L.E. Cooke Blog

Tuesday, 21 June 2011 18:45

Lavender Twist® Redbud - Field Shots

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Rows of Lavender Twist® Redbuds James Shao braved the 105 degree heat today to photograph the Lavender Twist® Redbuds (Cercis canadensis 'Covey') in our production field for one of his customers. I thought we might as well share the images with everyone else too. They have good size already this early in the season so harvest size should be very nice again this year. Last fall we took some field shots when they were dormant…
Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:34

Bravo Lake Botanical Gardens

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Last Saturday my wife and I drove to Woodlake to enjoy the Bravo Lake Botanical Gardens Berry Tasting Day. Ran into my business partner David Cox there as well. Guess we were thinking alike - great tasting fruit. Samples of Blueberries for tasting Woodlake is a small valley city of over 7,000 hard working people about 20 minutes east of us in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is in the citrus belt…
Friday, 03 June 2011 03:00

Lorna Apricot

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Today I drove over to the U.S.D.A. research station in Parlier to photograph the Lorna Apricot. I wanted to get good photos for our point of sale pages and picture tags, but our trees got their normal hard winter pruning (butchering) to force new vegetative growth for summer budwood. Thus no Lorna Apricots to take pictures of this year.Craig Ledbetter - the researcher who bred this and many other Apricots - took me to the…
Wednesday, 18 May 2011 22:30

Everything About Peaches

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Clemson University Cooperative Extension has a website called "Everything About Peaches". It is written by Dr. Desmond R. Layne. It is full of interesting information. http://www.clemson.edu/extension/peach/ I thought it was well done and worth using as a reference. Only disappointing thing is the discouragement for homeowners to grow peaches but remember, he is in South Carolina where there are humidity and bug issues tougher than most other places. Dr. Layne helps growers deal with these…
Monday, 04 April 2011 20:13

Flowering Almonds

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White Flowering Almond (Prunus glandulosa 'Alba Plena') Here are some more images from my brief spring morning walk after the rains. The White Flowering Almond always catches my eye when it is in bloom. Here we have one bush left un-pruned in the row in our cutting wood orchard. A whole row (hedge) of these bushes is quite spectacular. Budwood Orchard Row of Flowering Almonds Walking a little bit east down the same row, we…
Monday, 04 April 2011 10:21

Are Pollinizers Needed for 4-N-1 Apple?

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Question: I recently purchased one of your 4-n-1 moderate climate apple trees from a local nursery. I'm interested in knowing if they're self-pollinating or do I need two? James, San Antonio, TX Answer: James, as much as I am sure the local nursery would like to sell you another one, you will not need two. Not only are three of the individual varieties (Gala, Early Summer Red, Granny Smith) self fertile, they will pollinate each…
Thursday, 31 March 2011 19:06

Spring Has Sprung

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Prairifire Flowering Crabapple On Monday I escaped the office to take a photo break. After months of harvest, shipping, new catalog preparation, sales training and copious rain, it was time to enjoy the sun and flowers. I was only out 40 minutes and shot 156 photos (52 x 3 bracketed). This is a seriously beautiful time of year in our budwood orchards. And the photographic light was special with retreating dark clouds and the sun…
Tuesday, 01 March 2011 14:18

Black Beauty Mulberry Sources

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Question: Looking for a retail source for the 'Black Beauty' Mulberry. Somewhere in the Bay Area? Much thanks, Nick - Ukiah, CA Answer: Wow - second question today looking for fruiting mulberries. They are a hot commodity. Morus nigra 'Black Beauty' is a popular one both for its taste and that the tree is a smaller growing tree. Here are some nurseries within reasonable distance from you that received Black Beauty Mulberry trees this January:…
Monday, 28 February 2011 23:31

Persian Fruiting Mulberry

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Question: Hello, In the 1990's I purchased a Persian fruiting mulberry tree from a nursery called Xotics Tropico on La Brea Ave in L.A. run by a gentleman named Leon of which I would presently like to obtain another of the same variety.I have the tag from it and it has the number 1409640 6-8' (Morus Nigra) also with #1 grease penciled on the end of the tag. Is that exact strain still available after…
Friday, 18 February 2011 10:29

Chilling Hours

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Question:  Fruit trees require a certain amount of  "chill hours" to produce fruit. What exactly is a "chill hour" ?  Below what temperature is considered a chill hour? Joan - Magnolia Texas Answer:  Hi Joan, Let me point you to another post that may answer your question: Chill Hours Ron L.
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