Cutting Tomatoes

[MotherBrugger]

Evening all,
I read somewhere a few months back of a guy whose tomatoes had overtaken their space, so he began cutting off/topping them.
My question to those more experienced with tomatoes than I (and that would be many of you, lol) is this. Will the plant continue to produce more flower buds and fruits under the cut? Does it regrow from the cut top, or is this the extent of it's height? TIA forum members,

 

[digitS']

You have waited awhile for an answer to this, Nichole. I'll take a stab at it and maybe someone with real experience will see it and provide a better answer.

I almost never do any cutting on a tomato plant. It is enuf for me to get them to some stage of maturity without doing any whacking at 'em. But, unfortunately, sometimes they get really out of bounds and, just to get close to them, I have to do some pruning late in the season.

So, that's too late to know what they'd do after a month or so into their recovery. Frost will kill them before then. But, I would really think that it would take about that long before they could get back to growing.

That is -- the indeterminates would get back to production. If determinates were cut back - it seems like it would have to be a big mistake. Or at best, pointless. They will flower and produce fruit on that specific place on their branches and . . . that is it, anyway. They won't continue to grow, flower or produce fruit. If that prescribed place for fruiting was removed, I imagine that they wouldn't produce anything ever.

. . . just guessing.

Steve

 

[MotherBrugger]

Very interesting Steve. I did'nt know that about determinates, being pre3described to fruit in specific spot. TY. Thank goodness I'm thinking of cutting on indeterminate too. They are beginning to get so big they are creating too much shade over the 5 foot strawberry tower, and making them leggy. I've got to either get rid of a few, or cut them back.

 

[dickiebird]

Yes they will continue to produce.

I found this out by accident, I had some Cherry tomato plants that were broken off by the wind, I cut the broken part off, about 18" worth, and the plant continued to produce.

I stuck the broken sections in a planter with some strawberry plants and they rooted and produced fruit also.

Just this afternoon I was messing with the planter I had I did this in and was surprised at how much root they had grown in the time they were in there.

THANX RICH

 

[MotherBrugger]

TY Rich. I'll have to try that rooting trick, a couple are getting the older, yellowing leaves and need to 'exit, stage left' anyway. I am going to keep a few, just want to get some more light in there.