Micro dwarf tomato varieties
Micro dwarf tomatoes stop at roughly 20 to 30 cm, which makes them the only tomatoes in this catalogue that genuinely belong on a windowsill rather than a balcony. The five here carry fruit of 5 to 20 g, all of it cherry-sized, and they ripen between 55 and 75 days from transplant. Aztek and Red Robin at 55 days are the earliest varieties on this page. The trade-off is honest and worth stating plainly: a micro dwarf gives you a handful of tomatoes, not a harvest. What it gives instead is a real tomato plant in a 2 to 4 litre pot, in a flat, in February if the light is good enough.
- Varieties
- 5
- Days to harvest (from transplant)
- 55–75
- Fruit weight
- 0–1 oz (5–20 g)
- Growth habit
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5 Micro dwarf
All 5 micro dwarf tomato varieties
How to choose
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Light is the constraint, not the variety. Indoors, a south-facing window in summer is marginal and a grow light is usually the difference between a plant that flowers and one that fruits. The varieties here behave similarly in this respect, so solving the light problem matters more than which one you pick.
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Choose on days and colour, because nothing else varies much. Aztek and Red Robin at 55 days are the fastest; Micro Tom at 75 is the slowest and also the smallest fruited at 5 to 10 g. Aztek is yellow, Orange Hat is orange, the rest are red.
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Do not prune them. The plant is compact because of its genetics, not because it is being restrained, and removing side shoots on a plant this small takes away a meaningful share of the flower clusters. Let it fill out.
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Water little and often. A 2 litre pot holds almost no reserve, and a micro dwarf that dries out once will drop flowers. This is the group where consistency matters most simply because the buffer is smallest.
Compare side by side
| Color | Uses | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aztek | 55 (estimated) | ~1 oz (15–20 g) | Micro dwarf | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Micro Tom | 75 (estimated) | <1 oz (5–10 g) (estimated) | Micro dwarf | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Orange Hat | 60 (estimated) | <1 oz (5–10 g) (estimated) | Micro dwarf | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Red Robin | 55 (estimated) | 0–1 oz (10–18 g) (estimated) | Micro dwarf | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Vilma | 65 (estimated) | 0–1 oz (10–18 g) (estimated) | Micro dwarf | 4 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Snacking |
Values marked like this (estimated) are estimates.
Frequently asked questions
How big does a micro dwarf tomato get?
Roughly 20 to 30 cm tall. They are genuinely small plants, not compact versions of ordinary tomatoes, and they fit in a 2 to 4 litre pot on a windowsill.
Can I grow tomatoes indoors?
These are the varieties that make it realistic, but light is the limiting factor. A bright south-facing window may be enough in summer; the rest of the year a grow light is usually necessary for fruit rather than just foliage.
How much fruit does a micro dwarf produce?
A handful per plant rather than a crop. They are grown for the novelty of a real tomato plant in a small space and for very early fruit, not for volume. If you want quantity from a container, the dwarf varieties are the better choice.
What is the difference between micro dwarf and dwarf?
Scale, and it is large. Dwarfs reach knee to waist height and carry full-sized fruit up to 340 g; micro dwarfs stop at 30 cm and carry fruit of 5 to 20 g. They solve different problems.
What is the fastest tomato to grow?
Aztek and Red Robin on this page, both 55 days from transplant, are among the earliest in the catalogue; only Siletz, at 52, is earlier. Being micro dwarfs, they also need the least space to get there.