📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotoy Mandarin (Golden Mandarin)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian variety popularized by private seed collector Valya Redko. The name translates to “Golden Mandarin” (or Golden Tangerine), which perfectly matches its bright color and size.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Very compact and well-behaved. Typically stays around 20 to 32 inches (50-80 cm) tall. It requires minimal to no pruning (suckering) and is perfect for open ground or container growing.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small, perfectly round, bright yellow-orange tomatoes. They consistently weigh around 2.8 to 3.5 oz (80-100 g). The fruits are very firm, dense, and high in beta-carotene.
- 👅 Flavor: The breeder describes it as sugary, but most growers find it has a standard, classic tomato flavor. While it might not blow you away in a fresh salad, its dense structure makes it an excellent candidate for canning.
Seeds were from V. Redko. Here is her description: “Bush height is 32 inches (80 cm), compact plant, does not require suckering. Fruits are round, yellow-orange, weighing 2.8-3.5 oz (80-100 g). Very tasty and sugary, with elevated beta-carotene levels. A very heavy-yielding variety.”
Mine grew outdoors in the open ground. I actually did prune the suckers on it. It is a very heavy yielder, and the fruits are incredibly firm. I didn’t really love the taste fresh, but it will do just fine for canning 🙂.
Grew it outdoors in the dirt, it got to about 20-24 inches (50-60 cm) tall. A very good, prolific variety. I didn’t pinch out any suckers at all. It has a classic tomato flavor. I liked it. 🙂
In this thread, you can see two different approaches to managing a compact bush. The original seed collector (Redko) advises against pruning. Elena followed this advice and got a compact, 24-inch bush loaded with fruit. Lyudmila, however, pruned hers anyway.
As a general rule for American and Russian determinates alike: if the seed packet says “no pruning required”, believe it! Determinate varieties are genetically programmed to stop growing after setting a certain number of flower trusses on the ends of their branches. If you prune out the suckers on a compact bush, you are permanently removing your harvest, as the plant will not vine out to replace them!
