{"id":6714,"date":"2026-10-29T19:25:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T19:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=6714"},"modified":"2026-10-29T19:25:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T19:25:38","slug":"lithium-sunset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/lithium-sunset\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithium Sunset Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> Lithium Sunset is a stunning mid-season<\/strong>, indeterminate<\/strong> bicolor tomato bred by Fred Hempel. It produces gorgeous 7-14 oz (200-400 g) yellow-orange fruits with red striping and a pearlescent sheen. Growers praise its sturdy vines, meaty texture, and good shelf life, which is a rarity for bicolors. While most find it sweet and productive, it can suffer from blossom drop in extreme heat and might get mealy if left on the vine too long. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-11 Experience)<\/h2>\n
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Sofia 27 (Sofia) \u2b50 Pro Grower (2,154 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A new variety, bred by Fred Hempel, USA. Sturdy, beautiful as a seedling, mid-season. Reached about 5 ft (1.5 m) in the greenhouse, a bit shorter outdoors. The fruits are absolutely gorgeous, shiny yellow-orange, almost pearlescent with red stripes, weighing 7-14 oz (200-400 g). The flesh is bicolor and delicious. Turned out to be a very heavy yielder with a long fruiting window.<\/p>\n

Edited December 13, 2017 by Drosera<\/em><\/p>\n

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Danko (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (10,117 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Got nipped by the May frosts but bounced back by pushing out suckers. Pruned to two leaders. Gorgeous striped fruits, averaging 9 oz (250 g) plus.<\/p>\n

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Ovechka (Lyudmila) \u2b50 Forum Pioneer (13,966 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Russia<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A very beautiful variety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ovechka (Lyudmila) \u2b50 Forum Pioneer (13,966 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Russia<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Did everyone like Lithium Sunset? Is there anyone who didn’t? That would be me \ud83d\ude06. It turned out super woody and hard for me. Probably the heat messed it up. I should have planted it in the open ground.<\/p>\n

PS. Tried to juice it to save seeds. It completely clogged up my juicer. \ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Yulya (Julia) \u2b50 Pro Grower (27,134 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Alexandrov, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Vine grew to about 5.5 ft (1.7 m). Mid-season. A really tasty, sweet stunner. Very juicy and meaty. But yield was on the low side for me.<\/p>\n

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Belka (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,499 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Chekhov, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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ElenaPr (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,433 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Very beautiful and tasty. I fell in love with this variety.<\/p>\n

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Doch Fedora (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,833 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Tomsk, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Lena, how did it do production-wise? I ordered seeds for next year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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ElenaPr (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,433 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Doch Fedora said:<\/strong>
\nLena, how did it do production-wise?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Olga, I’d call it an average yielder, but I can’t say for sure. I sowed it really late, on March 26. In the greenhouse it set two full trusses with mostly two tomatoes per cluster. Pruned it to two stems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ilja (Ilya) \u2b50 Pro Grower (758 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Klinsky District, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A wonderful, tall, heavily producing tomato variety. The fruits are stunning, large, red-orange with striping. Very tasty, sweet, juicy, and meaty.<\/p>\n

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Valeriy1968 (Valery) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,515 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Vologda, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It’s rare to find such high-yielding bicolors. Both plants I grew put out really impressive production. The vine is robust, tall, with a thick stem. The fruits are just beauties, yellow-red-orange with streaks. Very large. The taste might not be the absolute best among bicolors, but I was completely happy with it. The fruits are meaty, they don’t turn to mush or get leaky when overripe, and they store well, which is rare for a bicolor. Mid-season variety.<\/p>\n

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sel4anka (Nina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,699 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Bashkortostan, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Loved this variety: beautiful, tasty, and productive. I was picking the last ones in October when I finally pulled the vines. Yulya shared the seeds with me.<\/p>\n

Yulya, \ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lisenok (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (14,229 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Ryazan Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tatiana Kemerovo (Tatiana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (2,694 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Kemerovo, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Maybe it’s better to prune it to a single leader? Might it be earlier and more productive that way? Has anyone tried growing it to 1 stem? \ud83e\udd20<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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nagya (Nadezhda) \u2b50 Pro Grower (2,152 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Vitebsk, Belarus (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Could someone tell me what the foliage should look like? Two germinated for me, but they have different leaf types. Which one is true to type?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ninulia (Nina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (39,677 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Man, this variety really reminds me of Striped Mushroom Basket (bicolor) that I grew back in ’17 (I think). A forum friend sent me those seeds in ’15. And she apparently got them from my own earlier stash of Striped Mushroom Basket, which wasn’t a bicolor but pink with red streaks. What makes me think of this is Valery mentioning the massive vine. Mine was huge like that too, tasted fine, and I think they kept on the counter until December. Mostly because they aren’t as softly juicy as a lot of bicolors.
\nI planted actual Lithium Sunset this year. I’ll watch it, compare, and take some pics. The seeds are probably from ’17, gifted to me last spring, but I never managed to plant it back then \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n

