Crop type: Tomatoes
Solanum lycopersicum ‘Sungold’ AGM
Common name: Tomato ‘Sungold’
Crop slug: tomatoes
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Sungold’ is a cordon cherry tomato normally grown as an annual outdoors or in an unheated greenhouse. Heavily laden trusses carry small, very sweet golden-orange fruits through summer and, under glass, into autumn. The long crop and distinctive colour underpin its RHS Award of Garden Merit.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 1–1.5 metres
- Ultimate spread
- 0.5–1 metre
- Time to ultimate size
- 1 year
The bushy climbing habit needs a strong cordon support.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Soil pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Regular watering and feeding support the cultivar’s heavily laden trusses.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H1c — an outdoor summer crop above approximately 5–10°C that must be protected from frost
Use an unheated greenhouse for the longest harvest.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
| Season | Flowers | Foliage | Fruit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | — | Green | — |
| Summer | Yellow | Green | Gold and orange |
| Autumn | — | Green | Gold and orange under glass |
Small golden-orange cherries borne in full trusses are the key visual identifier.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Semi-evergreen on the profile; grown as an annual
- Habit
- Bushy and climbing
- Name status
- Accepted
- Award
- RHS Award of Garden Merit
Genus
Solanum includes crops and ornamentals with simple or lobed foliage, five-lobed flowers and fleshy fruits.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Start in warmth and move plants to an unheated greenhouse or outside after frost. Keep compost evenly moist. Feed every 10–14 days with balanced liquid feed, changing to high-potassium feed after fruit sets, and provide cordon support.
Propagation
Propagate by seed indoors.
Suggested locations
- City and courtyard gardens
- Cottage and informal gardens
- Patios and containers
- Edible gardens
Pruning
Remove side-shoots and stop the leader at the greenhouse roof, or after seven indoor trusses or four outdoor trusses.
Pests
Glasshouse whitefly and tomato moth may attack.
Diseases
The profile lists rare honey fungus, potato and tomato blight, leaf mould, tomato viruses, magnesium deficiency and blossom-end rot.