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.
Cutting the tips of tomato vines stops the growth on that vine. This process of "topping" tomatoes can increase tomato production and provide control over plant growth. Commonly done at the end of the growing season, simple pinching and pruning is all it takes to top tomatoes and improve tomato harvests. (Vid.
You can keep tomato plants from growing too tall by regularly pruning them, providing support such as stakes or cages, and ensuring they receive adequate sunlight and nutrients to encourage healthy growth without excessive stretching.
If you plant your tomatoes into a raised bed filled with coco coir, perlite, and other nutrient-poor materials, the plants will soon become stunted and show other signs of nutrient deficiencies. These same symptoms can occur when growing seedlings in pots and raising tomato plants in native soil.
Dwarfism in tomatoes is so rare that when it occurs, plant breeders try to grow and save as many seeds as possible for future plant breeding purposes. Plant breeders use dwarf varieties to control for plant size and then hand-pollinate to cross with varieties that have desirable fruit traits.
Pruning tomato plants is an optional technique that some gardeners use to keep plants tidy, manipulate fruit size, and even speed ripening. There is one big catch: You should only prune indeterminate varieties, which produce new leaves and flowers continuously through the growing season.
Micro tomato varieties have been bred for their compact size, and they offer many benefits to gardeners with small spaces or growing indoors. Micro tomatoes grow to a height of less than a foot and make perfect windowsill plants.
With large-fruited tomato varieties such as ox-heart and beef tomatoes, however, the side shoots should be removed. Even with medium-sized indeterminate tomatoes, we recommend only leaving a maximum of two to three shoots, including the main shoot.
Pruning. If the crown of your tree is stretching too tall or wide, corrective pruning can help rein it in and size it down for the space available. It's crucial to prune a tree before it becomes a problem because taking away too many branches could cause unnecessary stress.
Most grow to three or four feet tall, although some patio varieties top out at 12 inches. Indeterminate tomato plants, which tend to vine, require trellising or cages, continue to grow, and produce fruit until the first frost.
Topping your tomato plants might sound intimidating, but it's a gardening trick that can make a big difference. Think of it as giving your plants a little haircut for a big reward. By snipping off the growing tips, you're telling the plant to put its energy into the remaining tomatoes instead of just growing taller.
Most modern determinate tomatoes easily grow 3 to 4 feet tall and indeterminates continue to get taller until frozen in the fall, easily reaching at least 6 feet in height.
Just prune branches that twist to grow over already established branches so that they all get sunlight, and prune near the trunk of the plant so that you have better airflow to prevent any pests or diseases forming.
Water correctly: Do not overwater. The first week tomato plants are in the ground, they need water every day, but back off watering after the first week, slowly weaning the plants down to 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week.
Some gardeners recommend you “pinch off” the flowers on your tomato transplants during their first weeks of growth, claiming that removing early blossoms: Directs more energy into establishing a strong root system. Results in a larger, sturdier, and potentially healthier tomato plant.
Determinate, or bush tomatoes, tend to be smaller and more manageable. Most tomato pruning involves removing suckers -- the shoots that form in the axils where side branches meet the stem. Remove suckers when they're small by pinching them off with your hand or snipping them with pruners.
However, tomato plants can be a bit finicky when it comes to getting too close to their tomato neighbors, and they like a bit of space between themselves and their fellow garden companions.
You only need to worry about pruning if you're growing a vining type, aka an indeterminate tomato. Bush tomatoes, or determinate tomatoes, are basically self-pruning because they're meant to only grow to a certain size and then stop.
Then it's crucial to know how many leaves should be cut off the plant. While too many cuts might restrict development and deplete the plant's energy reserves, too few can result in a poor yield.
What part of the tomato plant do you prune? Remove suckers or the little stems and leaves that sprout between the main stem and branches of indeterminate tomato plants. Also remove lower leaves that are touching the ground.