Best Tomato Varieties to Grow in the UK

Picking the right tomato makes the difference between a glut and a sad little salad bowl. There are hundreds to choose from, from tiny cherries to huge ribbed beefsteaks. Here are 15 of the best for British gardens, and where each one grows best.

This guide covers cherry, plum, medium, beefsteak, heritage and bush types. You’ll also find when to sow and harvest each one, and why blight resistance matters so much if you grow outdoors.

For step-by-step growing, see our beginner’s guide to growing tomatoes in the UK. There are also guides to the best greenhouse tomatoes and the best blight-resistant ones. All three are in the Related reading section below.

Cordon vs bush: the first choice to make

Before you pick a variety, decide how you want it to grow. Every tomato is either a cordon or a bush type. This changes how you grow it, where it suits and how much fuss it needs.

Cordon (indeterminate) tomatoes

Cordon tomatoes grow as one tall stem and keep going until you stop them. They reach 1.5-2m in a season. Each week, pinch out the side-shoots, the little shoots that grow where a leaf meets the main stem. In August, pinch out the top above the fifth or sixth truss of fruit.

Cordons give the most fruit for the space they take up. They need a cane or string, regular attention and stopping at the right time. Most of the varieties here, including Sungold, Shirley, Marmande and Brandywine, are cordons.

This little shoot in the leaf joint is the one to pinch out on cordon tomatoes. Catch them small each week and the wound is tiny.

Bush (determinate) tomatoes

Bush tomatoes branch freely, stop growing at 40-80cm, and need no side-shooting, staking or stopping. They’re the easiest tomatoes of all. Pop them in a pot or raised bed, water, feed and pick.

The catch is a smaller crop per plant, and the fruit tends to ripen in one go rather than bit by bit. Tumbling Tom, Losetto, Koralik and Gartenperle are good ones. They’re perfect for pots, hanging baskets and growing outside without a greenhouse.

For growing in pots, see the container vegetable guide linked below.

Cherry tomatoes: sweet and generous

Cherry tomatoes give the most fruit per plant and the widest range of flavours. Most are cordons, but there are some lovely bush cherries too.

1. Sungold F1, best flavour in the UK

Sungold has orange cherry fruits with a sweetness no red tomato can match. Many growers rate it the best-tasting tomato you can grow, with a slightly citrusy edge.

It’s a vigorous cordon that reaches 2m by late summer. It does best under glass, cropping from July to October in a greenhouse. Outside, it crops from July to September in a warm, sheltered spot. It has little blight resistance, so grow it under glass if you can.

Best for: greenhouse, flavour

2. Gardener’s Delight, the reliable classic

Gardener’s Delight is a long-time favourite and one of the most reliable red cherry tomatoes for the UK. It has long trusses of sweet, tangy red cherries from July. The flavour is a proper balance of sweet and tomatoey.

It copes with cooler weather better than most cherry types, so it crops in unheated greenhouses and warm spots outside. Whole trusses ripen together, which is handy for the kitchen.

Best for: greenhouse and outdoors, beginners

3. Tumbling Tom, best bush cherry for hanging baskets

Tumbling Tom is the best trailing cherry for hanging baskets and tall pots. It grows 30-40cm tall, spills over the edge, and gives masses of red cherries from July to September. No side-shooting, staking or stopping needed.

There’s a yellow version, Tumbling Tom Yellow, that’s even sweeter and looks great next to the red one. Both suit sunny patios and window boxes.

Best for: hanging baskets, pots, patios

4. Koralik, best-flavoured outdoor bush cherry

Koralik is a Czech bush cherry with a flavour that gives Sungold a run for its money. The small fruits are very sweet and rich. It ripens earlier than most cherry types and has some natural tolerance to blight.

In a very wet summer it may get blotchy leaves, but it usually keeps cropping. If flavour matters most to you outdoors, it’s a great choice.

Best for: outdoor raised beds and pots, flavour

Sungold (orange) and Gardener’s Delight (red) keep you in cherry tomatoes from July to October.

