Tomato | Topping tomato plants (2024)

FAQs

Tomato | Topping tomato plants? ›

To speed ripening late in the season, remove the growing tip of each main stem about four weeks before the first expected fall frost. Called "topping," this type of pruning causes the plant to stop flowering and setting new fruit, and instead directs all sugars to the remaining fruit.

Topping Tomato Plants

Topping tomatoes simply means cutting the top off. Remember that indeterminate tomatoes will continue to grow and produce fruit if you keep them healthy and supply them with support. That is true unless you cut the tops off because tomatoes grow and develop new leaves from the top.

Tomatoes are warm-season plants that do not tolerate frost or chilly temperatures. We normally recommend planting early to mid-May when the danger of frost has past and soil has had a chance to warm. Be sure to save the sunniest spots for your tomatoes, this will give you optimum fruit production.

Aim to prune plants when the suckers are between 2 and 4 inches long. Determinate tomato plants (those that reach 4 feet tall or so and stop growing) only need to be pruned once. Indeterminate tomatoes can be pruned every couple of weeks as they continue to produce new leaves.

To help improve airflow and cut down on the chance of disease, remove the leaves along the bottom 12 inches of the stems of indeterminate tomato plants.

Usually, indeterminate tomatoes grow best with one or two low side shoots; so, remove all side shoots above this. The lower shoots help make the plant more stable and is where they bear fruit. With beef tomatoes, on the other hand, leave just one side shoot at most other than the main shoot and tie them both up.

What's most important is how the plant looks in the evening, after sunset. However, don't water until the next morning. If you water at night, the already wetter conditions and low temperatures can promote disease.

It is important to remember that tomatoes are warm weather plants and will not grow in temperatures below 50°F (10°C). The soil should also be warm enough – ideally 60°F (16°C). In general, 'if you're growing tomatoes from seeds you can sow indoors any time from March to the end of May.

Each Bonnie tomato label urges you to plant tomatoes deep, so that a full 2/3 of the plant is underground. That means that if you buy a 10-inch tall plant, all but the top 3 to 4 inches is buried. Why? Because the plant will have a better, stronger root system.

To grow the strongest tomato plant possible, prune side stems below the first fruit cluster. As a tomato plant matures, its lower leaves begin to yellow. Pinch or prune yellowed leaves to prevent disease, improve the tomato plant's appearance, and help the plant keep its energy focused on fruit production.

What part of the tomato plant do you pinch off? ›

For example, some gardeners “pinch back” suckers on their tomato plants. This means removing the shoots that appear in the “V” or “axil” that is created between the branch and the main stem of tomato plants. In northern regions like Pennsylvania, many gardeners remove all suckers as they appear.

Indeterminate tomatoes can have from one to many stems, although four is the most I'd recommend. The fewer the stems, the fewer but larger the fruits, and the less room the plant needs in the garden. For a multi-stemmed plant, let a second stem grow from the first node above the first fruit.

Cutting the tomato plants

The plants grow quite tall in summer and I often notice bunches of green tomatoes that I know won't ripen in time. That's when I cut the top off the tomato plants. This is a great way to keep the plant from growing even larger and instead ripening the fruits.

Determinate tomatoes are usually smaller and can be grown in containers. The indeterminate tomato varieties span the sandwich and out of your hand types of fruit. Indeterminate types usually need a garden bed or larger space to spread out. In addition, indeterminate plants can be pruned to just a couple of stems.

Pinching out sideshoots will force the plant to direct its energy into the main stems and fruits. Once your cordon tomato plants have reached their maximum height, you can curtail growth in the main stem by pinching off the top below the uppermost blossoms.

Prune for plant structure and health. Suckers form in the axils between the leaves and the main stem. Encourage a strong main stem by removing all suckers below the first flower cluster. A properly pruned and supported single-stem tomato plant presents all of its leaves to the sun.