Where did Sequoia Strawberry go for 2017-18?

PEACHY KEEN® PEACH(Prunus persica sp.) August 2011 I met with 154 Central Coast Chapter Rare Fruit Growers at the home of Clifford Chapman in Shell Beach, CA.  After the meeting Joe Sabol with Cal Poly, SLO asked about the L. E. Cooke Co growing Mr. Chapman’s seedling peach.  Several people spoke of the quality and great flavor. They went west of the home into the sand from the beach and cut budwood for me to…

PERSIMMONS(Perceptions Change Slowly) Fuyu (Jiro) Persimmon (#1 seller)   There has been confusion on persimmons. Our United States American persimmon was not very edible so the market production of fruit was slow and the public showed no interest to sample. Japan and China grew the persimmon and the Japanese sold them in Europe. By the time these arrived in California, the names were mixed and new crosses and rootstock confusion. Orange County Nursery became the…

GOLDEN NECTAR PLUM The Golden Nectar Plum is patent #4977, granted January 25, 1983. The plum is a seedling from a Mariposa Plum orchard in Exeter.  The Golden Nectar was discovered by Bill Hengst.  This gold plum is the most unusual to be introduced.  First the parent is an all red skin and flesh Japanese plum.  There is no resemblance to the parent tree. The L. E. Cooke Co was fortunate to learn about this…

FLOWERING APRICOTS Flowering apricots are deciduous trees with very early colorful flowers.  In the mild winter areas these varieties often bloom in late January with bright reds, pinks, or white flowers.  The flowers progress up the new limbs with color for several weeks. What make them different are the bold colors as a tree that can be seen for a long distance when no other tree is in bloom and deciduous trees are still dormant. …

Danica™ Althea – Danica™ Rose of SharonHibiscus syriacus 'Variegata' Stunning picotee flowers in abundance during the summer. Like a white carnation dipped in red ink. Dark green foliage. Fast growing to 8-10 ft high x 6-8 ft wide. Plant in full sun. Drought tolerant once established. Adaptable to most well drained soils. Cold hardy to USDA Zone 5. This plant is special in many ways. From first leaf in spring to late October (Central California)…

Pecans, walnuts, and almonds possess much the same attributes giving these nuts a blanket title of “Superfoods”.  Where they differentiate is in the levels of nutrients they contain. ALMONDS Almonds are a complete source of energy as well as nutrition; high in dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and other health promoting phyto-chemicals. A handful of nuts a day provides much of the recommended amounts of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Almonds are rich in oleic and palmitoleic…

JULY GOLDEN APPLE(Malus domestica) July Golden Apple Grant Merrill introduced many fruit varieties at the California Research Station in Red Bluff, CA.  He retired and moved to Visalia and gave a new apple tree he was researching to a neighbor of ours.  They were to grow it and he would review it later.  Unfortunately he passed away. This variety was a Golden Delicious apple that produced large quality apples in July.  His review was to…