WHITE and SWEET POMEGRANATES Chico State University brought in many varieties of Pomegranates from the Middle East. I wanted a good White and Sweet selection. Mike Spratley, L. E. Cooke Co salesman since 1979, is a graduate of Chico State and was aware of their large collection. I asked Mike to obtain a good Sweet and White. He obtained about 15 or 20 White and many Sweet. The L.E. Cooke Co grew all of these…

(Flory Peach Started It All) NATURAL DWARF FRUIT TREES Genetic dwarf peaches and nectarines began with the Flory Peach.  (Note: We are now calling them "Natural Dwarfs" - to distance them from current "GMO" histeria.)  In the summer of 1939 an United States Army engineer was in northern China.  He found a small peach tree in a Chinese family's yard and sampled some of the fruit.  He obtained several peach pits which he brought to…

CONADRIA FIG This fig was introduced by Ira J. Condit at California Ag Experiment Station, Riverside. We have a copy of a 1955 book written by Mr. Condit naming more than 1,706 figs. Mr. Condit introduced Conadria in 1955 but is not included in his book. This fig is a cross of Adriatic x California 72-80 (Caprifig). It was selected in 1955 and became available to a few commercial growers. The L. E. Cooke Co…

BLACK JACK FIG (Olney Strain) Armstrong Nursery provided this fig. The fig is purple with strawberry red, juicy, sweet flesh. The tree is a natural dwarf, our orchard trees are a maximum of 6' tall with pruning. The fruit is plentiful and sets 30 days before Black Mission and holds better on the tree. Our fruit ripens late July through November. Armstrong recommended all zones from coast to desert valleys in the southern United States.…

UTAH GIANT CHERRY This cherry originated in Logan, Utah by USDA and Utah Ag Experiment Station. A seedling of a Napa long stem Bing Cherry was introduced in 1981. The L. E. Cooke Co. received this variety in 1985. The fruit is larger than Bing with firmer, dark red sweet flesh, outstanding flavor. The pit is smaller than some cherry varieties and is freestone. The skin is a colorful mahogany and has some resistance to…

KANSAS SWEET CHERRY Willis Nursery, Ottawa, Kansas introduced Kansas Sweet as The flavor is somewhat sweet for a Prunus Cerasus or Sour Cherry. The L. E. Cooke Co brought in the cherry in 1960 and put into production in 1965. The tree is a small growing pie cherry which sets heavily even in the mild areas of Southern California. The selection is not considered a sweet cherry but is sweeter than all other pie cherries,…

EARLY RUBY CHERRY Patent #4150 11/15/77 Mr. Ralph Moore, Sequoia Miniature Rose Nursery, Visalia, California discovered a seedling cherry tree in his nursery. It possibly came from an employee's lunch in the area. As the tree grew, it produced yearly a good early crop of large cherries. Since Mr. Moore did not have another cherry in the area and the tree produced annually, he felt it was self fertile. Mr. Moore came to Bob Ludekens…

COMPACT STELLA CHERRY Compact Stella was introduced by the Canada Agricultural Research Station, Summerland, British Columbia about 1973. The selection was tested in the Summerland orchards during the late 1960's to early 1970's. The trees had a dwarfing height and annual heavy crops. 1980, Robert A. Norton brought the Compact Stella to Washington State University to observe during the '80's. The variety was then cleaned of virus but found Little Cherry Virus in plants that…

UTAH SWEET (DIXIE) POMEGRANATE Floyd Wright from Utah sent cuttings via UPS to us February 17, 2000 and we put in our greenhouse and into the orchard in 2001. We then grew the bushes for a few years to review the fruit. We began production in 2004. The sales are steadily increasing. I believe a better selection than Sweet Pomegranate. The fruit has an attractive gold color. Utah Sweet had gold skin with pink cheeks,…

LONG BEACH PEACH This is an Elberta peach seedling from a customer at Park's Nursery, Long Beach, California. L. E. Cooke Co. salesman Robbie Roberts became aware of it about 1985 through Doug McGavin, an employee at Park's. Carl Wisenhutter, nursery manager and son of owner, was impressed with the fruit. Budwood was brought to our office by Mr. Roberts and a few trees were budded for our orchard to be reviewed. One tree was…