In 2024, I tried out a selection of dwarf (the result of at least one recessive gene; about half as tall as normal tomatoes) and micro-dwarf (6-10 inches tall in a one gallon pot and the result of three different recessive genes) tomatoes, including Shimofuri, Rosy Finch, Orange Hat and Tiny Tim. I crossed them all with each other. I was hoping to get a micro-dwarf that was variegated like Shimofuri; speckled with white, light green and dark green. I liked the form and vigor of Orange Hat the best, so the next year (2025) I grew out the Orange Hat x Shimofuri cross and got fruit by early July.

I then planted 160 seeds of the Orange Hat x Shimofuri F1 Hybrid and two Orange Hat seeds for comparison. They germinated after about a week, and based on the growth rates, I was able to cull about 3/4 of them within two weeks. Of the ones that continued to match the Orange Hat growth rate, I ended up with about 30. Once the third true leaves began to grow, I observed flecks of white on the leaves of a few- signs of variegation- and was able to narrow it down to seven and then four. Of those, one or two have leaves that seem to closely match Orange Hat in shape and spacing while the other two have more crenate margins on the leaves and wider internodes.

Unfortunately, the fruit turned out to be yellow, which means that Orange Hat is yellow and tangerine orange combined (rr and tt). The yellow fruit was just a bit too insipid for me, so I decided to cross that F2 selection with Orange Dream, one of my favorite micro-dwarfs that is RR (and Beta Orange), and has great leaf shape and form as well.

In 2026, I was able to grow this next cross and then had time to grow some of the seeds saved from that cross. I was expecting about ¼ to be variegated, and that’s almost exactly what I got, about 3 plants out of 15 had signs of variegation (little flecks on the third true leaves). I kept those and ditched the rest.

When those F2 variants began to flower I noticed that one had the tawny orange anther cone typical of tangerine orange, while the other two were pure yellow. Sure enough, that one was tangerine orange color fruit and the other two plants produced red fruit.

From here I will save the seeds and select for more variegation/ more stable variegation in future generations, and more compact form if possible.

I prefer the flavor of the tangerine orange one, but I will grow the red fruited ones too to maintain variety.