Quick Summary: Aunt Swarlo’s Delight (Red)
- 🌍 Origin: A highly sought-after new variety developed in England. It is a distinct, separate variety from the original US heirloom Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum, though it shares its massive size and shape.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. The plant is incredibly vigorous, powerful, and produces large, dark green foliage to support its massive fruits.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Giant, heavy, glossy bright red tomatoes. The shape can vary from a huge plum to a ribbed, “shapeless” oxheart. While the official weight is usually stated as 300-600g (10-21 oz), growers frequently harvest behemoths weighing well over 1 kg (up to 1.3 kg / 2.8 lbs).
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: This is the ultimate “paste” and slicing giant. The flesh is described as solid tomato meat—extremely dense, with practically no free juice and an almost complete absence of seeds. It has a rich, sweet flavor.
- ⚠️ Grower’s Note / Expect Variability: Because this is a relatively new amateur cross, the genetics may not be 100% stable yet. While the original breeder claims the variety can express anthocyanin (blue) shoulders and is nearly seedless, many growers (as seen in the photos below) report producing pure red, massive fruits that still contain a normal amount of seeds. Expect some genetic segregation depending on the seed source!
🧬 Genetics & History: The Truth About “Swarlo’s Delight”
Is Aunt Swarlo’s Delight the exact same tomato as Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum? No!
For years, many growers assumed the “Delight” was simply a rebranded Eastern European strain of the original Polish Plum. However, top Russian tomato breeders recently clarified its true provenance: Aunt Swarlo’s Delight is actually a distinct cross originating from England. It was bred to be even meatier than the original and virtually seedless. Because of its complex genetics, it carries anthocyanin genes, meaning the fruits will occasionally express blue/purple shoulders!
Furthermore, the famous Yellow version circulating under the same name is an entirely different intentional cross between Orange Strawberry and the original Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum. If you love tomato genetics, the “Delight” family is an absolute must-grow!
Tall, mid-season indeterminate. The bush is powerful, highly vigorous, with large, dark green leaves.
The fruits are large, heavy, shaped like a plum or a heart, with occasional folds/ribbing. The flesh is red, meaty, very dense, and sweet.
The stated weight is 300-600g (10-21 oz), but my largest fruit was 1300g (2.8 lbs)! It is very productive and was the tastiest variety I grew this year.
This is the second season this variety has been among my favorites. It is just one solid piece of tomato meat—tasty, sweet, with practically no free juice and very few seeds. All the fruits are huge, glossy, and come in varying shapes.
Among all the “shapeless” (ribbed) hearts I grew—Aunt Swarlo’s Delight Red is the winner! The Yellow and Pink versions didn’t produce anything larger than 650g (1.4 lbs). So, Aunt Swarlo’s Delight Red takes the crown!
Quote from Ptichka Pevchaya:
Nataliya, good evening! I didn’t quite understand about the “Delight”… Is it Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum?
Good evening! No, it is a new variety created in England. Blue anthocyanin shoulders can also appear (I didn’t have them on mine, though).
There is also another cross out there: Orange Strawberry x Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum, which produces yellow fruits of the exact same shape.
Well, the yellow one makes sense, I think it’s beautiful) But how does the “Delight” differ from the original Polish Plum—well, besides the potential antho and color? It’s hard to tell the exact color from the photo, is it orange?
My original Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum set huge fruits but hasn’t ripened yet. I’m growing it for the first time, so I haven’t figured out the final color yet)
The color is bright red. The main difference is the possible appearance of anthocyanin, it is even meatier than the original, and there is almost a complete absence of seeds in the fruits.
