An excellent choice for tomato connoisseurs - tomato bushes with colorful bright red cherry tomatoes. The amazingly tasty fruits will complement the set of vitamins in winter and will appeal to tomato gourmets.
| Height | Landing location | Ripening time | Fruit color | Fruit size | Origin | Fruit shape |
| short | Greenhouse | Mid-season | Reds | Small | Hybrid | Round |
Official information
Applicant and originator of the variety LLC "Gavrish Breeding Firm" Moscow Russia. They submitted an application for admission to the register of selection achievements back in 1998, and in 2001 the variety was entered into the register under number 9806059.
The registration commission approved the variety for use in all regions of the Russian Federation, and “Bonsai” is recommended as an early ripening variety, for growing indoors, on balconies and loggias.
Characteristics and description
The ripening of indoor fruits begins 95-97 days after all the sown living seeds have fully sprouted.
The vegetative form of a tomato does not exceed 50 cm, the plant is determinate and independently forms as a standard.
The leaf blade is medium in size, dark green in color and slightly wrinkled. The inflorescence begins to form above the 6-7th leaf, and then separation by the leaf no longer occurs. The inflorescence itself is of an intermediate type.
The Bonsai fruit is round, smooth, glossy. The color is bright red. The weight of the ripe fruit varies between 25-30 g. When you cut the tomato, you can see two seed nests with small seeds.
The tasting rating given by the commission is “excellent”. Those who have already grown this variety of tomato fully agree with this assessment. The tomatoes are pleasant, not hard and quite dense. The taste of the fruit allows you to understand that this is the same delicious tomato that you dream about all winter, but with “Bonsai” you can afford the luxury of taste even in January.
The sugars and organic acids in the fruit are in a very balanced state, and this makes the taste very pleasant.
When growing a Bonsai tomato, reviews, photos, and yields can be seen with your own eyes, but the register of varieties indicates that each bush produces 1 kg of fruit of high commercial quality.
Characteristics of tomato
When describing the characteristics of the Bonsai tomato variety, it is worth highlighting first of all:
- ripening time;
- yield per bush and square meter of planted area;
- factors affecting fruiting;
- scope of application of tomato;
- resistance of tomatoes to all kinds of diseases and pests.
Productivity and fruiting
The Bonsai variety belongs to the early ripening type - the first tomatoes are poured in 85-90 days, starting from the day the first shoots appear. This factor can be used to organize conveyor growing of tomatoes on a windowsill. To do this, sowing is carried out at intervals of a month.
The fruiting period of Bonsai tomatoes is quite extended and unfriendly - the fruits gradually ripen over several months. With proper care, it is possible to remove up to 1 kg of “toy” tomatoes from the bush.
Area of application of fruits
Bonsai cherry tomatoes are more suitable for fresh consumption or for inclusion in salads. Canned whole tomatoes are no less successful. Despite the fact that the thin skin separates under the influence of high temperatures, the dense structure of the tomatoes is not disturbed.
Resistance to diseases and pests
Due to their predisposition to mild growing conditions, Bonsai tomatoes are especially sensitive to weather vagaries and are susceptible to late blight and other diseases. This is subject to planting directly in the garden, without any protection.
The Bonsai variety is resistant to lack of lighting, which is important for apartment conditions. The plant does not die, but it will not produce a bountiful harvest.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Like all fruit and berry crops, the Bonsai tomato has a number of advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of these miniature tomatoes include:
- Quite high yield.
- There is no need to tie it up due to the short growth and strength of the stems.
- Early fruiting - the first tomatoes are harvested 2.5-3 months after emergence.
- High taste and consumer characteristics.
- Possibility of using tomatoes as decorative elements of the interior.
No obvious shortcomings of the Bonsai tomato variety have yet been identified.
Important! Tomatoes of dwarf varieties cannot be stored for long periods of time.
Advantages and disadvantages
For those who want to decorate their home and have a harvest, the Bonsai variety is the most suitable, given a number of its advantages:
- ease of cultivation;
- suitability for rooms, loggias, balconies;
- there is no need for garters and supports;
- excellent taste;
- high commercial quality hearths.
Reviews from vegetable growers and those who decorated their homes with pots of tomatoes instead of flowers are unanimous - the variety is excellent for indoor conditions and has no drawbacks.
Description of the variety
Miniature Bonsai tomatoes are an excellent variety for those who do not have the desire or opportunity to grow tomatoes in their summer cottage or want a beautiful and neat fruit-bearing plant in their apartment.
This variety of tomatoes was bred by domestic breeders in the 90s. This agricultural enterprise has released many varieties of decorative tomatoes, which have found a wide response in the hearts of vegetable lovers and have been in demand for 2 decades.
The main distinguishing feature of the variety is the low growth of the stem (no more than half a meter), early ripening and significant branching. The average height of a Bonsai grown in an apartment does not exceed 20-30 cm. All this makes the shape of the bush similar to the crown of a tree. Bonsai can be grown both in open ground and on a well-lit balcony or windowsill. The plant tolerates a lack of sunlight well (moreover, it inhibits the growth of the plant in height), but excess lighting will have a better effect on its growth and the number of fruits.
Bonsai tomato bushes are more valuable as a houseplant and unusual interior decoration than as fruit bearers. They are unpretentious to the soil, but are demanding of moisture. Bonsai tomatoes have small, dark green leaves that resemble potato foliage. Small tomato flowers have a discreet appearance and dull color.
