Solanum lycopersicum 'Delicious'

RHS Plant Profile
tomato 'Delicious'

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Solanum lycopersicum 'Delicious'?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
tomato 'Delicious' RHS
Annual Biennial Fruit Edible
Buy this from Plant Nurseries
2 Suppliers

A huge cordon beefsteak tomato to around 200cm in height, with green leaves. Giant red fruits (which have been mentioned as reaching a weight of 3kg in the Guinness Book of Records), are meaty, sweet and juicy with few seeds. One slice is enough to fill a sandwich with room to spare. Also great for grilling, sauces and for stuffing. Grow indoors or outdoors

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Clay, Loam, Sand

Size

Time to Maturity
1 year

Growing Conditions

Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H1C

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Solanaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy, Climbing
Genus
Solanum can be annuals, perennials, evergreen or deciduous shrubs or twining climbers, with simple or pinnnately lobed leaves and star- or bowl-shaped, 5-lobed flowers with prominent stamens, followed by fleshy fruits
Name Status
Unresolved

How to Grow

Cultivation

Start from seed or buy as small plants and grow on in a heated greenhouse or on a warm windowsill. Move to an unheated greenhouse or outside once all risk of frost has passed. Water regularly to keep the growing media evenly moist, feed every 10-14 days with a balanced liquid fertiliser before switching to a high potassium liquid feed once the first fruits have set. Provide support for cordon tomatoes. See tomato cultivation. For help with diagnosing tomato problems see our video What's gone wrong with my tomatoes?

Propagation

Propagate by seed. See sowing vegetable seeds or sowing seeds indoors for further advice

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • Conservatory and greenhouse
  • Edible fruit

Pruning

Remove all side shoots and pinch out the growing tip when the plant has reached the top of the greenhouse or have set seven trusses indoors or four trusses outdoors

Pests

May be susceptible to glasshouse whitefly and tomato moth

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely), potato blight, tomato blight, tomato leaf mould, tomato viruses, magnesium deficiency and blossom end rot. See Tomatoes: leaf problems