L.E. Cooke Blog

Tuesday, 04 March 2014 14:35

Fan-West Ash History

Written by
FAN-WESTTM ASH (Fraxinus 'Fan-West') (Photo courtesy City of Tempe) In the mid 1960's Mr. Eddie Fanick introduced Fan-WestTM and Fan-Tex AshTM. Fan-WestTM is a natural hybrid of Texas Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and Arizona Ash (Fraxinus velutina). The L. E. Cooke Co planted Fan-WestTM in our orchard in 1966 and it still looks good today. We had many Green Ash and hardy Ash for Canada and northern states. We began with Fan-TexTM in 1968 and…
Saturday, 01 March 2014 19:17

Arctic Fantasy Nectarine History

Written by
HISTORY OF ARCTIC FANTASY® NECTARINE L. E. Cooke Co. Introduction Summer of 1991 E. Ray Houston, a retired teacher from Cal Poly (SLO), sent the L. E. Cooke Co budwood from a white seedling nectarine he had found. We budded and planted a few in January 1993 in the Cooke I research area where they still are of this writing in January 2014. All sales staff, management, and office personnel sampled the fruit and compared…
Monday, 24 February 2014 18:58

Austin Pomegranate History

Written by
AUSTIN POMEGRANATE HISTORY The Austin Pomegranate came from central Texas. Richard Ashton, owner of Oak Creek Orchards in Brownwood, Texas contacted us about this fruit. Richard is a collector of pomegranates and wrote a book on pomegranates. This pomegranate came from Austin (hence the name) by way of a Syrian immigrant who brought this pomegranate from Syria. Ron Ludekens arranged for cuttings in 2007. We had limited production starting in 2009 with efforts to increase…
Sunday, 23 February 2014 21:32

LEC-Introductions

Written by
  Feb. 23, 2014 Over a year ago I wanted to publish a web page of all the new varieties the L.E. Cooke Co has introduced to the nursery industry.  I thought that would be a eye opener to those just getting to know us.  I quickly browsed through the catalog making a list and realized that list was getting really long and (in my unbiased opinion) it was impressive. But I wanted more than…
Wednesday, 19 February 2014 23:38

History of L.E. Cooke Introductions

Written by
History of L.E. Cooke Tree & Plant Introductions The company has over 60 varieties we have named and been the original producer.  We have close to another 100 we have helped introduce to the retail nursery trade. The L.E. Cooke Co began its history in the mild climates of Southern California in 1944.  For all that there is to like about the climate, there were very few choices for mild winter stone and pome fruits…
Saturday, 13 July 2013 03:00

Different Ripening Times

Written by
Question: I would like to grow three different semi-dwarf peach trees that ripen at different stages. Can you please suggest a few? Pete - Atascadero, CA Answer: I love it when a homeowner plans for fruit all summer! And this is an ideal use of our recommended variety lists as well. These lists give you choices and some of those choices like Peaches are spread over ripening months. Step 1) What is your Sunset Zone?…
Friday, 07 June 2013 12:03

Flame Mimosa - Fan Silk Albizia

Written by
Humming Bird hovering over flower of Flame Mimosa (Fan Silk Albizia) Last week I walked a part of the Budwood Orchard to check out some new trees in our evaluation block. A few rows over, the bright red blooms of the Fan Silk Albizia (Flame Mimosa) caught my eye. I find these trees really attractive I am always attracted to the blooms and the silky soft looking foliage. I took a detour to enjoy the…
Monday, 03 June 2013 14:36

GMO - Frankenfruit Fears

Written by
Monday, 03 June 2013 11:34

Fig Wilting After Planting

Written by
Question: I planted a White Fig from your company, two weeks ago, I added commercial compost to my soil, I soak it three times a week, as our weather is very hot. My fig today is curling its leafs, what does that mean? Patricia, Terlingua, TX. Answer: I assume since this is June that the tree you planted was in a container (not bareroot) and the root ball fully enclosed with dirt (in other words,…
Tuesday, 28 May 2013 14:19

RECOMMENDED VARIETY LISTS - EDIBLES

Written by
See Introductory Article here: Taste Is Tops   1)  Locate your Sunset Climate Zone by Region here: SUNSET CLIMATE ZONES MAPS   2) Click on Zone Number in Left Column for PDF of Recommended Variety List   SUNSET   ZONE ZONE DESCRIPTION REPRESENTATIVE CITIES A1 Alaska's Interiors: No List Created - Can anything survive there? A2 Anchorage & Cooke Inlet: No List Created Yet - but there is hope of a very short list A3…
Page 8 of 24