students descended upon local nurseries October 29th.
L.E. Cooke Co and Monrovia Nurseries hosted the 8th annual "Futures in Horticulture" day which was attended by over 700 agricultural and science students from San Joaquin Valley high schools.
Oct 19, 2009
I have got to show you this tree! 
Not too impressed? OK, I should have said the fruit on the tree:
Oct 08, 2009
October Ripening Fruit
This time of year I wonder if we would be smart to open a roadside fruit stand.
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