{"id":5385,"date":"2026-10-14T12:50:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=5385"},"modified":"2026-10-14T12:51:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:51:02","slug":"lutescent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/lutescent\/","title":{"rendered":"Lutescent (Honor Bright) Tomato Review & Photos: The Color-Changing Heirloom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> Lutescent<\/strong> (also known historically as Honor Bright<\/strong>) is an antique 1897 heirloom bred by Alexander Livingston. It is famous for its bizarre genetics: pale yellow-green foliage, white flowers, and fruits that transition from green to white, then yellow, orange, and finally red. While some growers love its novelty and incredibly long shelf life (up to 6 months!), others find the pale foliage alarming and struggle with slow ripening and disease. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

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Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Experience)<\/h2>\n

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Marina \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,182 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A very unusual variety. Takes a really long time from the start of ripening to becoming fully ripe. First, the fruits turn white, hang there white for a long time, then start coloring up red, and finally become red-orange (the color is incredibly beautiful). Thick-walled fruit, would be perfect for canning (haven’t canned them myself), tart tomato flavor. Weight is around 3.5 oz (100 g). The plant is about 3.3 ft (1 m) tall, the first truss appears after the 9th leaf, the next one after the 3rd. Wispy foliage, lower leaves yellow quickly.<\/p>\n

Edited September 24, 2013 by Marina<\/em><\/p>\n

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M<\/div>\n
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Marina \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,182 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Lutescent<\/a>
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SvetaR (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (27,488 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Man, this variety gave me a run for my money. First I was trying to save it from chlorosis. It seemed to bounce back, but by fall the whole plant was just standing there covered in yellow leaves again. Then I was fighting off diseases. Then I waited forever for it to finally ripen. Never actually got there, I just picked them while they were still white. Ripened them indoors on the counter. We just didn’t click, definitely not sowing this one again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Daks (Anna) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,805 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Penza Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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From the catalog description:<\/p>\n

Lutescent, Alexander Livingston, USA. An antique variety, created by the author in 1897; it was known under various names: Livingston’s Honor Bright, Lutescent Long Red, Honor Bright. As Alexander Livingston noted in his first description of the variety made in 1900, before the fruit becomes fully ripe and turns red, it goes through some interesting transformations. The variety is mid-season, semi-determinate, and everything about it is very unusual. The leaves at the beginning of the season are yellow-green or yellow with green veins, later they turn green. Flowers are white or pale yellow. Fruits are heart-shaped or flat heart-shaped, slightly ribbed. They are true chameleons, changing color during ripening from green to white, then sequentially to lemon-yellow, orange, and finally red. By the second half of summer, fruits at different stages of ripening hang on the vines, making the plants look unusual and very colorful. Fruit weight is 7-9 oz (200-250 g). The flesh is juicy, aromatic, with a well-balanced flavor. The variety is high-yielding, resilient; fruits store very well for 2.5 to 3 months. Good for fresh eating, making juices, and sauces.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yeah, it’s an interesting variety. The seedlings had distinctly different foliage, and it ripened super weirdly. Mine had zero disease issues. Held up in storage all the way until New Year’s, decent taste. Actually, they even made it to March. I won’t be planting it again though, summer tomatoes fresh off the vine are just a whole different ballgame, and for soups and freezing, anything else works fine. Mine only weighed about 2 oz (60 g). Out in the dirt, all my varieties turn out smaller than the catalog specs.<\/p>\n

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Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage<\/h2>\n