Orange Blue (Blue Orange) Tomato Review & Photos

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🍅 Quick take: Orange Blue (also widely circulated as Blue Orange or Goluboy Apelsin) is an indeterminate anthocyanin variety with stunning amber-yellow fruits kissed with deep indigo shoulders and an interior red flame. Fruits range from 1.8 to 5.3 oz (50-150 g), occasionally hitting 6.7 oz (190 g). Known for a sweet, candy-like fruity flavor and outstanding late blight resistance outdoors, though growers warn that it demands multi-stem pruning for decent yields and is particularly prone to BER (blossom end rot) in acidic soils. Full summary ↓

Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4 Experience)

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Sandr (Aleksandr) 🌿 Member (339 posts)
Grew it outdoors in unprotected beds. Plant height stayed right around 4 ft (1.2 m), with fruit weight maxing out at 2.5 oz (70 g). High yielder in the sense that nearly every truss filled out completely. Flavor was very good.
Edited February 14, 2017 by Pomidoroved
Orange Blue tomato plant loaded with fruit, photo posted by Sandr
Orange Blue ripe tomatoes harvested, photo posted by Sandr
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Sofiya 27 (Sofiya) ⭐ Pro Grower (2,154 posts)
Seeds came from A. Kulik, my first year running it. Aleksey Ivanovich nailed the description: at first, you are blown away by how gorgeous the plant looks, and once you take a bite, you are hit with an extraordinarily sweet, candy-like taste.
Ran two plants outdoors in the garden, height was 4-4.5 ft (1.2-1.3 m). Yield was very solid. The tomatoes are real lookers, running anywhere from 1.8 to 5.3 oz (50-150 g), with a few sizing up to 6.3-6.7 oz (180-190 g). Unbelievably sweet, rich taste, not bland in the slightest.
Orange Blue tomato cluster on vine, photo posted by Sofiya 27 (1)
Orange Blue coloring up, photo posted by Sofiya 27 (2)
Orange Blue unripe antho shoulders, photo posted by Sofiya 27 (3)
Orange Blue truss in open ground, photo posted by Sofiya 27 (4)
Orange Blue fruit profile, photo posted by Sofiya 27 (5)
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Alisa ⭐ Pro Grower (6,406 posts)

Sofiya 27 said:
Seeds came from A. Kulik, my first year running it. Aleksey Ivanovich nailed the description: at first, you are blown away by how gorgeous the plant looks, and once you take a bite, you are hit with an extraordinarily sweet, candy-like taste. Ran two plants outdoors in the garden, height was 4-4.5 ft (1.2-1.3 m). Yield was very solid. The tomatoes are real lookers, running anywhere from 1.8 to 5.3 oz (50-150 g), with a few sizing up to 6.3-6.7 oz (180-190 g). Unbelievably sweet, rich taste, not bland in the slightest.

Total stunner! How many stems did you train it to?

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Olena (Olga) ⭐ Pro Grower (1,007 posts)
📍 Moscow, Russia (USDA Zone 4)
Mine turned out just as gorgeous as Sofiya’s. Inside, the flesh has that lovely red flame running through the center like a necktie.
Maturity-wise, it leans toward late-season here. Just picked the first two ripe tomatoes today.
Taste is super sweet, genuinely candy-like! Reached 6.5 ft (2 m) in the greenhouse, trained to two stems.
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Alisa ⭐ Pro Grower (6,406 posts)

Olena (Olga) said:
Mine turned out just as gorgeous as Sofiya’s. Inside, the flesh has that lovely red flame running through the center like a necktie. Maturity-wise, it leans toward late-season here. Just picked the first two ripe tomatoes today. Taste is super sweet, genuinely candy-like! Reached 6.5 ft (2 m) in the greenhouse, trained to two stems.

Where did you have it planted? Outdoors or under cover? When did you start the seeds and set it out? Planning to put this one on my grow list for next year.

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Sofiya 27 (Sofiya) ⭐ Pro Grower (2,154 posts)

Alisa said:
Total stunner! How many stems did you train it to?

Trained to three stems.

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Olena (Olga) ⭐ Pro Grower (1,007 posts)
📍 Moscow, Russia (USDA Zone 4)

Alisa said:
Where did you have it planted? Outdoors or under cover? When did you start the seeds and set it out? Planning to put this one on my grow list for next year.

