Cherokee Purple Tomato
Cherokee Purple is a Tennessee heirloom tomato with smoky, complex flavor. This guide covers planting, growing, and harvesting it in US gardens.
Key takeaways
- Cherokee Purple matures in 80–90 days from transplant — one of the slower heirlooms, so start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before last frost
- The flavor is smoky and complex with lower acidity than most red tomatoes — harvest at first color change and let ripen on the counter
- Thin skin makes it prone to cracking after heavy rain — maintain even soil moisture and harvest as soon as shoulders turn deep rose
- It's indeterminate, growing 5–7 feet — use a heavy cage, tall stake, or Florida weave for support, not a standard 3-ring wire cage
- Cherokee Purple has no disease resistance ratings — rotate it to a fresh bed each season and avoid wet foliage to reduce disease risk
What makes Cherokee Purple different from other tomatoes
Cherokee Purple is an indeterminate heirloom tomato that produces 10–16 oz fruits with dusky rose-brown skin and dark, wine-colored interior flesh. It has lower acidity and higher sugar content than most red slicing tomatoes, giving it a smoky, complex flavor that most hybrid varieties don’t match.
The look is immediately distinct. Cherokee Purple doesn’t turn a clean red at maturity. The shoulders stay a deep dusky purple-green. The interior shows dark jelly seed cavities surrounded by brick-red to burgundy flesh. Sliced on a plate, it looks nothing like a grocery store tomato.
This is intentional. The color comes from higher levels of anthocyanins and lycopene that develop together. The same compounds that create the unusual appearance contribute to the flavor depth. Cherokee Purple lacks the sharp acidity of varieties bred for shipping — the thin skin that makes it crack-prone also gives it a softer, more complex eating texture.
The tradeoff: no disease resistance. Modern hybrids like Better Boy carry VFN resistance (Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, nematodes) built in. Cherokee Purple has none of those ratings. In beds with disease history, it’s more vulnerable than a resistant hybrid.
Where Cherokee Purple tomatoes come from
Craig LeHoullier, a tomato collector living in North Carolina, first documented Cherokee Purple in the early 1990s. He received seeds from a family in Sevierville, Tennessee, who said the variety had been in their Cherokee community for more than 100 years. LeHoullier grew the seeds out, named the variety, and shared seeds widely through the Seed Savers Exchange network.
The variety spread through US heirloom tomato circles through the 1990s and became commercially available by the early 2000s. Today it appears in the catalogs of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Burpee, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, and hundreds of smaller US seed companies. It’s one of the most widely grown heirloom tomatoes in the US.
Cherokee Purple vs. other heirloom tomatoes
| Variety | Days to ripe | Avg weight | Skin thickness | Disease resistance | Crack risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee Purple | 80–90 | 10–16 oz | Thin | None | High |
| Brandywine (Pink) | 85–90 | 12–24 oz | Thin | None | Moderate |
| Black Krim | 75–90 | 8–12 oz | Thin | None | Moderate |
| Green Zebra | 75–80 | 4–8 oz | Thin | None | Low |
| Mortgage Lifter | 80–85 | 16–32 oz | Medium | None | Low |
| Beefsteak | 85 | 16–24 oz | Medium | None | Moderate |
Cherokee Purple is the most distinctive in flavor among this group. It outperforms Brandywine in most blind taste comparisons for smokiness, though Brandywine produces larger individual fruits. Black Krim is the closest flavor relative — also dark-shouldered, also smoky — but matures faster and has lower crack risk due to slightly thicker skin.
For gardeners who want disease resistance with heirloom flavor, see Better Boy tomato as a hybrid comparison with VFN ratings built in.
How to grow Cherokee Purple: zone-by-zone planting timing
Plant Cherokee Purple transplants 1–2 weeks after the last frost date when soil temperature is at least 60°F at 3-inch depth. Its 80–90-day window requires a long summer — Zone 5 and colder gardeners need to start seeds early.
Zone timing (transplant outdoors):
- Zone 3–4: Late May to early June. Start seeds indoors 8 weeks before transplant. Only 75–85 days of warm weather remain before fall frost — this is tight for Cherokee Purple’s 80–90-day window. Use black plastic mulch to warm soil faster and consider a season extender row cover.
- Zone 5: Mid- to late May. Seeds started 6–8 weeks before transplant give a transplant ready in late April, held until after frost. Ripe fruit expected in late July to mid-August.
- Zone 6: May 10–20. First ripe fruit by late July. Long productive window through October.
- Zone 7–8: May 1–15. First ripe fruit in mid-July. Often a second production flush in September after midsummer heat breaks.
- Zone 9–10: Two-season growing — spring (plant February–March) and fall (plant July–August for October harvest). Cherokee Purple sets fruit poorly when daytime temps exceed 95°F consistently.
Check your last frost date at planting zones before scheduling transplant dates.
