Tomatoes are naturally perennial. Of course, the cold winters put a damper on our plans. Some tomato varieties still have the ability to overwinter indoors. You can find out what these are here.
Which tomato varieties are perennial?
Some perennial tomato varieties are wild tomatoes, such as the Bolivian fruit tomato, Currant Sweet Pea, Red Marble, Humboldtii and Mexican wild tomato. Small bush tomatoes, such as Primabell, Mikro Tom, Fuzzy Wuzzy, Mohamed and Roter Robinius, are also suitable for growing on the windowsill for several years.
Wild tomatoes with a license for perennial cultivation
Wild tomatoes have a sufficiently robust constitution to survive the strain of overwintering behind glass in one piece. The following varieties have been grown unchanged since their discovery, as Mother Nature created them:
- Bolivian fruit tomatoes: countless, 1 cm small yellow fruits, robust, authentic
- Currant Sweet Pea: resistant, seed-resistant, growth height up to 250 cm, ruby red fruits up to 2 grams
- Red marble: classic from the Andes, delicious red fruits, cold and wet tolerant
- Humboldtii: very vigorous wild tomato, aromatic, red fruits up to 25 grams, cutting back is recommended
- Mexican wild tomato: hardy, cold-tolerant, climbing aid required
Perennial tomato varieties for flower pots
Small bush tomatoes do not have the power reserves of wild tomatoes; They compensate for this shortcoming with a low growth height. This means they easily find space in the flower pot and thrive on the windowsill for several years. These varieties are recommended:
- Primabell: growth height up to 25 centimeters, red fruits up to 30 grams
- Micro Tom: fan variety with a height of 10-15 centimeters, tiny, delicious, red tomatoes
- Fuzzy Wuzzy: Rarity with silvery shimmering foliage and a height of up to 30 centimeters
- Mohamed: does not grow larger than 25 centimeters, delicious red cocktail tomatoes, very robust
- Red Robinius: historical variety with a height of 20 centimeters and ruby red fruits
Tips & Tricks
The lack of light is the biggest hurdle in the perennial cultivation of tomatoes in Central European regions. Since even sunlight on the windowsill is not enough, hang a special plant lamp (€79.00 on Amazon) above the tomatoes. In this way you effectively prevent rotting shoots.