Quick Summary of Huan U (Topaz)
- 🌍 Origin: An exotic cocktail/cherry variety originating from China. Often circulated among collectors under multiple names: Huan U, Topaz, Honey Topaz, or Pearlescent.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), highly vigorous, and tends to produce a ton of suckers. Can easily reach 3 meters (10 ft) in a greenhouse. Extremely productive (loaded with fruit) and often one of the first to start ripening.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Stunning, small, round fruits weighing around 40-45 g (1.5 oz). Unripe, they are pale green with dark green stripes. As they ripen, the base color turns yellow/creamy-amber, and the stripes become translucent and pearlescent. They literally look like glowing Christmas tree ornaments!
- 👅 Flavor & Use: Highly debated. While they win top marks for visual appeal, many growers find the fresh flavor to be mediocre, tart, or lacking sweetness. Some say they are great for canning, while others report that the thin skin splits easily and the flesh turns to mush in jars.
- ⏳ Maturity: Early to mid-season, with a very long, extended harvest window until autumn.
Huan U. Indeterminate, grew in the greenhouse, I pruned it to two stems, and it reached a height of almost 300 cm (10 ft). The cherry fruits are round, very cute. When they are not completely ripe, they are yellow with green stripes; upon ripening, the green stripes become translucent and pearlescent. Tasty and aromatic, up to 45 g (1.5 oz), suitable for canning.
The yield is normal.
Marinochka, why is the thread titled like this? Are these all names for the same variety?
Lanochka, I forgot to put “China” in parentheses to show the origin, but all the other names are indeed names for the exact same little tomato. 😄
This variety has been in my collection for a long time… I love it for its elegant, small fruits — they hang on the plant like Christmas tree ornaments 👍 The fruiting period is extended — it ripens in the greenhouse right up until autumn…
Growing outdoors in open ground. The fruits are beautiful, but I didn’t like the taste.
So, I’m not the only one who didn’t like the taste. But visually, they really are beauties! They practically glow.
My Huan-U also grew beautiful and productive, but I wasn’t too fond of the taste, although the kids happily ate them up just because of how pretty the fruits were. It is not suitable for canning; the skin splits and the flesh turns to mush.
I didn’t really like the taste either, and the way it turns to mush in canning jars. 😕
Beautiful, highly productive, but not tasty. By the way, when fully ripe, the stripes disappear. The skin is very thin.
Beautiful and soooo productive, heavily loaded (I pruned it to two-three stems outdoors in open ground), overall I liked it. The taste is not great, but it was one of the very first to start ripening, so it’s forgivable. I will plant it again!
I liked it very much. It started ripening early, didn’t get sick, and was highly productive. A friend of mine counted 172 tomatoes on one bush. Almost all of mine went into making peeled canned tomatoes (Achuchuk style). Canned whole without the skin. Delicious and beautiful.
A variety that deeply disappointed me in terms of fresh taste surprisingly turned out to be one of the tastiest in canning jars. It didn’t crack, retained a firm texture, and had a pleasant, strong aroma with fruity notes. But I still won’t plant it anymore…
I liked the variety. It was one of the first to start ripening in the greenhouse, and even now the roof is full of tomatoes. Beautiful, unpretentious.
Seeds from “Schastliviy Sad” (Happy Garden).
– Visual description of the bush: mid-late variety, spreading, slender, sturdy.
– Fruit set – some skipped blossoms, but still fruiting.
– Height of the bush outdoors in open ground on Aug 14th – 1.7 m (5.6 ft).
– Trusses – 3-4 fruits each.
– Overall yield – average, closer to high.
– Fruit: round, greenish at milk maturity, creamy-yellow at full maturity, with green streaks.
– Density of ripe fruit – high.
– Taste – meaty, harmonious, balanced, with a slight acidity, sweetness is 4+ out of 5.
First impression: a tomato for canning. Doesn’t crack.
Minuses – lacked just a little bit of sweetness.
Rating: Seedlings – 4, Bush – 4, Fruit – 4+, Overall variety rating – 4.
Huan-U was very productive in the greenhouse. The taste was ordinary, with a tang. It produced a ton of suckers. The fruits are juicy.