There are several varieties of Bonsai that come in different sizes. One of them, the hybrid variety “Bonsai-micro F1,” reaches a height of only 20 cm, but is not inferior in yield to its taller brothers. Productivity reaches up to 2 kg per plant. The fruits have a dense structure, small weight and size (up to 30 grams). All fruits ripen at the same time, as with all tomatoes, gradually changing their color from green to bright red.
The ripening period of Bonsai fruits in some cases can reach several months. Unripe fruits can ripen on the windowsill. Bonsai fruits have excellent taste and are good for adding to salads and canning. The peel of the fruit is thin, juicy and smooth, and the pulp is dense, loose, with a high sugar content. Their taste greatly depends on the amount of sun and the quality of plant care. Unfortunately, the fruits of this variety do not keep fresh for long.
Features of growing the variety
When growing a tomato in a room, you need to consider that it needs:
- south window (at least, east);
- a pot with a capacity of at least 1 liter;
- nutrient soil;
- lighting (if cultivation occurs in the winter months).
The same requirements are put forward for balconies and loggias. However, in this case you still need to maintain the temperature.
Optimal conditions for tomatoes are an air temperature of 22-24 ᵒC during the day, and 16-18 ᵒC at night.
If everything is clear with the direction of light and temperature indicators, then you need to purchase a pot. Plants look ridiculous in old pots, tin cans and other utensils. The best home for your tomato plant is a ceramic pot, but plastic flower pots will also work.
Transplantation to a permanent place
Typically, seedlings are transplanted in the phase of two true leaves. However, when growing on a windowsill, it is better to wait until the bushes touch each other with their leaves, and then plant them in separate pots.
We fill the containers in the same way as for growing seedlings. We remove the tomato sprout from the common pot, if possible without destroying the earthen lump.
We make a hole in the center of the pot and plant a tomato bush there, deepening it down to the cotyledon leaves. Sprinkle the rhizome and compact the soil.
Watering is carried out with warm water so that excess water certainly drains into the pan through the drainage hole.
Growing in a greenhouse
If we consider this variety for a greenhouse, then planting it in beds is not profitable, since the yield is not high and the greenhouse structure itself will be empty.
Planting a variety in hanging pots or on greenhouse shelves in pots is a completely different matter.
If cultivation is carried out in pots, then they are hung so that at least 60 cm remains from the ceiling, since the variety is standard and will not hang down.
If the greenhouse is equipped with side shelves, in one or several rows, then pots with seedlings or plants already planted individually are placed on them. In this case, you need to take into account the nuance that the tomato bush should not touch the film. Because condensation can form on it, which is a medium for the development of microscopic fungi.
The shelves should also be strong, this will help avoid collapse, because the pots weigh at least 1.5 kg, and 10 pots are already 15 kg, which is significant for a fragile shelf.
Growing on the balcony
If the balcony is completely glazed and insulated, then by choosing a “Bonsai” tomato, you can start growing it on the balcony in April. Seedlings must be grown in one pot indoors, sowing in March, and then the plants must be planted in individual pots and placed on balcony window sills and shelves.
As with growing in greenhouses, on the balcony you can place pots not only on window sills, but also on adapted shelves, racks, and hanging flower pots.
If the balcony faces south, then you should take care of shading, since the heat adversely affects the plant.
Caring for balcony tomatoes
Caring for Bonsai tomatoes begins with maintaining optimal soil temperature:
- before seed germination - 24-26ᵒC;
- after sprouts appear - 18-20ᵒC in the afternoon;
- after the seedlings appear - 14-16ᵒC at night.
Peculiarity! The correct temperature regime will allow the seedlings not to stretch out too much, but to become stockier and stronger.
Further care for growing tomato bushes includes timely replanting into separate pots, as well as watering and fertilizing the crop.
Watering
The rules for watering tomatoes of this variety are simple:
- moistening the soil no more than once a week (excessive moisture leads to the appearance of fungus and yellowing of leaves);
- increasing the frequency of watering up to 2-3 times every 7 days in excessively hot weather;
- spraying foliage during the flowering period in addition to the main watering.
Attention! Water for Bonsai tomatoes must be at room temperature.
Top dressing
Proper feeding of tomatoes is necessary to increase the decorative appearance of the plant and its optimal fruiting. After moving the seedlings into separate pots, fertilizers are applied to the soil three times:
- ammonium nitrate solution – 14 days after transplantation;
- potassium sulfate solution – 14 days later;
- superphosphate solution – after another 14 days.
Solutions are created in the same way: 3 g. fertilizers are dissolved in 1 liter of water, then 100 ml is poured under each bush.
Peculiarity! It is the combination of the timing of watering with a set of fertilizing that will allow Bonsai tomatoes to grow strong, with proper flower clusters, and subsequently, fruits.
Transfer
Transplanting Bonsai tomato seedlings to a permanent place is carried out as follows:
- Each sprout is removed from a common box with seedlings, being careful not to damage the lump of earth around the root.
- Make a hole in the soil poured into the pot, plant a sprout, then level the ground around it.
- The relocated seedlings are watered with warm water, the excess of which should come out of the drainage holes in the bottom of each pot into the tray.
Peculiarity! The main time for transplanting young Bonsai tomato seedlings is the moment when the bushes begin to touch each other with foliage.