Plum tomatoes: best for sauces and roasting

Plum tomatoes have firm, dry flesh with less juice than round types. They cook down into thick sauces quickly. Most are cordons and do best under glass.

5. Rosada, best plum for UK greenhouses

Rosada is a reliable little plum tomato for UK greenhouses. The small, oval fruits are sweeter than many cherry types. They’re great in salads, roasted or dried. The firm flesh splits less than round cherries in a humid greenhouse.

It’s a cordon that grows to 1.5-1.8m. It sets fruit well in unheated greenhouses and is easy to find from UK seed companies.

Best for: greenhouse, salads, cooking

6. San Marzano, the classic Italian plum

San Marzano is the classic sauce tomato, with thick flesh, few seeds and a rich, tangy flavour. The long fruits are a good size. It’s a cordon that loves warmth, and cool nights mean fewer fruits. In the UK, grow it in a heated greenhouse or a large, warm polytunnel.

You can save the seed and grow it again next year. Cooked into sauce, it tastes noticeably richer than round tomatoes.

Best for: heated greenhouse, cooking

Medium tomatoes: the everyday workhorses

Medium round tomatoes are the most useful all-rounders, good for salads, sandwiches and cooking.

7. Shirley, best for unheated UK greenhouses

Shirley was bred for British greenhouses and crops well where many others struggle. It holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit and gives heavy trusses of red fruit. Cool nights don’t put it off. It resists tobacco mosaic virus, fusarium crown rot and leaf mould, three common greenhouse problems.

Best for: unheated greenhouse, reliability, beginners

8. Moneymaker, the trusty old favourite

Moneymaker is a traditional greenhouse variety that’s very forgiving. The fruits are even in size and colour. The flavour is fine rather than amazing, but it shrugs off uneven watering and swings in temperature.

It suits anyone who wants a good harvest without much fuss. Grow it next to Sungold for a contrast in flavour.

Best for: greenhouse, beginners, reliability

Beefsteak tomatoes: the big ones

Beefsteaks are big, heavy tomatoes. They need warmth, steady watering and a longer season than smaller types. Most need a greenhouse in the UK.

9. Marmande, the best UK beefsteak

Marmande is a reliable beefsteak for UK greenhouses. The big, ribbed red fruits are dense and meaty with few seeds. One slice fills a sandwich. The flavour gets better with slow ripening on the plant.

It likes warmth. In an unheated greenhouse, give it the warmest spot and expect a smaller crop in a cool summer. In a heated greenhouse it crops from August to October.

Best for: greenhouse, slicing, sandwiches

10. Costoluto Fiorentino, the flavour beefsteak

Costoluto Fiorentino is a deeply ribbed Italian heirloom with a wonderful cooked flavour. The pleated fruits are large. Raw, they’re sharp and complex. Roasted or cooked into sauce, they’re superb.

This isn’t one for beginners. It needs a warm greenhouse, careful watering so the fruit doesn’t crack, and patience while the big fruits ripen. The flavour makes it worth it.

Best for: heated greenhouse, experienced growers, cooking

Big heritage beefsteaks like Brandywine repay the extra effort of greenhouse growing with real flavour.

Heritage tomatoes: flavour first

Heritage (or heirloom) tomatoes are old varieties that come true from saved seed. They were chosen for flavour rather than looks or shelf life. They need a bit more care than modern F1 hybrids, but give you flavours and colours you won’t find in the shops.

11. Brandywine, the heritage favourite

Brandywine is the most famous heritage tomato, loved for its flavour. The big, pink-shouldered fruits have soft, low-acid, rich-tasting flesh. A ripe Brandywine sliced with salt and olive oil is hard to beat.

The catch is that it’s fussy. It needs a heated greenhouse, it’s prone to blight and other diseases, and it takes a long time to ripen. Grow it under glass with a bit of care and it’ll reward you.

Best for: heated greenhouse, experienced growers, flavour

12. Ailsa Craig, the Scottish heritage tomato

Ailsa Craig is one of the oldest UK greenhouse varieties still widely grown. Named after the island off the Ayrshire coast, it has red fruits with a full, old-fashioned tomato flavour. It’s a little less disease-resistant than Shirley, so keep the greenhouse well aired and remove the lower leaves.

