Quick Summary of Rozovyi Med (Pink Honey)
- 🌍 Origin: An absolute legend of Russian tomato breeding. Developed by the famous Siberian seed company SibSad (Siberian Garden). It is one of the most widely grown and discussed large pink tomatoes in Russia.
- 🌿 Plant Habit (The Great Debate): The seed packet lists it as a determinate, but growers universally agree it acts like a sprawling semi-determinate or indeterminate in a greenhouse (reaching up to 2m / 6.5 ft). Important: It has classic “wispy” or “weeping” foliage (хилый куст). The plant often looks fragile or weak, but do not be alarmed—this is perfectly normal for this variety!
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: The true strain produces massive pink heart-shaped (oxheart) tomatoes. They regularly weigh 500-800g (1.1 – 1.7 lbs), with some growers achieving giants up to 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs).
- 👅 Flavor: The name “Pink Honey” is no exaggeration. It is intensely sweet, meaty, and has very low acidity. Many growers compare its texture and sweetness to watermelon.
- ⚠️ Grower Notes & Challenges:
1. Megablooms: It is highly prone to fasciated blossoms (megablooms), which result in giant, ugly, misshapen fruits. Remove them early if you want pretty hearts.
2. Potassium: It is prone to “green shoulders” if not fed enough potassium.
3. Shelf Life: This is a fresh-eating dessert tomato; it softens quickly and does not store well.
Rozovyi Med (Pink Honey). Seeds from Sib. Sad (Siberian Garden).
A wonderful little tomato. Not tall, the bush is wispy/flimsy, doesn’t take up much space. It sets fruit perfectly. Quite early and very tasty! 😊
Here it is sliced (the one that is pink, naturally).
Edited January 24, 2015 by Drosera
Galya! Our SibSad Pink Honey, when ripe, is bright pink and sweetish-bland, dietary. The seeds were bought 4 years ago. Or do you intentionally pick it underripe, is it tastier for you that way?
There is a description of the variety on the old forum. Zulfiya described the taste of the variety accurately. There is only sweetness, a weak acidity rarely appears and only in overripe tomatoes. Unripe ones have no taste at all. We gave it 4.5 points for taste.
We tried the variety for the first year, from SibSad. We planted 2 bushes in one hole, following advice on the forum, and it turned out great. The fruiting is extended, the ripening of fruits on the bush is slow, they are in no hurry. This bush was sitting alone, spread out over the netting.
And they were large, the color didn’t reflect correctly here, the photo was taken indoors.
Photo from mid-September.
Edited October 20, 2014 by Rodebielesumer
Regarding the taste of Pink Honey: a group of “Experts” consisting of three grandmas (my mom and aunts) “a little over 80 years old” tested about a dozen pink-fruited tomato varieties in 2013 using a “blind tasting” method. That is, with closed eyes and numbered samples.
All three of them put Pink Honey in first place. Even though I was being tricky and gave it to them to taste under different numbers. They always ask me to bring it to them, they say it’s tasty and beautiful, like a watermelon. This year it died in its “infancy” from seedling flies. I had the SibSad version. If you prune the trusses, it really gets very large. But you have to tie them up — the stems kink under the weight. Seeds are my own saved ones, will definitely repeat next year.
I completely agree with Deniza: tasty, productive, doesn’t take up much space!
What else do you need for happiness 😊
Pink Honey 07/25/2014
I want to add, Pink Honey is good in every way: early, meaty, sweet, one of the earliest, productive, weight from 300 to 900g (10.5 oz – 2 lbs). Originally seeds from Sib. Sad, it grew tall in the greenhouse.
Pink Honey (SibSad): Tasty, large, productive, but I have a question — why are the fruits gnarly? …cratered/pitted?
Serg said:
…why are the fruits gnarly? …cratered/pitted?
Gnarly fruits develop from megablooms (fasciated/double blossoms).
So what? Should I remove them? — then there won’t be any tomatoes…
Serg said:
So what? Should I remove them? — then there won’t be any tomatoes…
We have a whole thread called “What to do with megablooms?”, go read it.
I grew Pink Honey for several years in a row. The bush had sparse foliage. I pruned it to two stems. I didn’t thin out the trusses. The variety is quite productive. The fruits are meaty, not dry, with a pleasant sweetish taste.
I am very satisfied with Pink Honey. Seeds were from Lidushka.
And one more photo of Pink Honey.
I plant Pink Honey and saved my own seeds again, but I didn’t think to plant two bushes side by side in one hole! Thanks for the tip! The stems are indeed a bit flimsy, just like on Budenovka. 😆
Pink Honey is a love for life! The bushes are wispy both outdoors and in the greenhouse. The height outdoors is 1.2 meters (4 ft), in the greenhouse it’s over 2 meters (6.5 ft). They bear fruit amazingly. Here it is outdoors, July 25, 2013.