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sofochkamai (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (4,293 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yekaterinburg, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ninulia said:<\/strong>
\nI planted actual Lithium Sunset this year. I’ll watch it, compare, and take some pics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ninulia, does that mean the photos you posted above are NOT Lithium Sunset?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Alisa \u2b50 Pro Grower (6,406 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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sofochkamai said:<\/strong>
\nNinulia, does that mean the photos you posted above are NOT Lithium Sunset?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The last photo definitely looks like Lithium’s shape. I grew two lines from this: Red Lithium and Lithium Sunset (the variety is still kind of young and going through segregation). The shape is exactly like Ninulia’s, but I got my seeds from the primary source, or rather, from a guy who got his seeds straight from the breeder, and that guy is totally legit with a solid reputation.<\/p>\n

Here is my Red Lithium (that’s what they decided to name it after the segregation):<\/p>\n

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And regular L. Sunset was very close in color and shape to Ninulia’s last three photos.<\/p>\n

Vines on both were extremely tough, not disease-prone at all. Red Lithium was earlier for me, but the fruits were smaller. L. Sunset was later, but the trusses were absolutely loaded with tomatoes. Makes me want to sow them again right now, even though I have zero space. Red Lithium didn’t store long because my family ate them all instantly, but L. Sunset stored great. Flavor-wise, L. Sunset was a step down from other bicolors, but overall still really solid.<\/p>\n

Edited March 15, 2019 by Alisa<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Alisa \u2b50 Pro Grower (6,406 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tatiana Kemerovo said:<\/strong>
\nMaybe it’s better to prune it to a single leader? Might it be earlier and more productive that way? Has anyone tried growing it to 1 stem? \ud83e\udd20<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No, it won’t be. It was super productive for me when I pruned it to two to four stems. You can’t speed it up without adapting it to your microclimate anyway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ninulia (Nina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (39,677 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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sofochkamai said:<\/strong>
\nNinulia, does that mean the photos you posted above are NOT Lithium Sunset?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No! Those are all photos of Striped Mushroom Basket (bicolor) that I mentioned growing in ’17.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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tomatinka (Vera) \u2b50 Pro Grower (14,911 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Tyumen Region, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ira, what an intense color on that Red Lithium!!!!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Galiy (Galina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (18,041 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Stupinsky District, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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nagya said:<\/strong>
\nCould someone tell me what the foliage should look like? Two germinated for me, but they have different leaf types.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jumping in on this question. Same story here. Got two plants with different foliage. One is regular, the second is potato leaf. \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2640\ufe0f<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Tiffany (Julia) \u2b50 Pro Grower (20,171 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Las Palmas, Spain (USDA Zone 11)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Galiy said:<\/strong>
\nOne is regular, the second is potato leaf. \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2640\ufe0f<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Good afternoon, Galina! This variety should definitely have a regular leaf.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Galiy (Galina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (18,041 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Stupinsky District, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tiffany said:<\/strong>
\nGood afternoon, Galina! This variety should definitely have a regular leaf.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks. Curious to see what the potato leaf one throws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lana_s_Kavkaza (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (19,271 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Pyatigorsk, Russia (USDA Zone 7)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sowed March 27, planted out in the greenhouse in early May. Grew to 2-3 stems, good yields.<\/p>\n

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Nilola (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,749 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Krasnodar, Russia (USDA Zone 7)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2022, Krasnodar region, grew in the greenhouse to about 5 ft (150 cm). Really liked it, beautiful and tasty, but yield wasn’t great for me. It was extremely hot mid-season, and the blossoms just dropped left and right.<\/p>\n

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OlyaSashina (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,355 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Bor, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Average vine height, up to 6 ft (180 cm). Large fruits, some hitting 10.5 oz (300 g). Grew in a relatively sunny spot, but not baking in full sun. Fruits are tasty and juicy. Pushed out a great yield for me.<\/p>\n

One thing: don’t let it hang on the vine fully ripe for too long. It gets kind of mealy and fibrous, and the flesh inside starts separating. Basically, don’t wait for the fruits to get soft, pick them firm. Once they color up, they’re ripe \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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