🍅 Quick take: Reverend Michael Keyes is an indeterminate multiflora cherry bred by Michael Keyes (Black Plum × Sweet Beverly). It produces massive flower sprays resembling giant dill heads, followed by cascades of firm, red 0.5 oz (15 g) plum-shaped fruit. Excellent resilience and storage life, ideal for single-leader greenhouse trellising. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Greenhouse Experience)
Indeterminate mid-season variety, bred from a cross between Black Plum and Sweet Beverly. The fruit are small red plum-shaped cherries averaging about 0.5 oz (15 g). The trusses are super complex – when in full bloom they look just like giant dill heads.
I really had to nurse this one along from day one. The seeds absolutely refused to sprout. The very last seed barely put out a weak radicle in my seed sprouter and then stalled out completely – just had zero energy left. My guess is the seeds got bruised by automated postal sorting machines. Anyway, I tucked that fragile little sprout into a solo cup with potting soil and bagged it up. That did the trick! The seedling took off like a rocket.
Even though that seed only emerged in May, the vine still managed to fully ripen two gigantic sprays, with five clusters set in total. I pruned it strictly to a single stem because those fruit trusses are simply humongous. Grew it inside the greenhouse. It turned out completely low-maintenance with outstanding yield potential if started on a normal spring schedule. The little tomatoes are firm, with a classic balanced tomato flavor. They ripen reliably off the vine and keep remarkably well in storage.
One single truss:
I really had to nurse this one along from day one. The seeds absolutely refused to sprout. The very last seed barely put out a weak radicle in my seed sprouter and then stalled out completely – just had zero energy left. My guess is the seeds got bruised by automated postal sorting machines. Anyway, I tucked that fragile little sprout into a solo cup with potting soil and bagged it up. That did the trick! The seedling took off like a rocket.
Even though that seed only emerged in May, the vine still managed to fully ripen two gigantic sprays, with five clusters set in total. I pruned it strictly to a single stem because those fruit trusses are simply humongous. Grew it inside the greenhouse. It turned out completely low-maintenance with outstanding yield potential if started on a normal spring schedule. The little tomatoes are firm, with a classic balanced tomato flavor. They ripen reliably off the vine and keep remarkably well in storage.
One single truss:
Quick Facts: Variety Summary
- 🌿 Growth & Habit: Tall indeterminate multiflora vine. Produces massive branching sprays that can carry 50 to 100+ blossoms each. Best trained to a single stem to prevent heavy tangled foliage.
- 🍅 Fruit Profile: Red, oval plum-shaped cherries weighing roughly 0.5 oz (15 g). Firm-textured with thick skin that resists cracking.
- 📈 Yield: Extremely prolific. Even with an accidental late-May germination, the vine produced 5 full trusses, finishing 2 massive sprays before frost.
- 👅 Taste & Keeping Quality: Traditional, balanced tomato taste without overt sugary sweetness. Excellent keeping quality, with unripe fruit ripening smoothly off the vine without shriveling.
- 🧬 Lineage: Bred in the US by Michael Keyes as a cross between Black Plum and Sweet Beverly.
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: Handling Multiflora Types
The “dill umbrella” trusses described here are the hallmark of true multiflora genetics. Because a single multiflora spray demands enormous energy and can easily snap under its own weight, growers in short-season regions almost always prune these vines to a single stem and provide sling support under the ripening flower clusters.
The “dill umbrella” trusses described here are the hallmark of true multiflora genetics. Because a single multiflora spray demands enormous energy and can easily snap under its own weight, growers in short-season regions almost always prune these vines to a single stem and provide sling support under the ripening flower clusters.
🍅 Have you grown this multiflora? How many fruits did your largest cluster set, and did you prune to one stem or let it branch? Let us know in the comments below!
