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Container Gardening

Tomato plant too tall?

16 years ago

I need help with my Husky Cherry Red tomato plant that has grown to nearly seven feet tall on my northwest facing balcony. It receives only indirect sunlight yet it thrives and produces fruit. However, its increasing height makes it difficult for me to support it properly as it has already outgrown its cage. IÂm currently using a long piece of bamboo inserted in the planter as a stake but it has outgrown that too. At the rate it is growing, this plant will soon touch the ceiling of my balcony! IÂm also worried that a summer storm will break the plant and kill it. Should I prune it? Bend it? Try another method of staking it? Please help!

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Comments (3)

chalstonsc
16 years ago
You can let it grow back down from where it is, bending on its own as it grows and fruits at the top. If you can give it some support as it comes down, like loosely tying to the cage, all the better, but it won't mind if you don't. If you can tie down or weigh down the pot and/or cage, so a summer storm does not topple and break the main stem(s), then a storm will likely only snap a branch or two at worst and the plant will continue to grow as long as it is destined to grow.
el34
16 years ago
I have a few Juliet Toms this year. Last year they got over 12 feet tall.
I have a huge trellis to support them but you need a ladder to pick at the top of the vine.

This year I let 2 suckers at the bottom develope and I am training them to go up the trellis right next to the main stem.
Hopefully, the idea is that 3 stems will produce enough toms that I may not need to let them get over 9 feet or so which is the top of my trellis.
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jenny_in_se_pa
16 years ago
My Snow White cherry tomato hit the ceiling last year and I fashioned 2 sets of 6ft + 4ft plastic bamboo poles strapped together so the pole combinations hit the ceiling and then I strung some vinyl-coated twist-tie wire between them to let it sprawl across that for the remainder of the season.

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