{"id":7450,"date":"2026-11-09T17:11:25","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T17:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=7450"},"modified":"2026-11-09T17:11:25","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T17:11:25","slug":"sunshine-blue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/sunshine-blue\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunshine Blue Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n \n
\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Share your rating<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> Sunshine Blue<\/strong> is an early American anthocyanin cherry<\/strong> derived from the famous OSU Blue<\/em> lineage. It produces under 1 oz (20-25 g)<\/strong> round fruits shifting from ink-purple to dusty rose. The variety is characterized by extreme genetic inward leaf curling<\/strong> and starkly polarized performance: in hot, sunny climates (90-100\u00b0F \/ 33-38\u00b0C), it delivers rich, sweet-tart fruit, while in cool, cloudy northern gardens it yields poorly and splits severely. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3b-6b Experience)<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
D<\/div>\n
\n
Drosera (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,415 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yekaterinburg, Russia (USDA Zone 3b\/4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Sunshine Blue (USA). Cherry tomato in shades of black, purple, and dusty rose.
\nGrew mine outside in an open bed where they stayed relatively short, around 28-32 inches (70-80 cm). From the day they were transplanted into the garden, the leaves rolled up into tight tubes and never unfurled back to normal all season.
\nPopenko’s seed catalog notes that this variety was bred using OSU Blue on the maternal side. But while OSU Blue is an absolute masterpiece in my book, Sunshine Blue doesn’t earn that title. Sure, it starts ripening earlier, but it completely lacks the unforgettable flavor and heavy productivity of OSU Blue.
\nWhen canned in hot brine, the skin color shifts. Still an attractive tomato if you want an ornamental conversation piece. (The scale photo was taken in November – early-season fruit were larger, right around under an ounce (24 g)).
\nEdited January 11, 2014 by Drosera
\n\"Anthocyanin<\/a>
\n\"Small<\/a>
\n\"Single<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
D<\/div>\n
\n
Drosera (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,415 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yekaterinburg, Russia (USDA Zone 3b\/4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
A couple more photos of the fruit and habit:
\n\"Foliage<\/a>
\n\"Harvested<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
V<\/div>\n
\n
vikmik (Viktoriya) \ud83c\udf31 Member (26 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Now I’m having serious buyer’s remorse! \ud83d\ude32 Just ordered the seeds and this review is pretty brutal…<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
D<\/div>\n
\n
Drosera (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,415 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yekaterinburg, Russia (USDA Zone 3b\/4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
No need to panic! \ud83d\ude04 Get them in the ground, you might end up loving it in your soil.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
V<\/div>\n
\n
vikmik (Viktoriya) \ud83c\udf31 Member (26 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
It’s my very first time picking blue varieties. If there’s still time before they ship, I might try swapping it out for Blue Beauty or original OSU Blue…<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
L<\/div>\n
\n
Lana_s_Kavkaza (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (19,274 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Pyatigorsk, Russia (USDA Zone 6b)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
I ran mine in the greenhouse, zero pruning, and it set a crazy amount of fruit over a very long season. Rich, old-school tomato flavor with a bright sweet-tart balance and pleasant fruity notes. Absolute winner for me – a solid 5+ out of 5!
\n\"Greenhouse<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
V<\/div>\n
\n
Valtwelve (Valeriy) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,848 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Samara-Ufa Border Region (USDA Zone 4b)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Received as a freebie gift from V. Redko. Stuck one plant in an open garden bed with zero expectations. Started it as two stems, then two more sneaked through. Very sturdy vine with thick stems.
\nThe leaves were rolled tight like cigars from day one, which makes the whole plant canopy look very open and sparse. It responds well to feeding.
\nAt first, it took its sweet time developing purple, almost jet-black globes. But once our summer heatwave hit 90-100\u00b0F (33-38\u00b0C), it started cranking out lighter-colored fruit that ripened before the purple pigment had time to fully develop. It loves intense heat. Plant spread on a single stem was about 16 inches (40 cm).
\nTotal yield wasn’t massive – about 4.5-5.5 lbs (2-2.5 kg). But the taste was great: bold, sweet cherry flavor, 5 out of 5. Keeping one plant as a regular!
\nWe picked them slightly underripe because we couldn’t wait. Here are early clusters, and here is how it looked after the heatwave:
\n\"Anthocyanin<\/a>
\n\"Ripening<\/a>
\n\"Harvested<\/a>
\n\"Overhead<\/a>
\n\"Cluster<\/a>
\n\"Ripe<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
S<\/div>\n
\n
Sergey-EKB (Sergey) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,585 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yekaterinburg, Russia (USDA Zone 3b\/4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Sharing my experience on this one as well.
\nThe moment it went into the greenhouse, the leaves curled tight into tubes and stayed rolled up the entire season. It grew into a thick 6 ft (1.8 m) tree of a plant, but set barely two dozen small fruits.
\nOut of all my cherries, it was by far the worst performer – couldn’t hold a candle to Barry’s Crazy Cherry, Red Cluster, Barberry, Honey Drop, or Ildi growing right next to it.
\nBottom line: won’t be growing it again. Other cherry varieties run circles around it for looks, maturity timing, yield, and flavor. I completely agree with Svetlana (Drosera) – compared to this, its parent OSU Blue is an absolute masterpiece.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
V<\/div>\n
\n
Valtwelve (Valeriy) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,848 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Samara-Ufa Border Region (USDA Zone 4b)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Dropping an August update: Once our weather turned cool and overcast, the plant basically stopped growing. Every single fruit split wide open like this, and the flavor completely fell off a cliff.
\nMy conclusion: this variety is strictly built for hot, dry climates. Scratched from my grow list.
\n\"Split<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Quick Facts: Variety Summary<\/h2>\n