Bychye Serdtse Rozovoe

Oxheart to beefsteak-type. Fruits within this variety range in shape and size from a distinct large dark pink heart to a somewhat beefsteak-type, sometimes on the same plant. Indeterminate growth habit with regular leaves. Fruits are borne in clusters of 1-3. Market mature fruit measure 2.4-4.6" long, 2.7-4.4" wide, and weigh 6.7-19.2oz. Dark pink flesh is bright and citrusy with low to moderate acid. Texture is smooth, juicy, and meaty. Substantial flesh and small seed cavities. This variety is a bit quirky in that it occasionally produces black fruit, although Debbie Premus (donor) has been selecting for the pink oxheart for 30 years. Mildly productive and very vigorous when grown in 2023 at Heritage Farm. This is one of several Soviet-era varieties that Debbie Premus (OH PR D2) of Lebanon, Ohio, has stewarded for the past 30 years. Debbie received the seeds as gifts from Irina Bagmout during a trip Debbie made to the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Debbie is a second-generation Slav-American and during her college years, became interested in learning about her ancestors’ culture and studied Russian. Coincidentally, she met Valery Bagmout, a Soviet citizen who was taking part in the 1989 “Global Walk for a Livable World” across the US. This walk made a stop in her hometown, and Debbie and Valery became close friends. He invited her to visit him and his family in Moscow in the summer of 1991. During this trip, Valery’s mother, Irina, learned that Debbie had an interest in gardening and seed saving, so she put together a package of seeds from varieties she grew in her dacha in the city of Bryansk, about 400 km SW of Moscow. Debbie later donated the varieties to SSE in 2021. SSE Accession # 133876