Orange tomato varieties
Orange is the widest-range colour in this catalogue relative to its size. Ten varieties cover 57 to 90 days from transplant and 5 g to 570 g, which is a hundredfold spread in fruit weight inside a single colour: Orange Hat as a micro dwarf you can grow on a windowsill, Kellogg's Breakfast as a full 12 to 20 oz beefsteak. Between them sit Sungold and Sun Sugar, two of the most widely grown small tomatoes anywhere, both at the early end of the season at 57 and 62 days. If you are here because you want an orange tomato, the useful question is not which shade but which size, because nothing else on this page is consistent.
- Varieties
- 10
- Days to harvest (from transplant)
- 57–90
- Fruit weight
- 0–20 oz (5–570 g)
- Growth habit
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9 Indeterminate
1 Micro dwarf
All 10 orange tomato varieties
How to choose
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The split is mostly a size split. Sungold, Sun Sugar and Orange Hat are small-fruited, under 20 g, and ripen early; the large-fruited ones, among them Kellogg's Breakfast and Orange Strawberry, run 280 to 570 g and need 80 to 90 days. Orange Pear, Jubilee and Golden Jubilee sit in between. There is no orange variety here that is both large and early.
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If you want one of the earliest tomatoes in the catalogue, this page has them. Sungold at 57 days is near the front of the whole catalogue, and Sun Sugar at 62 is close behind. In a short season that matters more than any other attribute, and it is why these two turn up in so many gardens regardless of colour preference.
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Judging ripeness is easier here than with yellow but harder than with red. Orange varieties deepen visibly as they ripen, so colour is a usable signal, but the final stage is subtle. The small-fruited types tell you clearly by dropping into your hand with light pressure; on the large ones, wait for slight give at the blossom end.
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Orange Hat is the only compact plant here. The other nine are indeterminate and will need staking. If you want an orange tomato in a pot and Orange Hat is not what you are after, the container-friendly page is the better filter.
Compare side by side
| Color | Uses | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Wyche's Yellow | 80 (estimated) | 12–20 oz (340–570 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Slicing, Juicing | |
| Golden Jubilee | 80 | 5–8 oz (140–220 g) | Indeterminate | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Slicing | |
| Jubilee | 80 | 5–8 oz (140–220 g) | Indeterminate | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Slicing | |
| Kellogg's Breakfast | 85 (estimated) | 12–20 oz (340–570 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Slicing, Juicing | |
| Orange Hat | 60 (estimated) | <1 oz (5–10 g) (estimated) | Micro dwarf | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Orange Pear | 78 (estimated) | ~1 oz (15–25 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Snacking | |
| Orange Strawberry | 85 (estimated) | 10–16 oz (280–450 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Slicing, Sauce & paste | |
| Sun Sugar | 62 | 0–1 oz (12–18 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 5 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) | Snacking, Fresh & salads | |
| Sungold | 57 | ~1 oz (15–20 g) | Indeterminate | 5 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) | Snacking, Fresh & salads | |
| Yellow Brandywine | 90 (estimated) | 12–20 oz (340–570 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Slicing, Juicing |
Values marked like this (estimated) are estimates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the earliest orange tomato?
Sungold at 57 days from transplant, which also ties for earliest in the whole catalogue. Sun Sugar follows at 62. Both are small-fruited and indeterminate, so they start early and keep producing until frost rather than finishing quickly.
Are orange tomatoes sweeter?
The colour does not decide it. Sweetness, acidity and intensity are recorded per variety in the table on this page, which is a more reliable guide than the reputation attached to a colour. What orange does reliably indicate is carotenoid content rather than flavour.
What is the difference between orange and yellow tomatoes?
A gradient, and catalogues place the line differently. We classify by the recorded ripe colour, with the deeper-toned varieties here and the paler ones on the yellow page. Several varieties sit near the boundary, so if you are choosing on appearance it is worth reading both lists.
Is there a large orange tomato?
Four varieties here start at 280 g or more, among them Kellogg's Breakfast and Orange Strawberry, and they need 80 to 90 days from transplant. The long season is the price of the size.
Can orange tomatoes grow in containers?
Orange Hat is the micro dwarf and the direct answer at 5 to 10 g fruit on a very small plant. The other nine are indeterminate. The container-friendly page filters the whole catalogue on documented suitability.