Has anyone grown both the hybrid and the open pollinated version of the Red Robin cherry tomato? I’m wondering what the differences are in the plant, it’s habit, and it’s fruit. Thanks!

I don't think there is any difference. I always thought it was a hybrid, but I'm guessing it was just that the seller called it that when, in fact, it's OP, so you can save seeds for next time. I think it's a great-tasting, productive micro tomato. I have grown it in a gallon size pot. It does very well, but does need a stake for support as it can grow 18" tall.

Linda

Tiny tim was popular locally for a year then replaced by red robin.
Haven't seen either in a few years now.
Not a hot item.

I think they have been replaced by a larger selection of varieties to choose from if you want small to tiny plants. I know my current list of micro dwarfs I have seeds for is up to 20 and I still have a long list of varieties I want to buy and try PLUS there are new ones coming out this fall that will intrigue a lot of folks. Have to be honest though I don't recall ever seeing Red Robin listed as a hybrid... in fact I don't think any of my micros are listed as hybrids though some do appear to be more stable than others... glances at Micro Toms which have two different growth patterns and two different shapes in the tomatoes...

I don't know if mine was the F1, a stable OP, or an unstable OP, but I grew it in the ground with black plastic. It got a number of cherry-sized fruits. They were firm. Not too much taste. The plant was very small and attractive. The fruits took a while to ripen.

When I had the plants I was able to clone them.
That is always another option.

But you don't need to clone Red Robin because it is OP .

Linda

I should have been more specific. I am growing them indoors under lights. I grew mini varieties outdoors in pots many many years ago such as Tiny Tim, Micro Tom and others I can’t remember now, to see what I liked. Red Robin was the only one that gave me actually edible, full size cherries. So that’s why I chose to grow it indoors. The seeds I have been using are from Territorial and they say F1 hybrid, I have some from Park seed that are open pollinated which I haven’t grown yet. The flavor of my indoor grown ones are PERFECT in every way! They don’t crack, don’t have tough skins and every single one tastes the same unlike ones grown outside. They produce LOTS of cherries too! I would love to show you the plants and fruit on the ones I have under lights, but I didn’t see a way to post pictures in the thread. Can that be done?

Yes you can add photos. You need to go to the Full Editor & Preview, the link is just below the text box. It takes you to a page with more options for your posts
Or if you have your photos on a site like Flickr you can get the BBcode under their sharing option, copy and paste into your post that is what I did for this photo. The tall one is a Pygmy, short plants in the window box are Baby, plant in the pot is a Micro Tom.
Pygmy, Micro Tom (in pot) and Baby by spindledreams, on Flickr

Here are some pictures of my tomatoes growing indoors under lights. The first one is under 4 full spectrum T5’s. This plant is a little behind the other one (planted later). The rest are growing under full spectrum LED’s. Both are growing in a grow tent which I love because it has it’s own frame inside so you can hang the lights in them and raise the lights as they grow