Started seeds on February 29 and planted out into my polycarb greenhouse during the early May holidays. 💐

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ilja (Ilya) 🌿 Member (758 posts)
📍 Klin District, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)
Such an interesting variety. Fruits are on the smaller side with that distinct yellow and purple-blue coloring. The taste is punchy and fruity, juicy and sweet. When sliced open, you see that little red core blush just like in classic bicolors.
Vine stretched well over 6.5 ft (2 m) in my greenhouse. Leaves were deep dark green. Unfortunately, it ended up in unlimed, acidic soil in my setup and got hit hard with BER.
Orange Blue sliced showing bicolor flesh, photo posted by ilja
Orange Blue ripe fruit on plate, photo posted by ilja
Orange Blue whole fruits, photo posted by ilja
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ElenaPr (Elena) ⭐ Pro Grower (3,433 posts)
Now that is what I call a treat! Great yielder, sweet fruity taste, and beautiful two-toned flesh inside.
Ran two plants outdoors in unprotected beds and both performed brilliantly. Did not drop a single blossom through hot spells or cold snaps. Absolute must-grow for me this upcoming season.
Outstanding resistance to late blight. It was the only plant in my open beds that stayed completely clean and green after all the neighboring plants went down with blight. Ended up picking the final green tomatoes in early September just because I got nervous about late blight setting in. Did not spray a single chemical or fungicide all season. Seeds came from Happy Garden (Schastlivy Sad).
Orange Blue plants outdoors, photo posted by ElenaPr
Orange Blue cluster turning, photo posted by ElenaPr
Orange Blue fruit loaded on the vine, photo posted by ElenaPr
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Inn@ (Inna) ⭐ Pro Grower (6,399 posts)
📍 Arti, Sverdlovsk Region, Urals, Russia (USDA Zone 3)
Ended up pruning the plant down to a single stem, which was definitely an unintentional mistake on my part. That is likely why my yield was on the lighter side.
Gave it prime real estate in the sunny part of my greenhouse, except we had practically zero sunshine here during the 2017 summer. Delicious fruit nonetheless.
Orange Blue greenhouse vine, photo posted by Inn@
Orange Blue fruit ripening, photo posted by Inn@
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Lyutsinda m (Lyudmila) 🌱 New Member (26 posts)
Quick question: Are Goluboy Apelsin (Blue Orange) and Orange Blue the exact same variety? Ordered Blue Orange from Alyona Voronina and was wondering…
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Inn@ (Inna) ⭐ Pro Grower (6,399 posts)
📍 Arti, Sverdlovsk Region, Urals, Russia (USDA Zone 3)
Yes, they are identical, just different names for the same variety.
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Alisa ⭐ Pro Grower (6,406 posts)
Finally getting to savor the striking looks, perfect fruit shape, trusses, and rich flavor of this stunner. My seed line traces back through Olesya, Alyona Graf-Tomat, and Kulik.

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trofi (Elena) ⭐ Pro Grower (10,716 posts)
📍 South Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)
Yes, flavorful, with that classic spicy and tangy note typical of yellow-blues, and very pretty. The only thing is the skin got quite tough by September.
However, it was hit brutally hard by BER. I pruned it to three stems, but the harvest still ended up poor due to the blossom end rot. Will not be growing again.

Full Summary: Plant, Pruning, Flavor and Challenges

  • 🌿 Plant & Training: Indeterminate vine. Reaches 4-4.5 ft (1.2-1.3 m) when planted outdoors in open ground, and easily exceeds 6.5 ft (2 m) inside polycarb greenhouses. Crucial grower note: Restricting this variety to a single stem drastically tanks productivity; growers strongly recommend carrying 2 to 3 main stems.
  • 📈 Yield & Timing: Mid to mid-late maturity. Produces clusters of 1.8-5.3 oz (50-150 g) fruits, with occasional specimens reaching 6.7 oz (190 g). Holds blossom set well through temperature swings without dropping flowers.
  • 👅 Taste: Universally praised for an exceptionally sweet, fruity, “candy-like” flavor with light spicy notes. Cut fruits showcase bright yellow flesh with an interior ruby-red core blush. Skin can become thick late in the autumn.
  • 🛡️ Health & BER Vulnerability: Demonstrates remarkable outdoor tolerance to late blight (phytophthora), often remaining disease-free when surrounding plants collapse. However, it shows a documented vulnerability to blossom end rot (BER) if grown in acidic, unlimed substrates.
  • 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Multiple gardeners across USDA Zones 3 and 4 (Moscow Region, Urals, and Central European Russia).
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