Quick Summary of Yantarnaya Komnata (Amber Room)
- 🌍 Origin: An exotic Russian commercial/heirloom variety, originally distributed by breeder Valeriy Medvedev. The name translates to “Amber Room,” referring to the amber-yellow blush the green skin develops when fully ripe.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and tall. In a greenhouse, it easily reaches up to 2.5 meters (8.2 ft). It handles adverse weather well, rarely dropping blossoms, and performs best when pruned to 1 or 2 stems.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: A classic “Green-When-Ripe” (GWR) tomato. The fruits are round to slightly oblate. When fully ripe, the skin turns a gorgeous amber/yellow-green, while the inside remains bright green. Fruits typically weigh between 200–350g (7–12 oz), with some reaching up to 400g (14 oz).
- 👅 Flavor: Highly praised for a complex, rich flavor. It has a delicate, juicy, melting texture with a pronounced sweet-and-sour profile. It provides a refreshing tang rather than just bland sweetness. Often compared favorably to the famous ‘Malachite Box’ (Malakhitovaya Shkatulka), but many growers find Amber Room to be more productive.
- ⏳ Maturity: Early to mid-season. Many growers report it as one of the very first large slicers to ripen in their greenhouses.
The seeds were gifted by a forum member 🌺, originally from Medvedev.
Source description:
An exotic variety with a non-standard external and internal appearance.
Indeterminate, tall variety with juicy, round amber-colored fruits, green flesh with a sweet-and-sour taste, weighing up to 400g (14 oz). The tomatoes are perfect for decorating the table, making salads, and sauces.
In the middle zone, it is grown in greenhouses. Sown for seedlings 45-60 days before transplanting, depending on lighting. Transplanted at a distance of 50-60 cm (20-24 inches) between plants with mandatory staking. Pruned to 1-2 stems. Reaches a height of up to 2.5 meters (8.2 ft). Responds well to feeding.
My experience:
When transplanting into the greenhouse, I accidentally broke off most of the top and had to root it, so I can’t speak accurately about its maximum height and yield. It grew on the south side of the greenhouse against the wall. Under these conditions, it reached 1.8 m (6 ft), in 2 stems, and set five clusters; only one was full with 3 fruits, the rest had 1 or 2. In total, it grew 8 fruits and there is still a tiny newly set nub. It didn’t quite reach 400g for me. I really loved the taste, delicate texture, moderately sweet but not bland. Tasty.
As I planned, I repeated Amber Room in this totally unsuccessful season. I have no regrets. It was one of the few that successfully set 6 clusters; the bottom ones had 3 fruits each, the top ones 1-2, and it is still blooming. Early — again, one of the few from which I have already picked a couple of fruits. The taste remained great 👍, despite the super-rains this season.
I will add photos from this year comparing it with ‘Zelenaya Slastena’ (Green Sweet-Tooth).
They are similar, Slastena is mostly smaller, but the clusters have 4-5 fruits, while Amber Room has 3-4.
Let me clarify about the Amber Room bush. Grew it in 2 stems, height — reached the ceiling, clusters form every 3 leaves. The leaves are quite close to each other. Each stem set 3 clusters this year, then completely skipped 2 clusters, meaning ideally there could have been a minimum of 5 clusters per stem. Slastena is more prolific, but Amber Room has a richer flavor.
I have two bushes, and they are both ripening their second fruits synchronously. Turns out to be an early variety, though in all fairness, summer started in May this year.
Seeds from Nadyusha (Nadja), for which I give a huge thanks! A tasty, productive little tomato, relatively early.
Plena: Indeterminate, tall variety with juicy round amber-colored fruits, green flesh, sweet-and-sour taste…
Sown in mid-March, it started to ripen among the very first, in early July. Fruited in 2 stems without skipping any blossoms all the way to the top. Didn’t crack, held its clusters well, fruits were 200-350g (7-12 oz). I loved the taste (sweet, like many green-fleshed varieties), its yield, and resilience.
Thanks to Galochka for the seeds!
You can really feel the potential of this variety, it doesn’t throw a fit over the weather like many did this year, and it sets fruit despite everything. Growing in a polycarbonate greenhouse in the middle row, pruned to 2 stems. If only it pleases with its taste too…
Amber Room seemed very similar to ‘Malakhitovaya Shkatulka’ (Malachite Box) to me, only its yield is higher. The taste is very pleasant, delicate, sweet-and-sour, refreshing. So far the tartness is quite noticeable, but for me, a dominant tartness is better than bland sweetness. The flesh is delicate, not dense, very juicy. Next season I plan to repeat it again paired with Malachite Box.
A very tasty little tomato. Not particularly fussy, and not just a single-fruit wonder — relatively prolific.
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