It’s much easier than the big heritage beefsteaks. It does well in an unheated greenhouse and gives you heritage flavour without the Brandywine fuss.

Best for: greenhouse, heritage flavour

13. Tigerella (Mr Stripey), the striped one

Tigerella has red fruits striped with orange-yellow, so it looks as good as it tastes. The flavour is tangy and interesting. It’s a cordon that grows to 1.5-1.8m. It does well in unheated greenhouses and warm spots outside, and ripens earlier than most heritage types.

Seeds are cheap and easy to find. It’s a forgiving way to try heritage tomatoes.

Best for: greenhouse, good looks, salads

Tigerella ripens earlier than most heritage types and copes with an unheated greenhouse. The stripes make it a talking point in a salad.

Outdoor tomatoes: the best for UK plots

Outdoor tomatoes need to ripen in our shorter season, cope with cool nights and stand up to blight. Cordons can work outside in warm, sheltered spots, but bush types are more reliable in exposed gardens.

14. Crimson Crush F1, the best outdoor cordon

Crimson Crush is one of the most blight-resistant tomatoes you can buy in the UK. It was bred by Bangor University with Suttons Seeds to resist blight. It stays healthy in conditions that wipe out ordinary varieties.

Best for: outdoor growing, blight-prone areas, allotments

Blight-resistant cordons can stay green and cropping outdoors when ordinary varieties have collapsed. Tie them in well on an exposed plot.

15. Tumbling Tom Red, best outdoor bush variety

Tumbling Tom pops up again here because it’s also brilliant in outdoor pots and hanging baskets. Its trailing habit suits patios and balconies where tall cordons would need lots of support.

For more blight-resistant outdoor varieties, see the Related reading section at the end of this guide.

Bush tomatoes like Tumbling Tom and Losetto need no training and crop well in pots on a sheltered patio.

Main comparison table: 15 UK tomato varieties

When to sow, plant and pick each variety

Timing depends on whether you grow in a heated greenhouse, an unheated one or outdoors. These are rough guides.

For month-by-month sowing dates, see the greenhouse growing calendar in the Related reading section below.

Indoors or outdoors: how to decide

Warm, sheltered garden in southern England

Outdoor cordons like Crimson Crush, Mountain Magic and Tigerella, or bush types like Koralik and Tumbling Tom, crop well from late July to September. Choose a sunny bed backed by a wall or fence. Blight is the big threat, so pick resistant varieties.

Unheated greenhouse

Shirley, Gardener’s Delight, Sungold, Rosada and Ailsa Craig all do well here. Skip the beefsteaks, apart from Marmande in a warm corner in a good summer. Plant out in late May once nights stay above 10C. Start feeding with a high-potash tomato feed when the first fruits set. See Feeding below.

Heated greenhouse

Now you can grow anything. Brandywine, Costoluto Fiorentino and San Marzano repay the extra warmth with superb flavour. You can also plant out earlier, in mid-April, for a longer season.

Pots only

Go for bush types: Tumbling Tom, Losetto, Lizzano or Koralik. Use pots of at least 10 litres with drainage holes, and water daily in summer. Our container vegetable gardening guide covers compost, feeding and watering for tomatoes in pots.

How to get the best from any variety

The right variety helps, but good care makes the biggest difference.

Feeding

Once the first truss has set fruit, feed with a high-potash tomato feed or home-made comfrey liquid feed. Follow the label for how often. Potash helps fruit rather than leaves. Don’t make it stronger than the label says, or you’ll get lots of leaves and small fruit.

The RHS tomato growing guide is a good extra read, and agrees that steady watering matters most of all.

Watering

Water the compost, not the leaves. If compost dries out and then gets flooded, you get blossom end rot (black patches on the bottom of the fruit) and split fruit. Neither is a disease. Both come from uneven watering, so water little and often at the same time each day.

Water the compost, not the leaves, at the same time each day. Steady watering is what stops split fruit and blossom end rot.

