I have only grown CG a couple of times but according to my notes it was regular leaf for me.

Why not check and see what Tatiana's Tomatobase lists it as?

Dave

There are three Costoluto's; Genovese, Fiorentino and Cantanese and all are RL.

The word costoluto in Italian means ribbed and the names of the three reflect where in Italy they were originally from.

I've grown the first two but not the third.

Carolyn

I have one in my garden this year and it is RL. I looked on Tatiana's and do not see mention of PL. I found a couple of other Costoluto varieties of tomato listed online and all are coming up RL.

i kind of thought something was wrong.
the funny thing since they are from italy
labeled costoluto genovese with the distinct picture
of the ribbed tomato.
i guess a mistake in labeling. i can't wait to
see the results. i know in italy the now have
some american heirlooms.
one of the best sauce tomatoes i've grown is one called
pisanello rampicante. a huge plant of smaller genovese type
perfect for sauce or as italian americans say gravy.

marcantonio

NO.

Costoluto Genovese is definitely POTATO-leafed. I am growing about ten plants, started from seed, and it is definitely potato-leafed. My seeds are also from Italy.

Costoluto Genovese is definitely POTATO-leafed. I am growing about ten plants, started from seed, and it is definitely potato-leafed. My seeds are also from Italy.

****

The seeds being from Italy for both of you doesn't change the fact that all of the Costolutos are RL and always have been.

In the past two years or so there have been major problems at several seed sites with their contacts in Italy sending them wrong seeds.

The best example was at Baker Creek last year when they listed German Red Strawberry, but it wasn't. A heart variety is broad at the top and then tapers down, but this one was the exact opposite, narrow at the top and broad and ribbed at the bottom. And several seed sites got the same wrong seeds and one even called it Cuor di Bue, which was really wrong.

The folks at Baker Creek traced the seeds back to their US supplier who traced the seeds back to Italy. Plain and simple, wrong seeds from Italy.

I've linked below to the page at Tania's data base for the genovese one and if you check out the other two you'll also find that the leaf form is RL and if you could see those who list this variety in the SSE YEarbook you'd also see that no one lists a PL. And if you do a Google search for any one of them, genovese is the one most often offered, you['d also see that it's RL.

Check out TGS ( Tomato Growers Supply) and you'll also find that genovese is RL. Linda at TGS is very particular about giving right information and note that at TGS leaf form is not given unless it's PL.

So I'm sorry to say that both of you have gotten wrong seeds from Italy and it's been happening more and more lately as I tried to indicate above.

What is the name of the seed company you dealt with in Italy or bought your seeds from, as in what's the name on the seed packs?

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Costoluto Genovese ( Tania's site)

Blane in Jackson, MS, is growing Costoluto Genovese this summer and his are potato leaf too. I'll ask him where he got his seeds, but I'd bet he got them from a friend at IDig. Just a hunch.

Carolyn, I will check tonight, but I bought the seeds from growitalian.com however it was not Franchi but another italian seed company, packet written in Italian.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a potato leaf vs. a regular leaf? Is there a difference in production, taste between PL and RL types?

Caryl

UPDATE: I found this photo online and it looks just like my Costoluto Genovese plants. The leaves do look like potato leafed but I think technically they are in fact regular... so my apologies. Its just that the leaves look closer to potato. Maybe there should be a third leaf type... "regular leafed that look almost potato-leafed"
Carolyn, please look at this photo.

http://i33.tinypic.com/j5w612.jpg Are these regular leafed?

I'm looking at the picture. LOL

And yes, it's regular leaf and yes there are leaf types that are kinda in between if you know what I mean. And sometimes the earliest foliage on a variety can look PL and then with newer grow becomes RL.

I was surprised when you said that your seeds from Grow Italian were not Franchi seeds b'c I've known Bill a long long time, the owner, and he's always sold just seeds from Franchi.

I just looked at his site and what you bought was not the original Costoluto Genovese, it's a new selection from the original that has VF tolerances bred into it. Maybe that explains why a different seed source for Bill. But that has nothing to do with the leaf form.

Carolyn

Yeah, I at first thought I got gipped because I knew Bill ran out last year and had to wait, and then when I got them, it was another seed company altogether, figuring he had to settle for these other ones, and the photo on the front of the packet, the tomato looked nothing like the heavily ribbed one everyone seems to know, and having had lived in Italy for many years, my mind digressed into thinking the locals ripped him off, lol.

UPDATE: Emanuele Larosa Sementi (Seeds) is the seed company.

hey sorry for lat posting but.

can anyone tell me what happened to your potato leafed plants? im growing it now and its potato leaf... help!

Sudenly died down.

peakchua, ..can you post a picture of your plant ?

I am growing one from an store bought tomato, which I thought was some kind of costoluto. It has potato leaves. Maybe I mistagged !!

PS.
Costoluto (meaning ribbed) sounds like an adjective ?
Also, any ribbed tomato can be alleged to come from a known Costoluto ? That is more likely the case with my plant. But I will have to wait until the fruits ripen.

This post was edited by seysonn on Sat, Jul 19, 14 at 14:41