Soil preparation and planting
Plant Cherokee Purple in well-drained soil rich in organic matter, with a pH of 6.2–6.8. Prepare the bed by working 3–4 inches of compost into the top 12 inches before planting.
Trench planting: Lay the transplant on its side in a shallow trench so 6–8 inches of stem is buried. Tomatoes root along buried stem tissue. This produces a stronger, more drought-resistant plant and is especially useful if transplants are leggy.
Depth: Only the top 6–8 inches of the plant should remain above soil after planting. Remove all leaves that will be underground.
Spacing: 24–36 inches between plants in rows 36–48 inches apart. Cherokee Purple’s vigorous indeterminate growth needs the space.
Support: Install the cage or stake at planting, not after. A standard 48-inch 3-ring wire cage barely holds Cherokee Purple. Use a 60-inch or taller cage, a 6-foot wooden stake, or a Florida weave system. Plants left unsupported fall over by late July and fruit development suffers. See how to grow tomatoes for full season planting guidance.
Watering Cherokee Purple to prevent cracking
Cherokee Purple needs consistent, even moisture — 1–1.5 inches per week. Inconsistent watering is the primary cause of the fruit cracking this variety is prone to.
The cracking mechanism: the fruit skin grows slowly. When dry periods are followed by sudden heavy watering or rain, water moves into the fruit faster than the skin can stretch. The skin splits. On Cherokee Purple’s thin-skinned fruit, this happens more readily than on thicker-skinned varieties.
Three practices that prevent most cracking:
- Mulch 2–3 inches of shredded straw or wood chips around plants to slow soil moisture fluctuation
- Water deeply twice per week rather than lightly every day — drip or soaker hose at soil level, not overhead
- Harvest at first color change — when shoulders turn deep rose and the fruit just begins to soften — rather than waiting for full vine-ripening
The counter-ripening approach is the most effective single change a Cherokee Purple grower can make. Fruits picked at first blush ripen on the counter in 2–3 days and crack far less than vine-ripened fruit exposed to late-summer rain cycles.
Fertilizing Cherokee Purple
Use a balanced fertilizer at planting, then shift to a low-nitrogen formula after first fruit set. High nitrogen produces vigorous vines with delayed and reduced fruit production.
Fertilizer schedule:
- At planting: slow-release balanced fertilizer (10-10-10 or 5-5-5) worked into the hole
- When first fruits are marble-sized: switch to a tomato-specific or low-nitrogen formula (5-10-10)
- Every 3–4 weeks through season: continue the low-nitrogen application
Avoid adding high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer to tomato beds at any point in the season.
How to prune Cherokee Purple
Prune Cherokee Purple to 1–2 main stems for the largest individual fruits and best air circulation. Leaving multiple stems reduces air flow and increases disease risk in this non-resistant variety.
Unlike disease-resistant hybrids where leaving more stems is a reasonable tradeoff, Cherokee Purple’s lack of any disease protection makes air circulation important. Dense unpruned foliage creates humid conditions that favor early blight, late blight, and septoria leaf spot.
For stem management technique, see how to prune tomatoes for the sucker identification and removal process.
When and how to harvest Cherokee Purple
Harvest Cherokee Purple when the shoulders are deep rose-purple and the fruit feels slightly soft when gently squeezed at the blossom end. Do not wait for it to turn fully red — it won’t. The dusky color at maturity is normal.
Signs of ripeness:
- Shoulders: deep purple-rose color (not green or pale)
- Blossom end: slight give under gentle pressure
- Stem: the vine releases the fruit with minimal resistance
- Aroma: a slight tomatoey scent is detectable even before cutting
Ripe Cherokee Purple stored at room temperature holds 3–5 days. Refrigerating tomatoes below 55°F destroys volatile flavor compounds — never refrigerate a ripe Cherokee Purple unless it’s already been sliced.
If multiple fruits ripen at once, prioritize the ones with cracking already starting — use those first.
Companion plants for Cherokee Purple
Plant Cherokee Purple with basil, marigolds, or carrots nearby. These companions either deter pests, improve soil, or make efficient use of space without competing for the same resources.
See tomato companion plants for a full guide to what grows well alongside tomatoes and what to avoid — particularly plants in the nightshade family (peppers, eggplant) that share the same soil-borne diseases and shouldn’t be rotated together.
Cherokee Purple does well in large containers if the pot is at least 15 gallons. See how to grow tomatoes in pots for container setup and watering schedule adjustments needed when growing indeterminate tomatoes in containers. For cherry tomato alternatives that are faster and have lower crack risk, see Super Sweet 100.
For a full heirloom tomato disease management guide by region, the NC State Extension tomato disease guide covers the fungal diseases Cherokee Purple is most vulnerable to and current management options by US region.
Sarah Mitchell is a Master Gardener and garden writer based in the Pacific Northwest. She has been growing food and flowers for over 15 years across USDA zones 7 and 8.