I grew mine in an unheated greenhouse, where it produced very tall and very upright plants. It was more interested in growing upwards than making sideshoots, although it started to sprawl a bit at a later stage. It's most definitely an indeterminate type and was soon on its way out of the roof vents. The flowers are attractive ... larger than an average tomato flower and composite with lots of petals.

Fruit-wise, Orange Strawberry is something a bit different and special. It's shaped, not surprisingly, a bit like an orange strawberry, albeit a very large and ribby and pleated one. Broad at the top, and curving into a blunt point at the blossom end, although there is some variability in the exact size and shape. I've seen pictures of other people's fruits that were more pointed than mine, so expect some variability. The top of the fruit is ribbed, with a more subtle scalloped pattern descending right down to the base, much like the patterns made by melted chocolate. It's very attractive and unusual. The unripe fruits are a very pale green with a porcelain-like translucence. They ripen through a pale orange, finally ending up a glowing bright carrot orange.

Sliced open, the inside of this tomato is almost solid flesh, with minimal locular tissue and very few seeds. The gel is confined to a few very thin seams just under the pericarp. This is a common attribute of oxheart tomatoes, which makes them excellent for cooking because their fleshiness makes for substantial sauces. By the same token they're slightly frustrating for seed savers, because the seeds are few and far between and the tiny pockets of gel are difficult to locate within the mass of fleshy fruit. It's a bit odd really when a tomato the size of a large fist yields little more than a dozen seeds.

The flavour is strong, rich and savoury. It doesn't work for me raw, but I'm not the biggest fan of raw tomatoes. This, like other fleshy types, comes into its own as a cooking tomato. Especially nice if you fancy a bright orange sauce. The flesh is crispy when raw, and cooking turns it into something grainy but soft, like the flesh of a peach. The cooked flavour has a nice balance between sweet and savoury, with a hint of fruityness thrown in. It certainly has plenty of flavour, far more so than most 'paste' tomatoes.

Would I grow this one again? Definitely. It's eye-catching and exotic but has many genuinely useful attributes, and grows and fruits well. Recommended.

Photo: Threefold fruit! This amazing and beautiful object was the first Orange Strawberry fruit my plants produced, from a composite flower. It's basically three fruits fused into one.