Side-shooting cordons

Pinch out side-shoots every week while they’re small. Big ones leave a bigger wound. Check each leaf joint and the top of the plant whenever you water.

Stopping in August

In early August, pinch out the top of each cordon above the fifth or sixth truss. This tells the plant to ripen the fruit it has, rather than making new fruit that won’t ripen before the cold. It’s especially useful for slow ripeners like Brandywine and Costoluto Fiorentino.

For another greenhouse crop that grows happily alongside tomatoes, see our guide to growing cucumbers in the UK.

Where to buy tomato seeds in the UK

You’ll find the widest choice from specialist seed companies rather than garden centres.

• Suttons Seeds: Crimson Crush F1, Sungold, Gardener’s Delight, Shirley, Moneymaker, Rosada, Marmande
• Real Seeds: Koralik, Tigerella, Brandywine, San Marzano, Costoluto Fiorentino, a great heritage range
• Chiltern Seeds: Ailsa Craig, Brandywine and other heritage types
• Thompson & Morgan: a big mainstream and F1 range including Mountain Magic and Sungold, see their tomato seeds

Open-pollinated seed is usually cheaper than F1 hybrids like Sungold or Crimson Crush. One packet is usually plenty for a home crop.

Companion planting with tomatoes

A few friendly neighbours can help your tomatoes along. Basil at the foot of tomato plants is the classic pairing. It brings in pollinators, and some growers think it improves the flavour.

French marigolds bring in hoverflies, whose larvae eat aphids. Plant them along the edge of the greenhouse staging. Cordon tomatoes also grow well next to chilli peppers, which like the same warmth, the same high-potash feed and good ventilation. Space them 45-60cm apart and they’ll share a greenhouse happily.

Related reading

• Growing Tomatoes in the UK: Beginner’s Guide
• When to Plant Tomatoes in the UK
• Best Blight-Resistant Tomato Varieties for UK Gardens
• Best Tomato Varieties for UK Greenhouses
• Greenhouse Growing Calendar for UK Growers

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest tomato variety to grow in the UK?

Gardener’s Delight is the easiest tomato for beginners. It copes with cooler weather than most cherry types, rarely splits, and crops well in an unheated greenhouse or warm spot outside. Moneymaker is the easiest medium-sized tomato. Both forgive the odd missed watering.

What is the best tomato to grow outdoors in the UK?

Crimson Crush F1 is the best outdoor tomato. It’s bred to resist blight, so it keeps cropping in wet summers when other varieties give up. Mountain Magic F1 is the best outdoor cherry type. Both give you a harvest without any spraying in a typical UK summer.

What is the best-tasting tomato to grow in the UK?

Sungold is the one most growers rave about. Its orange cherry fruits are really sweet, with an almost tropical flavour. Among big tomatoes, Brandywine has the richest taste but needs a heated greenhouse. Outdoors, Koralik is a lovely-tasting cherry with some blight tolerance.

Can I grow tomatoes outdoors in the UK?

Yes, plenty of tomatoes crop well outdoors in the UK. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot and wait until frosts are over, usually mid to late May in England. Blight-resistant types like Crimson Crush and Mountain Magic give the most reliable crops. Bush types are simpler to look after outside than cordons.

What is the difference between cordon and bush tomatoes?

Cordon tomatoes grow as one tall stem that needs training. You pinch out side-shoots, tie them to a cane and stop them in late summer. Bush tomatoes branch freely, need no training and stop growing on their own. Cordons suit greenhouses, while bush types suit pots and outdoor beds.

When should I sow tomato seeds in the UK?

Sow indoors between mid-February and late March. February sowings need a heated propagator and a very bright windowsill or grow light. March sowings are easier on a bright windowsill. Sow earlier than mid-February without extra light and seedlings go tall and weak.

Do I need a greenhouse to grow tomatoes in the UK?

A greenhouse helps a lot, but it isn’t essential. Outdoor tomatoes crop well in warm, sheltered spots in southern England. Further north and in Wales and Scotland, a greenhouse or polytunnel makes a big difference. Bush tomatoes in pots do surprisingly well on a sunny patio.