Quote:
Originally Posted by Heritage
Joyce, my experience with Green Zebra and Green Zebra Cherry is the same as Robin's - two completely different tomatoes. We received our Green Zebra Cherry seeds from Carolyn through her SSE offerings 2 years ago and were surprised at it's flavor and size of the seeds (for a cherry). GZC also carries a recessive gene for variegated leaves and, although it is only expressed at an early (4-5 leaf) stage, and is not obvious without careful examination, it is there, and can be observed on a fair percentage of seedlings.
Now you will have to make beautiful lamb chops with Green Zebra Cherry 
Steve |
Steve, as I recall you weren't the only one to see leaf variegation on Green Zebra Cherry. Right? I know it was mentioned by a few others as well.
I've been thinking about that. First, when Manfred Hahm found what he named Green Zebra Cherry in a small box of mixed charries, he was able to trace those cherries back to the Netherlands.
Variegata is said to have first appeared in Ireland. And I know that it was grown in Europe before we ever knew of it here in the US. I also know that the name of Variegata was changed in the following way.
I got seeds for what was called Splash of Cream from a man in TX who had a catalogue with some interesting perennials and some veggies. I asked him where he got the Splash ones from and he gave me the e-mail address of someone in either Belgium or France, I don't remember which without checking that out.
I e-mailed this person only to find that he had received seeds as Variegata but changed the name to Splash of Cream b'c of a flower variety that had variegated foliage.
I've tried desperately to get the name Splash of Cream changed back to the initial name of Variegata, with not total success.
I was very good friends of Kees Sahin, of Sahin Seeds in the Netherlands, he passed away a few years ago, and almost at the same time that I listed Variegata in the SSE YEarbook he had sent them seeds for same.
And he took on as Garden Manager at one time the son of the owner of a very large tomato breeding company,again, I can't remember the name but it could have been something called Enzada, who still breed lots of great hybrids.
So I've wondered if Variegata got passed around in the Netherlands and in some way was used in cherry tomato breeding, not hybrids, but OP's, and that's why recessive genes for variegation are found in Green Zebra Cherry as named by Manfred, but I have no idea at all if any of the cherries in that mixed box of them ever had a name, I doubt it, and were bred just for export sales primarily in Europe.
The large size of the seeds in GZC has always interested me as well.
Ok, fun to speculate which is exactly what I've been doing here.
