Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-8 Experience)
They say this is the tallest variety in the world. True vine, grows incredibly fast. The foliage isn’t overly dense, and it hardly throws any suckers—you honestly don’t even need to prune it after the first truss.
Fruits are these gorgeous, elongated red pear-shaped plums that grow in massive clusters. The plant hit the greenhouse roof and then the vines just started running sideways in every direction. I had these huge trusses hanging right under the roof 10 feet (3 m) away from the actual base of the plant. The vines even tried to crawl over into the next row. The tomatoes themselves are firm, great keepers, weighing right around 1.5 to 2 oz (50 g).
What a stunner 👍 Wonder if anyone is trying it out in the dirt this year? 😳 Gotta assume it stays a bit shorter outdoors 🤷♀️
Himmelsstürmer.
Beautiful little tomatoes, beautiful name. Loosely translates to “Sky Stormer”.
Around here, we actually have 3 different fruit shapes floating around for this variety:
– egg-shaped (from the original breeder)
– elongated with no neck or tip
– elongated with a neck and a little tip.
All three versions get incredibly tall, people say anywhere from 10 to 20 feet (3-6 m). Its parents are San Marzano and De Barao, and that last one is definitely a roof-buster itself.
Great variety for folks looking to try something new, as long as you’ve got some spare vertical space in the garden.
Full Summary: Himmelstürmer
- 🌿 Plant: A true monster of a vine. Can easily reach 10-20 feet (3-6 m) and will happily crawl along the roof of a greenhouse. Despite the crazy vigor, the foliage stays relatively sparse and it produces very few suckers, making pruning a breeze.
- 📈 Yield: Extremely heavy, throwing massive, multi-fruit clusters all over the plant.
- 👅 Taste: Not directly rated for flavor here, but its parentage (San Marzano x De Barao) points to it being an excellent paste/canning type.
- 📦 Storage: The fruits are very firm and make fantastic long-keepers.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: 2 growers chimed in with growing notes and lineage info across Russia and Western Europe.
