Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 3/4 Experience)
“Make My Day.” You can translate it directly, but at its heart, it is that classic American idiom for “make me happy” or “bring a smile to my face.”
A mid-season bicolor bred by Tom Wagner. Fruits vary between flattened round beefsteaks and blunt oxheart shapes. Gorgeous coloration showing warm swirls of orange, pink, and yellow, with very few seeds in the locules.
Productivity was high, but it fell flat on flavor for me. The taste swung anywhere from completely bland to just mildly pleasant, roughly 4.1 to 4.4 out of 5 in my book.
Grew it inside the greenhouse, and by the end of the run it hit about 4.6 ft (1.4 m) tall. Still not entirely sure if this is a true indeterminate or a semi-determinate plant. Not planning to grow this standard bicolor line again, but I am trialing its sister version, Make My Day Orange, this season to keep a closer eye on its growth habit.
Full Summary: Lineage, Growth Habit, and Eating Quality
- 🇺🇸 Breeding & Heritage: Developed by independent American breeder Tom Wagner (Washington State, USA), creator of Green Zebra. Wagner is known for breeding diverse, open-pollinated lines that frequently segregate into related color strains (such as Make My Day Orange).
- 🌿 Growth Habit: Functions as a semi-determinate to compact indeterminate plant, topping out around 4.6 ft (1.4 m) under greenhouse cover. Manageable canopy with strong cluster set.
- 🎨 Fruit Morphology: Produces 8-14 oz (225-400 g) slicers that fluctuate between oblate beefsteaks and blunt, heart-like forms. Skin and interior show an attractive pastel marble of yellow, peach, and pink with very low seed counts.
- 👅 Flavor Profile: Highly dependent on temperature. In northern, low-sunlight zones (such as Kostroma, Zone 3/4), fruit can lack acidity and sweetness, producing a mild or watery profile.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Trialed in northern European Russia (Kostroma Region, USDA Zone 3/4).
