Blog Entries

Weeping Double Red Flowering Peach - Edible Fruit?

ron@lecooke.com — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Question: Is the Weeping Double Red Flowering Peach tree supposed to produce peaches? We have had it for 3 years and it is about 8' tall and it produces peaches but they stop growing shortly after the produce. We only have one tree are we supposed to have two for pollination? We have been to the nursery but they can not seem to answer our questions.

Thanks, Julie - Prattville, Alabama

Answer: Most fruit trees (but not all) that are known fo [...]

How Much Sun for Wisteria?

ron@lecooke.com — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Question: how many hours of full sun is minimum for Cookes Purple Wisteria. I want to plant along a porch but it is shaded in morning.Valerie - Clearlake, CA
Answer: Wisteria thrives in full sun. That being said, I often see it planted on stout patio canopies and Arbors where it only gets sun half the day - the house or building shading it the rest of the day.Here is an example:

This peach is aproxamately the size of a softball at ripen, it is a white meat and not nearly as sweet as the golden meated peaches. It also is a freestone and has a [...]

Kiowa Blackberries - On Steroids?

ron@lecooke.com — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

When my father, Bob Ludekens, was on his sales trip to Oklahoma in June, he saw blackberries larger than he had ever seen before.

Jean Snow showing Kiowa Blackberry from 2010 crop.

He had stopped by our long time customer Sorghum Mill Tree and Blackberry Farm in Edmond, Oklahoma. Owner John Knight had shown him these humongous Kiowa B [...]

Thumbs Up

ron@lecooke.com — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Today we culminated a week of sales training with a walk through the fields and budwood orchards.

As we passed the ripe Donut (Saturn) Peaches and were refreshing ourselves with their sweet, sugery goodness, I recalled a conversation I had with a customer earlier this year in Texas. As I [...]

No One Leaves Blue

ron@lecooke.com — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Front Page News - Very Delicious

Denise Fugate, owner of Primarily Perennials by Denise, picks blueberries. Porterville Recorder Photo by Reneh Agha

We were pleased to see one of our customers featured [...]

Lilac Posters - Pre-Selling Idea

ron@lecooke.com — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0100

In recent years I have had mixed feeling about our Lilac Poster.

This poster was the first (and so far only) poster we have made and I had high expectations for it back in the days before we even had a website. It was originally received well and continues to be re [...]

L.E. Cooke In The News

ron@lecooke.com — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0100

I really appreciated Nursery Management Production magazine and Kelli Rodda for the cover exposure and nicely written story in the April 2010 issue of NM-Pro magazine. The article was concisely written and conveyed accurately the "flavor" (pun intended) of what we are about. Of course they [...]

Beautiful Central Texas

ron@lecooke.com — Mon, 03 May 2010 08:00:00 +0100

I just returned yesterday from a marvelous two week sales trip into central Texas (roughly covering from San Antonio to Fort Worth). Now, to be honest, I have only been to Texas in August - always tied in with the annual TNLA trade show. My impressions had always been [...]

Showy Spring Bloom on Burgundy Plums

ron@lecooke.com — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Burgundy Plum Spring Bloom

Everyone first notices the unusual (for us anyway) formation of the clouds in this photo.

Burgundy Plum B [...]

Pink Perfection Flowering Crabapple

ron@lecooke.com — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100

I have a favorite Flowering Crabapple. When it is in bloom, in my mind nothing compares to it.

Pink Perfection Flowering Crabapple

The Pink Perfection Flowering Crabapple out shines every other tree in our budwood orchard when it is i [...]

Spring Has Sprung!

ron@lecooke.com — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100

At last! The long days and nights to finish the 2010-11 catalog are over. It is at the printer's and we will begin mailing it out this week. Now I have a little more time to enjoy the blessings of spring.

Prairifire Flowering Crabapples and California Poppies out [...]

Spring Time - in the Dark

ron@lecooke.com — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:11:49 +0100

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!

Red Baron Fruiting/Fl [...]

Point of Sale Application Ideas

ron@lecooke.com — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100

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.

[...]

Point Of Sale Information Pages

ron@lecooke.com — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100

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.

We hav [...]

4-N-1 Combination Apples and Pears

ron@lecooke.com — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:00:00 +0100

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.

Here is a row of Cold Climate 4-N-1 Apples

First, you will notice they are widely spaced in the row. To get a well balanced head, we cannot plant them 6 to 9 inches apar [...]

Field Walk - Finished Fruit Trees

ron@lecooke.com — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0100

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.

Bing Cherries - Standard

Granny Smith Apples are not only great for fresh eating - they are excellent for making pies.