Quick Summary of Florida Petite (Флорида петит)
- 🌍 Origin: A famous micro-dwarf commercial variety, originally developed by the University of Florida specifically for small containers and patio growing.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Extremely compact, tree-type micro-dwarf. Plants typically stay between 25-40 cm (10-16 inches) tall. They require absolutely no pruning or suckering and tolerate lower light conditions well, making them ideal for indoor windowsills or balconies.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small red cherry tomatoes weighing between 20-50 grams (0.7-1.7 oz). The skin is often noted as being quite thick and tough.
- 👅 Flavor: While commercial seed packets claim they are “very sweet,” the consensus among experienced forum growers is that they are actually quite tart (acidic). They are best suited for early spring salads rather than sweet snacking.
- ⏳ Yield: Very prolific for its size. The tiny plants are usually heavily loaded with fruit.
Description from the seed packet:
“Mid-early compact tree-type dwarf variety. Plants are compact, up to 25 cm (10 inches) tall. Very decorative, do not require suckering (pruning). Characterized by an unbelievable amount of fruit in a cluster. The fruits are very sweet, weighing 20-40 g (0.7-1.4 oz). Tolerant to low light conditions. Can be grown in pots and containers on a windowsill and balcony.”
Photo author: Pula20/Yulya
Photo author: Letovsegda
I’ve been growing it for a few years as an indoor/balcony little plant. The bush is sturdy, no taller than 40 cm (16 inches), always completely covered in fruit. The taste of the tomatoes is not bad, sweet but with a tomato tang (acidity). The first fruits are about 50 grams (1.7 oz), the subsequent ones are slightly smaller. Mid-early.
Sweet wrote:
The fruits are very sweet, weighing 20-40 g (0.7-1.4 oz).
How do you like the taste of this variety?
I grew it in 1998, 1999, 2000. Then I gave up on it because of the taste.
Sour, tough skin.
Maybe Florida Petite has changed since then?
About 5 years ago I planted this variety outdoors in open ground…
Why — I don’t even understand now, except maybe that they promised a sweet taste.
At first, I wanted to put it in the flower bed, but then planted it in the garden bed anyway. These microscopic bushes just got lost there on the bare soil; in a flower bed, I probably wouldn’t have found them at all.
And it was sour and low-yielding.
Karamel wrote:
Sour, tough skin. Maybe Florida Petite has changed since then?
I grew it this year. The bush is tiny, lots of little tomatoes. But sour, with a tough skin. Good for a novelty (just for fun) and early salads. Grows on a windowsill in a container of about 3 liters (0.8 gallons).
