from what i have learned here, the heart shaped tomatoes tend to taper off growing after 5 years. on the other extreme, i had saved seeds from my great uncle steve's italian plum tomato germinate and grow at 14 yrs of age. 16 yr old seeds still germinated, but were too weak to grow. normally 5 to 10 yr old seeds will still germinate and grow. just not as many, so plant more than you need.
its a funny thing, every year, i will have a variety that is several years old usually my own saved seed that will germinate better than a new purchased one.
keith
|