http://www.redding.com/news/2009/jan/31/redding-woman-gets-lot-mileage-out-trees-freakish-/
Redding woman gets a lot of mileage out of trees freakish fruit
Saturday, January 31, 2009
In sour times, we could all use a sweet story. So today I share one about Izzy Johanson, 72, of Redding and her oddball lemonlike fruit. Johansons lemon tree (probably a Eureka, but maybe a Meyer) recently produced several monstrosities. Some were grapefruitsize. But four were so bloated that they made grapefruit look puny.
The biggest weighed in at about 31⁄2 pounds, was 22 inches around and 7 inches tall. The rind was thick and bumpy with big pores. These giants didnt look at all like the other smooth, perfect, lovely lemons on the tree, Johanson told me. Actually, its not all that unusual for a well-behaved citrus tree to suddenly go sideways and start producing strange oversized fruit.
Ottillia Bier, a retired University of California citrus expert Ive interviewed for articles, says the hardy rootstock that citrus varieties are grafted onto can send out shoots and start producing fruit. The big, bad fruit is often a hybrid of pummelo and citron. So the interesting thing is not that the tree did this, but what Johanson did.
When life handed her outlandish lemon imposters, Johanson embraced them. Such weirdness deserves to be shared, she decided. And so, in late December she began, as she puts it, The Tales of the Wandering Lemon.
Johanson took the biggest with her as she went about her daily routine. She shared it with students at the two Redding schools where she volunteers, Shasta Meadows Elementary School and Juniper Academy.
Nothing impresses a kid like mutant fruit. They loved it. They were so excited, she said. They said, Wow! Gee! Let me hold it! She had one of her overgrown orbs with her at St. James Lutheran Church one Sunday when the pastors sermon included a metaphor about pruning trees.
Johanson pulled out the oversized fruit between services to show the pastor. He used it as a prop at the next service, wowing the congregation. At a restaurant, when she noticed a woman sitting by herself, Johanson went to her table and asked: Would you like to see a really unusual lemon? She said, Oh yes, I love lemons, Johanson recounted.
The woman was amazed. She even offered to buy it ... I said, I cant charge you for my lemon, but if it will make you happy, I will give it to you. So she gave it away. A random act of citrus kindness. And on the story went.
If someone was having a bad day, Johanson would bring out a big lemon (well, technically not a lemon but some citron/pummelo thing, but you get the picture). People were amazed.
They laughed. One friend named the fruit Lola. Ive had a lot of fun with the lemons, Johanson said. I still have one in the car, in case I need it for emergencies to entertain people. Most of the monsters have gone soft. Johanson offered to give the final survivor to me, but I declined.
I dont need a large fruit with a confused identity in my life. But I was happy she shared her fruity adventure with me. After all, gardening isnt so much about what we grow, but how we ourselves grow what we make of our gardening experiences.
Izzy Johanson is a great example of that. She was able to squeeze a lot of smiles out of weird fruit growing on the thorny branches of her lemon tree.
Laura Christmans column runs every other week. She can be reached at 225-8222 or
lchristman@redding.com.
