Sweet Sue RL

[Cole_Robbie]

One of my Sweet Sues came up RL instead of PL, so I grew that plant out in a bucket. It is a dwarf. I am just now picking ripe fruit. I have tried to account for a possible seed mix-up. The closest guess I can make to it being a sowing error is Wherokowhai. But I don't think that is what it is. My Wherokowhai expresses color in more of a swirl than in stripes. This fruit is obviously bi-color, leaning more towards the red side. Sweet Sue will blush red, but is more yellow.

So I think I have a new variety? Maybe it is an accidental cross, or it could theoretically be a natural mutation too.

[TC_Manhattan]

My Wherokowhai fruits look exactly like the one on the right in your photo.
How does it taste? Mine are almost dead ringer for Lucky Cross.

[Cole_Robbie]

I think it may actually be Sweet Adelaide, or at least it looks just like my Sweet Adelaide from the garden.

I cut the ripest fruit open just now and it had black mold inside

[TC_Manhattan]

Aww, too bad about the mold.

Not being familiar with Sweet Adelaide, I looked it up on Tatiana's, and it's a cross between NBD and Paul Robeson. Photos show a dark red (pink!) fruit, no stripes.

Do you think it's a cross?

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Sweet_Adelaide

[nctomatoman]

You have some remaining instability - very cool - like a Dwarf Emerald Giant (same family) with significant blushing. How does it taste? Save seed - you have something very new and different!

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

You have some remaining instability - very cool - like a Dwarf Emerald Giant (same family) with significant blushing. How does it taste? Save seed - you have something very new and different!

Well, you would be the one who would be the authority on such things. The fruit will turn fully pink and the stripes disappear when very ripe. But it never gets as red as Tania's pics of Sweet Adelaide. I had written it off as a labeling error, but maybe it really is something new. I still have more fruit on the plant to sample and save seed.

[nctomatoman]

Sweet Adelaide is a pretty standard medium to medium large pink - I've never seen it look like that! Ah, regular leaf - so would be a highly blushed Summertime Green!

It really doesn't surprise me when our released dwarfs toss off an occasional oddity - we've never had the person power and acreage to do hundred plus plant selections and culls.

But that's fine with me - the pay is lousy (as in zero!) We are doing quite fine!

[Cole_Robbie]

I'm still thinking it is Sweet Adelaide. In the pic below, the top tomato is Sweet Adelaide from my garden. The other fruit are from my bucket plant I thought was Sweet Sue RL. Something about growing it in a bucket seems to be making it streak like that when it begins to blush. But the streaking nearly disappears when ripe.

[nctomatoman]

Yessiree - they look like Sweet Adelaide - lovely ones...what do you think of the flavor?

[Cole_Robbie]

I had my first one just now, Craig. It was delicious. I'd call it one of the best pinks I have ever eaten.

[nctomatoman]

Great news! Patrina and Jeff Casey did the lion share of work on it - I really do like it, but it tends to get lost with the rush of new varieties.

A Sweet Adelaide vs Rosella Crimson grow-off and taste-off would be fun (maybe throw TastyWine in as well!)