📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gandolf
- 🌍 Origin: An American variety bred by Dean Slater. It is highly prized by collectors for its stunning foliage and beautiful fruits.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate / Bush. It grows very compactly, usually staying around 3 ft (0.8–1 m) tall. Standout feature: It has Potato Leaf (PL) foliage that is highly variegated (splashed with white/creamy spots). Because it’s a bush type, it requires very little to no pruning of the suckers.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Gorgeous crimson-red cocktail-sized tomatoes heavily striped with golden-yellow. They often feature a cute little beak (nipple) at the blossom end. Average weight is around 1.7–2.8 oz (50–80 g).
- ⏳ Maturity: Mid-season.
- 👅 Flavor: Very sweet, juicy, and flavorful. Excellent for snacking, salads, or canning whole.
Grower Reviews & Photos
Variety from Redko, originated in the USA. Mid-season, medium height. Crimson with yellow stripes, grows in clusters. The stated weight is up to 5.3 oz (150 g). Mine grew fruits around 1.7–2.1 oz (50–60 grams). Productive, tastes sweet and juicy.
I liked this variety. The fruits were sweet. Potato leaf foliage.
Edited October 31, 2019 by ilja
This variety has very beautiful foliage. The leaves were potato-leaf type and variegated.
A luxurious little bush full of tasty and beautiful tomatoes.
A very interesting tomato variety with beautiful variegated foliage and equally beautiful heart-shaped fruits.
Grew them in a polycarbonate greenhouse, the plants are compact, short, around 3.3 ft (1 m). Bright red fruits with golden stripes on top, weighing 2.1–2.8 oz (60–80 g). The flesh is buttery, dense with a good balanced flavor, and a sufficient amount of sweetness.
The fruits are capable of being stored for a long time without losing quality.
Mid-season variety, with good productivity.
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I grew it both in the greenhouse and outdoors. The one that grew outdoors on a raised bed was very productive, grew all by itself, basically on a “survive if you’re lucky” basis. It made no demands, when it started to fall over under its own weight, I finally had to tie it up; I only started covering it in September. The tomatoes are tasty, with sweetness, and they store well. In the photo is the one that grew in the greenhouse.
Gandolf. Absolutely loved the variety – unusual, beautiful, productive, and tasty. Height in the greenhouse was about 31 inches (80 cm), potato leaf foliage with variegation (small white spots), I didn’t prune the suckers. The whole plant was covered in trusses of festive fruits around 1.7 oz (50 g), red with golden stripes and a little beak, sweet!
Edited September 28, 2020 by Svetikk
Ilya, could you please tell me if your plant also had variegated leaves?
@LanYa wrote:
Ilya, could you please tell me if your plant also had variegated leaves?
Yes, as far as I remember, there were small variegated spots appearing on some of the individual leaves.
Grew it outdoors this year. My allowed height limit for it was up to 3.3 ft (1 m). The spots on the leaves definitely exist (mostly during the seedling stage).
The fruits are beautiful with golden streaks (when ripe), weighing around 1.7–2.1 oz (50–60 g), with a slightly elongated beak. The skin is quite firm, they did crack just a tiny bit. Crimson red on the inside.
They should be fantastic for canning whole – both the size is right, and the flesh (not rock hard, but firm).
Edited November 11, 2021 by OlyaSashina
Tell me, when should I sow seeds for this one?
@Ketrin007 wrote:
Tell me, when should I sow seeds for this one?
No need to sow it early, just at the normal time with all your other tomatoes – about 55-60 days before transplanting out to their permanent home.
As several growers mentioned, one of the most exciting things about Gandolf is its foliage! The plant features Potato Leaves that are naturally “variegated” – meaning the leaves are splashed with white, cream, or light green spots, almost like they were splattered with paint. This is a very rare and highly sought-after genetic trait in the tomato world. While the variegation is usually strongest during the early seedling stage and might fade slightly as the plant matures in the hot summer sun, it makes for an absolutely stunning ornamental plant in the garden!
