Anyone want to try and i.d. this thing?

La Quinta gardener makes lemonade out of unusual crop of massive lemons
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20081205/NEWS01/812050318/1026/news12

The fruit hanging from George Atzopoulos' backyard
tree look more like basketballs than lemons.

The 77-year-old La Quinta man has been busy picking, slicing, juicing and giving away dozens of the massive lemons that appeared this year.

The largest is 31 inches in circumference.

“They are giant and look more like pumpkins,” Atzopoulos said, shaking his head. “I've never seen such a thing in all my life. I don't really fertilize either. I just throw pellets and manure around the tree twice a year.”

Even those who grow citrus for a living are shocked after hearing the measurements.

“This one sounds like a freak of nature to me,” said Gary Moles, production manager at the Willits & Newcomb Citrus Nursery in Bakersfield.

“It must be a super lemon because that size seems really unbelievable. I've never heard of something so large,” said Dennis Jensen of La Quinta, who owns 32 Sea View ranches, which grow citrus, medjool dates and grapes.

The two experts wondered if the lemon tree is a Ponderosa variety, one of the largest. However, fruit from those trees average 13 inches in circumference.

“Ponderosa's are thought to be part citron- which means lemon-like. It's considered a lemon in the sense that it's yellow and acidic,” Moles said.

A combination of soil type, light, species and root stock play a key role in determining lemon size, Jensen said.

Atzopoulos, a retired professional soccer player, said he may spend all day outdoors in the garden, but his thumb has never been this green. He planted the lemon tree five years ago, and the lemon crop was “normal” until now.

His friends and neighbors hardly believe him until they hold a lemon for themselves, he said. One friend in Northern California even told him to “Get lost!” and hung up the phone.

His garden, located off Fred Waring Drive, also includes normal-sized limes, kumquats, beans, garlic, carrots and broccoli.

Could be a 9# lemon cultivar. Yes, there is a variety named 9-lb lemon, and Gaylord grows them. I think the shape of the 9# lemons are round instead of ellipsoidal.

So, the La Quinta lemon could be Eureka lemon, perhaps some sport mutation that allowed the fruits to grow. I know that my Eureka lemons on my 81-n-1 citrus tree if left alone continued to grow up to 4 times the normal market size, but that one is a whopper. I would be interested in getting budwoods from that dude, but then Bakersfield is in Kern County, and we could not legally transport any citrus propagating material into or out of that county without inspection and approved phytosanitary certificates.

Would the Nine Pound Lemon be a strain of Ponderosa? It doesn't really look like one to me, but it's the biggest 'lemon' that I've ever seen.

My Eurekas grow much larger than regular grocery store fruit as well. My Tahiiti limes much bigger than store limes. Last year's would have given a Meyer lemon a run for its money.

.....Alan.

PONDEROSA LEMON and the nine-pound lemon are the same. i believe.

is there anything that could have caused the tree to start producing larger fruit.

I couldn't find much on the Nine Pound Lemon other than that Disney has one down to Epcot. There's a lot of photos of theirs to be found. Looks similar to the news article photo.

.....Alan.