📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cherokee Lime Stripes
- 🌍 Origin: An American heirloom variety discovered by breeder Bill Jeffers. It is believed to be a natural mutation or cross involving ‘Cherokee Green’. Sometimes traded as “Cherokee Lime Stripes (Purple Green)”.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. In open ground, it can stay relatively compact (around 1 meter / 3.3 ft), but in a greenhouse, it easily reaches 1.8 meters (6 ft). Very productive and handles heat well without dropping blossoms.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium-sized beefsteaks. Absolutely stunning appearance: light and dark yellow-green stripes with a pinkish blush. The interior is lime green with a beautiful pink marbled center.
- 👅 Flavor: A very good classic tomato flavor. Some growers note a distinct fruity, sweet aftertaste, especially when grown in a greenhouse.
- ⏳ Maturity: Mid-season to mid-late season.
The name of my variety was listed as Cherokee Lime Stripes (Purple Green). But I decided to group it in our catalog under just “Cherokee Lime Stripes”.
It’s a mid-season, indeterminate slicing variety. The fruits are medium-sized beefsteaks, very beautiful, with alternating light and dark yellow-green and pink stripes. The flesh is lime green with a pink center. It grew outdoors in open ground and had good yield.
The flavor turned out to be just a regular, good tomato taste. However, I barely fertilized my outdoor tomatoes this year; perhaps if I had, specifically with potassium fertilizers, the taste would have changed for the better.
Edited January 29, 2017 by Drosera
What a stunner!!!! Are you going to grow it again in 2017?
Olya, I decided not to repeat a single exotic or anthocyanin (blue) variety this year, because I’ve collected an ocean of new striped varieties to try! ))
Quote from ElenaN:
Olya, I decided not to repeat a single exotic…
You certainly have a ruthless selection process! 😘
Lena, how tall was the bush outdoors in open ground?
Quote from Elena 62:
Lena, how tall was the bush outdoors in open ground?
Len, in open ground it wasn’t very tall. About 1 meter (3.3 ft). I sowed the seeds quite late—at the very end of March.
I had this variety from Popenko (Cherokee Lime Stripes, USA). It grew in the greenhouse. I would classify its ripening time as mid-late.
The bush height was 1.8m (6 ft). I pruned it to 2 stems. It was productive, and it didn’t drop its blossoms during the heatwave.
It’s a tasty, juicy tomato with a fruity flavor undertone. 😋
Lena, your tomatoes have a lot more pink marbling inside than mine did. 😳
My seeds were from Popenko (Cherokee Lime Stripes, USA). I liked the variety, grew it in the greenhouse.
Mine was also from Popenko, grew in the greenhouse. Everything exactly as TanyaK described. I’ll just add some photos.
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Cherokee Lime Stripes
This variety was developed in 2009 by Bill Jeffers (USA) through successive cross-pollination from the variety ‘Cherokee Green’. It is a mid-season, indeterminate variety. The bush height in my greenhouse reached 2 meters (6.5 ft). The foliage is long and dense, and the leaf type is regular. I pruned it to 2 main stems.
The fruits are medium to large, up to 400 grams (14 oz), beefsteak-type, slightly ribbed, meaty, with tender skin and a very stunning/festive appearance. They have dark green stripes and streaks over an olive-green background, taking on a pinkish blush as they ripen. The interior flesh is a mix of green, lime, and pink—very juicy and tender.
The flavor is superbly balanced, with a slight, pleasant tartness. The yield is good. A true gem for connoisseurs of delicious and beautiful tomatoes.
