BetNC said: Two of the Rosella Crimson I mislabeled Bella Rosa; I'm hoping that there will be noticeable differences between the two. . . at the transplant stage!!

You will easily be able to tell the difference. Rosella Crimson will have rugose (crinkly bluish color) leaves while Bella Rosa is a very typical flat regular leaf variety. Rosella Crimson will also have that characteristically stout and thick central stem, even at a young age.

@dave

Gee, thanks for the difference in leaf structure: that made it so EASY to tell which was which. I grouped Rosella Crimson and Bella Rosa seedlings together and easily separated by what exctly they weere!

Although I had started the same numbefr of each, I wound up with only one Rosella Crimson:a sturdy little tree with rugose leaves!! Very healthy!! The rest were regular-leaf, with the normal tall waving branches of a regular (non-dwarf) tomato: Bella Rosa.

Will seeds saved from Rosella Crimson come true?? I can see that I'll need to start MORE than I usually ddo (If it is a "keeper" for my garden re diseases and taste).

@dave I am growing both leaf types of Emerald Giant side by side. Seems like the only potato leaf plant I got has been struggling but the regular leaf is more vigorous.

Yes, Rosella Crimson will come true from saved seeds. My source (not Victory Seeds, but a reputable seller) managed to get red currant tomato seeds into the same packet as Rosella Crimson. I saved seeds separately from both of those, so hopefully anybody who got Rosella Crimson seeds from me has the real deal.

Were your Rosella Crimson seeds from me? I sowed some of them just last night... if there's an issue with germination, I do apologize!

just finished setting up my portable greenhouse and putting my plantlets in it: OUTSIDE!!!

I 'm way late for supper and too early for a midnight snack: so sue me! I'm gonna fix me something to eat!!

I don't know who I got the Rosella Crimson seeedds from; all I k now is it wasin the Swap....once I eat, rest, relax etc I'll try to look up my ddibs list and aee who. It ISS a dwarf: short stocky tree with rugose bunched-up leaves. Sure hope its not a cherry: ANYTHING but a cherry!

It won't be a cherry. Mine last year weren't as large as I was hoping, but the plants didn't get watered as often as they'd have liked.

I looked at my dibs' list (how wonderful that it was still there! ) and I indeed got Rosella Crimson from you, Jill.

I'm sorry you got such bad germination from those seeds. I'll know in a couple of days how they do for me. Did anybody else have trouble with my tomato seeds? I promise I didn't do anything weird with them.

If memory serves, Rosella Crimson was the first among my container tomatoes to produce fruit, so those seeds shouldn't have had a chance to cross with anything else. Crossing (except among cherry types) seems pretty unlikely anyways. I hope they (at least those that grew) do well for you!

I have ONE Rosella Crimson and 5 Bella Rosa. Somehow, even though I planted the same number of both varieties (two separaye sowings) and mislabeled 2 of the Rosella Crimsons as Bella Rosas . . .

I/ve decided to run an itty-bitty "experiment" : I'll give that 1 RC to a friend and monitor its DTM, production etxc and direct sow 3-5 seed into my designated RC Earthbox (only the best seedling will be allowed to grow: I WILL lop off the heads of all t'others!!).. . . to see if there is a difference between sowing methods. . . . especially DTM.

facts/opinions wanted: is DTM from time of planting transplant into the garden and/or assuming a 3-6 wk old transplant??? Do transplants yield fruit at the same time or earlier than direct sown seed?

Yes, DTM is from the time you transplant into the garden - a 3 to 6wk old plant.

Transplants absolutely will yield fruit sooner than direct sown seed, depending on the weather and other factors. Weather is going to dictate things like how long it takes for seeds to germinate, and growth rate but if you put out a transplant, and plant seeds of the same variety right next to it, the transplant wins every time.

My 1 month old Dwarf Johnson's Cherry (the only dwarf I had this year) transplants went out exactly 3 weeks ago today. Lil short, stocky 2in. transplants.


Here they are today with flowers on them already. The larger one is 18in. tall.

So, here's the progress of my 2 Emerald Giant types. The regular leaf is quite vigorous with more foliage.





These are the bloom trusses of both. Top pic is of the regular leaf. Judging by the small blossoms, the regular leaf may produce smaller fruits whereas the truss on the potato leaf has what looks like a larger bud.

I don;t think I will have any small ones this year. I did not start any Dwarf Tomato Plant Project Seeds this Spring.

I just can't manage to plant and take care of as many tomato plants as I have in years past. Getting old!!!

Rita, I have no idea how you manage to plant and care for the number of tomatoes that you do!

My micro dwarfs - Red Robin, Rosy Finch, Yellow Canary, Fat Frog and Zimmertomate Blau - which were started on March 15th - are beginning to flower!

Dang, my Rosy Finch looks pitiful and it does not look as small as I expected either.

I think Dave (or maybe it was someone else) said that Rosy Finch is somewhat larger than most of the micros.

Yes, Dave said to put Rosy Finch in a 3 gallon pot. Other microdwarf varieties are fine in an 8 inch pot, maybe even 6".

I started Rosy Finch, Tiny Tim, and Orange Hat. Tiny Tim is twice the height of Orange Hat, and its foliage looks more regular than rugose. The main stem, however, is very sturdy as I'd expect of a dwarf variety. I'll get a pic of the two together tomorrow.

I have grown Orange Hat before and it was indeed a tiny plant but it needed a lot of water once it began to produce fruit. A larger pot with more soil maintained the moisture level better for me.
It is not just that the Rosy Rinch plant does not look like a mini, it is also scrawny and the dwarfs, grown under the same circumstances, are robust and stocky.

My Rosy Finch plants don't look scrawny to me, look similar to Orange Hat but half again as big (same age seedling).

Alice, that's a good point about larger pots maintaining moisture better. With my regular dwarf tomatoes, I'm thinking of putting 2 plants into a 22" diameter container this year.

Rosy Finch is definitely one of those that seems like a mix between micro and full size. It doesn't have rugose foliage, nor does it have a stocky stem. To me it seems like a miniature regular indeterminate in a smaller package. I would call it "semi-micro".

"semi -micro," good to know.