Any variety with PL leaves is no different from the same variety with RL leaves, and see below about that, just a different leaf form ,

See the FAQ at the top of the page about leaf forms.

There are some varieties where a PL version has appeared in addition to the origina lRLone.With many where such comparisons can be made.all is the same except leaf form and for some of them folks have detected some differences.But they need to be grown out in the same season so that the PL and RL versions of the same variety can be directly compared.

The only difference I've seen is that the PL varieties seem to be more tolerant of the common four foliage diseases,which I attribute to the PL leaf epidermis being more substantial

At the end of the season when my RL's have gone down,most of the PL's are still going.

Some agree with me,some don't, and I have no data that I could find that compared the epidermis o fPL and RL leaves.

BTW, the name of the variety is just Brandywine,not pink brandywine since Brandywine is pink, so the addition o fpink is redundant. There are other Brandywines that are red yellow,etc.

Carolyn

Thank you very much Carolyn for answering my question and further enriching my gradually developing knowledge of the tomato world.
I am to receive your book -100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden- the day after tomorrow. I was wondering, since I live in Israel (I think the Mediterranean is closest to the California climate in the US) would you have a tip on how the Non American Gardener might use the book?
Thanks.
Ilan.

Not to dispute anything but speaking of my own case here.

I have the following PL growing alongside the RL.

--- Matina, Bloody Butcher, Stupice, Japanese Black Trifele.

They all are lanky/tall with less branching. While RL ones tend to branch out, grow more side shoots.

Japanese Black Trifele

let me try to show another one.

This one is a RL (RC Mortgage Lifter). It has 4 sturdy branch outs. it just keeps dividing out. (This is a growth habit often seen in peppers.) I have already pruned a lot of lower laterals (suckers).
They (RLs) also have shorter internode. Cherokee purple is even more compact. I grew a Brandywine (PL) last year. It just had 2 branches and it was bare and lanky, tending to grow very few weak suckers.
But as far as taking care of them , I don't see any differences there.

This post was edited by seysonn on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 6:20

Zeligbass, I've been in Israel and the climate and soils vary widely/ Where are you living and how will you be growing your tomatoes.

Good to also know that there are several companies that breed varieties in Israel and they have no problems.

And more to the point there was someone I knew who was doing a postdoctoral fellowship in Israel, Zach is from the US , and asked me if I could send him seeds for a thousand differfent varieties for his research project. I asked two others to help out with that and we did send the seeds and Zach said they grew wonderfully, though I[m not sure where he was growing them.

At another message site there are several from Israel and they don't seem to have much of a problem either.

But it does come down to where you are and how you plan to grow your tomatoes as I see it.

Carolyn

Seysonn, I certainly agree that you are describing your own oberservations but I can't agree with your conclusions.

Most importantly,Internode differences refer to plant habit between indet and det varieties, not between RL and PL varieties.

Having grown 4,000 plus varieties, both PL and RL, I've never seen the results you got.

Are there growth and slight differences between various RL varieties, for sure, and the same for differences in growth and appearance between PL varieties?

For sure.

Carolyn

Seysonn, I certainly agree that you are describing your own oberservations but I can't agree with your conclusions.

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I did not come out with a dfinitive "conclusions" , just described my observations, making comparisons , side-by-side. All the plants started from seeds, planted out about the same time and in the same medium and other growing conditions. This is a sort of co relation observation.

On the "internode" IMO ,one can compare any two given variety not just dets and indet. It can be related to growth habit, by co relation.

Hi Carolyn.
Breeding companies and postdoctoral...? (and I am sure there would be a few home gardeners as well...) I am not aware of all this heirloom tomatoes activity in Israel. Where I live, nobody (I have ran into) has heard of it. I sure hope I can locate these people.
I live in the North of Israel. North of The See of Galilee.
Can't say much about the soil without sounding unintelligent but it is dark, brown, fertile and airy. The weather is hot in summer and we never have frost.
Thanks. Ilan.

Ilan, I'm not suggesting that you try and contact the folks I referred to for they are academic folks doing research and not a source of seeds to the public.

If you don't know anyone in Isreal who has such seeds then I suggest that you order them from perhaps here in the US where there are many companies that do ship almost anywhere but usually have to charge a larger shipping cost..

Are there any special kinds from any special regions that you are looking for?

I can name a few places that have lots of varieties if you want me to.

And if you e-mail me at cmale@aol.com I can tell you even more and perhaps put you in touch with some others from Israel.

Carolyn