1 / 3open-pollinated
Cherokee Purple
Iconic dusky-purple American heirloom beefsteak with exceptionally rich, sweet-complex flavour and juicy flesh; notably crack-prone and without the broad coded disease resistance of modern hybrids.
- Shape
- Oblate / flattened
- Fruit type
- Beefsteak
- Growth habit
- Indeterminate / cordon
- Where it grows
- Both
- Typical fruit weight
- 284 g (216–340 g)
- Days to maturity
- 77 days (70–85) from transplant
- Sweetness
- High
- Flavour intensity
- Very high
- Productivity
- Medium
- Cracking resistance
- Very low
Researched variety data
Variety research
Audited facts from the variety record. Only recorded values are shown.
Researched variety data
Growing advice
- Support needed
- Substantial
- Growing notes
- Use sturdy staking or caging and keep moisture as even as possible, field trials repeatedly show serious cracking in this cultivar. Southern Exposure notes that multiple Cherokee Purple variants have developed since its introduction, so source strain should be recorded if future research identifies material that differs substantially from the original shorter-vined line.
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Photographs
Photo: Raju C Reddy · CC0 1.0
Photo: Raju C Reddy · CC0 1.0
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