Top 10 Florida Tomato Varieties and 5 Total Flops in my 2025 Florida Garden

Last Updated on May 22, 2025 by Homegrown Florida

Every year, I grow a ridiculous amount of tomatoes. This season I planted 42 different Florida tomato varieties. That’s right, 42. And after all that planting, staking, pruning, and picking, I can finally say which ones were worth the trouble and which ones left me wondering why I bothered.

This list is based on how each tomato handled the Florida heat, its resistance to disease in our high humidity, and overall vigor. Flavor is important too, but for me, if a plant can’t survive long enough to produce a harvest, it doesn’t matter how good it tastes. So with that in mind, here are my top 10 Florida tomato varieties and 5 total disappointments that I won’t be growing again.

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Top 10 Florida Tomato Varieties That Thrived in My Florida Garden

10. Large Red Cherry Tomato

This one may have a generic name, but it’s anything but boring in the garden. These big cherry tomatoes were incredibly productive and managed to hold out in the heat longer than expected. The flavor is middle-of-the-road, great for sauce, not too sweet or acidic, kind of like a paste tomato with extra seeds. It’s one of those dependable workhorses that might not blow your mind, but it absolutely gets the job done.

9. Matt’s Wild Cherry

People rave about this one, and I get why. It’s a currant-style tomato with a tiny size and tons of fruit. It’s super vigorous and heat tolerant with solid disease resistance. While I personally prefer the taste of another currant variety (you’ll see it soon), this one still earns its spot for sheer productivity and resilience.

8. Healani

This Hawaiian variety held its own in a container that was way too small, still putting out clusters and flowering well into the heat. The secret here might be the partial shade and some airflow from nearby fans, but whatever it is, it’s working. If I gave it a bigger pot or put it in the ground, I think I’d see even bigger fruit. Definitely one to keep growing.

7. Blueberry

This tomato completely surprised me. I expected tiny fruit, but they turned out to be a size somewhere between a cherry and a slicer. What really impressed me was the flower set. It’s producing like crazy with tons of fruit forming. The disease resistance could be better, but with this kind of vigor and visual interest (waiting on those pretty blue tones to show up!), it makes the list.

6. Lucky Tiger

This plum-style tomato with red and green striping is not just pretty; it’s productive too. It’s loaded with fruit and flowering into the heat with about a 50/50 fruit set. I hadn’t grown it before and almost skipped it, but I’m so glad I gave it a shot. It’s now a new staple in my garden.

5. San Marzano

The classic paste tomato came through for me this year. I tucked it in the center of the garden where it gets some shade, and it’s done really well. This is likely a determinate variety, so it cranked out a ton of fruit early, which I love for preserving. The disease resistance was strong and the fruit size was impressive. It’s the paste tomato I’ll grow moving forward.

4. Better Boy

One of the few beefsteaks that actually thrives in Florida. This one barely had any disease, and even now in the heat, it’s still setting flowers, about 25% are taking, which is honestly impressive. The main downside is cracking, which gets worse once the summer rains begin. Still, for a big slicer, it performs great if started early.

3. Indigo Kumquat

Another stunner. I got this one from Baker Creek, and it’s not only beautiful, but it also grows like crazy, branching in all directions and fruiting like mad. The disease pressure is real on this one, but it’s holding on long enough to deliver. I’ve kept it under insect netting to manage pests, and it’s paid off.

2. Red Currant Tomato

Tiny but mighty. This is hands-down my favorite currant-style tomato. It outperformed both Everglades and Matt’s Wild Cherry in taste, vigor, and fruit set. It lasts deep into the season, has zero disease issues, and doesn’t tear when you harvest (unlike Everglades). I use it to make the most flavorful spaghetti sauce I’ve ever tasted. If I could grow 100 of these, I would.

1. Kewalo

Two years in a row, Kewalo has been my top tomato. It’s a Hawaiian slicer that defies all odds in Florida, still flowering and fruiting in 90°+ heat with nearly 100% flower set. Disease resistance is incredible. It’s not a huge tomato, but it’s a solid slicer with excellent flavor. With its resilience, productivity, and taste, Kewalo is the gold standard for Florida growers.

Top 5 Most Disappointing Florida Tomato Varieties This Year

5. Tigerella

Everyone told me this would be a great Florida tomato. And at first, it looked promising. But it succumbed to disease—likely anthracnose—faster than any other variety. The fruit is usable for fresh eating (with a lot of trimming), but it’s not canning-worthy. Compared to nearby plants that stayed healthy, this one just couldn’t hang.

4. Blue Beauty

I wanted to love this one so badly—it’s gorgeous, truly. But it stopped flowering super early, got hit hard by bugs and disease, and only produced four tomatoes total. That’s just not enough to earn a spot in my garden, no matter how pretty it is.

3. Jubilee

This one came highly recommended, even by Florida gardeners and extension offices, but it just didn’t perform for me. Only three tomatoes. Heavy disease. Stopped flowering in the mid-70s. For a tomato that’s supposed to handle Florida, this one fell flat.

2. Rebel Starfruit

I was so excited to grow this one based on the seed packet picture. But it ended up being odd-looking, less vibrant than expected, and only produced one fruit. No significant flower set. It was all hype and no follow-through. Definitely not a Florida-friendly tomato.

1. Vintage Wine

Three years. That’s how many times I’ve tried to grow this variety. And once again—it didn’t produce a single tomato. Not one. It barely even flowered. It’s planted right next to some of my best performers, so I know it’s not my setup. For whatever reason, this variety just hates my Florida garden. This was its last chance—and it’s officially out.

If you’re planning your tomato lineup and trying to figure out which Florida tomato varieties can actually handle our Florida heat and humidity, I hope this list gives you a helpful head start. And if you’re looking for even more detailed guidance on growing veggies here in Florida—like when to start seeds, how to manage pests, and what varieties really thrive—don’t forget to check out my ebook! It’s got a chapter for every single vegetable and is packed with everything I’ve learned over the years gardening in Florida. Happy gardening, and here’s to better tomatoes next season!