We have passed this historic farm numerous times. I was giddy that we finally had the chance to stop and explore.
In 1885, Luther Burbank bought land in Sebastopol and for the next forty years conducted his large-scale plant experiments on these 18 acres.After his death in 1927, his wife leased the property to Stark Brothers Nursery until 1957. In 1973, she sold the property, which shortly thereafter began to be developed into a housing complex.After decades of neglect, Burbank’s experiment grounds were overgrown with blackberries and poison oak. As the weeds were cleared out, rows of unusual plants appeared. These mature plants, in north-south rows, are the remains of Luther Burbank’s experiments.It was here that the famed horticulturist conducted plant-breeding experiments that brought him world fame. One of Burbank’s goals was to increase the world’s food supply by manipulating the characteristics of plants. Burbank developed an improved spineless cactus which could provide forage for livestock in desert regions. During his career, Burbank introduced more than 800 new varieties of plants — including over 200 varieties of fruits, many vegetables, nuts and grains, and hundreds of ornamental flowers. He developed many of California’s plums and prunes, the ancestor of the Idaho Potato, the Shasta Daisy, and novelties such as plumcots, and the thornless blackberry.
#27 Black Locust. Fast-growing hybrids developed by Burbank for use of its leaves and seed pods as cattle fodder. Note: European Mistletoe that has colonized here. It is a semi parasite purposely introduced by Burbank for reasons known only to him.
Okay, this description made me laugh. #26 Trifoliate Orange. Viciously thorny trees from China. Hardy to 15 below zero F; used by Burbank in his (unsuccessful) experiments to develop cold-hardy citrus. Fuzzy fruits have about the same size, hardness and juiciness as golf balls.#5 Chestnut. Burbank developed hybrid chestnuts from European, Japanese and Chinese species to increase their resistance to chestnut blight. This tree produces abundant crops of tasty, burr-covered nuts that are prized both by squirrels and humans.#10 Burbank Hybrid Fruit Trees. This contemporary orchard is composed of Burbank hybrid plums, pears, peaches, and apples. Also, plumcots (plum-apricot hybrids, introduced in 1914). Tags identify the different grafted branches.
One of my favorite Burbank creations is the Shasta Daisy. Just how did he do it? As a child in his native Massachusetts, Luther Burbank had a great fondness for the wild daisies that grew under the elm in front of his family home. These oxeye daisies had naturalized throughout New England, having been introduced accidentally from England by the Pilgrims.The young plant-breeder was inspired to develop these wildflowers for use as garden flowers, and envisioned an ideal daisy: it would have very large pure white flowers, smooth stems, early and persistent blooming, good keeping quality as a cut flower and sturdiness as a garden plant. The Shasta daisy is a quadruple hybrid.
The new flowers were introduced in 1901 (17 years after the experiments were begun) as a mixed selection, the Shasta daisy hybrids. They were named for California’s glistening white Mount Shasta, and presented an entirely new plant species, now known officially as Leucanthemum x superbum. Since that time, the daisy has become a popular icon as well as garden flower. Others have continued Burbank’s work, and many new varieties of the Shasta daisy have been introduced (pictured above).
This farm is one of those places that must be revisited in the Springtime, when all of Burbank's creations put on their greatest show. We will be back.
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful;
they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.”
- Luther Burbank
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