The Indigo Rose black tomato is definitely an unusual sight. We explain everything you need to know about the tomato variety - from cultivation to harvest.
In recent years, more and more blue and black tomato varieties have been bred. Here we present one of the very first varieties that brought new color to the tomato world.
Indigo Rose Tomato: Profile
| Fruit | salad tomato/cherry tomato; on the sunny side: violet to black, on the shady side: pink to red |
| Flavour | mild, little sweet, rather sour |
| Maturity | late |
| Growth | Stick tomato, up to 180 cm |
| Location | Greenhouse, pot (rain cover) |
Origin and History
The Indigo Rose comes from a breeding program led by Professor Jim Myers at Oregon State University in the USA. It was launched in 2012 as one of the first "Antho tomatoes". Antho is short for anthocyanins, the pigments that turn fruit purple to black when exposed to sunlight.
Tomato variety ‘Indigo Rose’: taste and characteristics
The dark coloring of the indigo rose can be seen even as a young plant, because its leaves and stems are dark and violet in colour. The tomato plant reaches a height of up to 180 centimeters. The round fruits of the indigo rose reach the size of a small salad tomato or a large cherry tomato. They hang in panicles of up to twelve tomatoes, each weighing around 40 grams. Depending on the sunlight, the color is darker and can cover the entire fruit. On the downside, however, you can usually see the actual color of the indigo rose: a delicate pink to red. It only ripens late in summer, and the first fruits can be harvested from mid-August. The taste of the indigo rose is very mild, slightly crumbly and slightly sour, but hardly sweet. It is a seed resistant variety and can easily be propagated again with the seeds from the fruits.
Cultivation and Care of the Indigo Rose
The Indigo Rose is best grown in a greenhouse or in a pot on a warm house wall with a rain shelter. The sunnier it is, the darker its coloring becomes. It can be placed in a pot after the ice saints from mid-May. Fill the planter with a potting soil that has been tailored to tomatoes. Our Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil is particularly suitable for pot tomatoes, because the nutrients it contains give young plants an ideal start to the summer and flowering season. The black variety also needs a stick for tying in the pot. The Indigo Rose can easily be grown with two or three shoots, the remaining side shoots should be broken out. In the article "Pulling out tomatoes" you will find out in detail which side shoots you should remove and how.
From June, the indigo rose in the pot needs larger amounts of nutrients than at the beginning of the planting. In order to provide for its many fruits, the Indigo Rose should be supported with an organic liquid fertilizer, such as our Plantura Organic Tomato & Vegetable Fertilizer. The plant-based fertilizer is added to the irrigation water once a week and applied when watering.
Indigo Rose: Harvest Time and Use
You can tell whether the indigo rose is ripe either by the red color of the fruit on the shady side or by a finger test. If the fruit feels a bit soft and gives slightly when pressed, it can be picked. A ripe fruit is also quite glossy. The black tomato can be eaten raw, but is better suited for processing.
Our tip: Soups and sauces get a very dark red, slightly purple tint if you cook the tomatoes with their skin on.
Do you also grow your tomatoes in pots and on the balcony? You can find out what you should consider when growing balcony tomatoes in our article.