huge truss - should I prune it?

14 years ago

I posted a picture like this before, but the truss has grown and I'm starting to worry that there are too many blossoms/potential tomatoes.

The curvature of the truss makes it look smaller, but it's about 3 - 3/14 feet across and loops around the entire plant. If I could get on a ladder and take a picture it would show the scale better.

So - should I be pruning, or building some supports?

Also - are leaves on the truss normal, or will they try to grow into heavy branches?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

pennyrile
14 years ago
If it's Lime Green Salad, don't worry about it 'cuz you'll be lucky to get 10% fruit set.
missingtheobvious
14 years ago
Do you know what variety it is?
Related Discussions
Should I prune tomato branches?
Q
Comments (5)
Indeterminate varieties - varieties that get really viny and sprawly and keep growing all season - tend to put out suckers - these are extra shoots that grow out from between the leaf and a branch instead of growing from the main stem. Determinate varieties - varieties that are bushier more than viny - usually don't sucker out. Some people swear you must prune those suckers off. Others never bother. I'm in the latter camp. In 40 years of gardening, I have never pruned a tomato plant and they always produce just fine. However people who prune do so because they believe - they have been taught - that suckers "suck" the life and strength out of a tomato plant and if you don't prune them, your tomatoes will be smaller and fewer. However however, studies have shown that pruning can result in larger fruit, but unfortunately it also results in fewer total tomatoes. Also, pruning can make the fruit more susceptible to sunscald, and it can make the plant more susceptible to disease (because of the wound to the plant, which becomes a highway for diseases). I don't think it's necessary to prune tomatoes. I can understand doing it to increase fruit size if you're going for jumbo tomatoes for show I guess, but I'm pretty sure that growing big cherry tomatoes is not an issue, LOL! However, if the suckers REALLY are getting in your way, I guess you could prune a few off to make the vine a little more manageable. Just be careful not to remove too much at once, and make sure whatever you use to prune with is clean and as close to sterile as you can manage. It should be sharp too, to reduce the chance of additional crush damage to the plant. Personally I'd just train the branch - tie it up to whatever supports you are using - to be out of the way rather than actually lopping it off.
...See More
When should I prune this Peach tree? serious sucker problem
Q
Comments (5)
If it is a sucker, I would get rid of it as soos as I see one.
...See More
Summer pruning indicates I should have pruned more
Q
Comments (24)
Each time you deadhead, cut the cane way back. A new cane will grow but the shorter cane it grows from will limit its overall height. A three foot cane growing from a cane pruned to 12 to 18 inches will not end up as tall as a similar one growing from a cane pruned back to four feet. Your summer maintenance practices can limit the overall height of the bush. My experience is that a shorter pruned plant tends to bush out more and get wider. By choice, my hybrid teas stay within the 3-5 feet tall range
...See More
How do I prune a huge Hibiscus? Any experts out there?!?!?!
Q
Comments (2)
I'm no expert but hated to see your inquiry sit for a week with no responses. :-) Without seeing a closer image, I'm guessing that is a Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart' (Rose of Sharon). They can be pruned in late fall, early spring. There are some sterile cultivars that don't produce seeds. You can get lots of good "starts" from the softwood cuttings when you prune. Here is a link that might be useful: pruning Hibiscus syriacus
...See More
pennyrile
14 years ago
Neither of these two plants had any problem supporting the fruit that followed the flowers.

But again, with Lime Green Salad, you're lucky to get 1 in 10 flowers to set fruit.
zetterberg
Original Author
14 years ago
It is either a jelly bean hybrid or a blondkopfchen.
squonk
14 years ago
WOW! Look at all those flowers and buds, there must be about 200 of them. I've never seen anything like that on a tomato plant. I'd love to see how many tomatoes you get out of that truss.
gringojay
14 years ago
Hi zetterberg,
Selective pruning of some flowers/baby fruit might be practical way to manage the weight.
The container isn't low enough to let it sprawl on the ground. You can rig a mulched (for drainage under fruit so no rot after rains) rigid platform for bracing under it.
If you just tie it up to the cage support in a bunch you'll miss the inner ripe fruit later on anyway. Trying to support separate truss strands is likely to snap some.
Sprawl it & you'll get less of the competing (hormone) signals that can provoke some of those flowers/fruit to abort.
opie12
14 years ago
Looks just like my blondkopfchen....I didn't prune or anything, they are small, so they do fine...I am using Florida weave to support my tomatoes and didn't do anything extra for these......mine set TONS of fruit! Actually, if I plant it again next year I think I will go with only one plant for this variety because it is such a prolific producer.

Melissa
sprtsguy76
14 years ago
Leave it alone and let it set as many fruit as it wants to! Then take a picture and show us how many fruit it set, OK?

Damon
zetterberg
Original Author
14 years ago
Update - fruit is setting and I'm getting no blossom drop.
Additionally, more HUGE trusses have sprung up and are crowding out the other plant (orlov yellow giant) in the SWC.

The truss completely circles the plant and has the same density of flowers/fruit the entire way around. There are probably hundreds if not 1000+

I can't WAIT!!!!

Related Stories

WINTER GARDENING Pruning Secrets for Exquisite Roses

By Annie Thornton

Encourage gorgeous blooms year after year with this time-tested advice on how to prune your rosebush in winter for health and shape

Full Story

130

ARCHITECTURE Learn the Language of Trusses in Design

By Bud Dietrich, AIA

If figuring out all those intersecting beam configurations under roofs makes your eyes cross, here's help

Full Story

Ideabook 911: I Need Help Staging for Resale

By Becky Harris

Full Story

TREES Great Design Plant: Southern Live Oak Offers an Unbeatable Canopy

By Falon Mihalic

Keep it dense or prune it for more light. No matter how you grow Quercus virginiana, it’s a majestic addition to its native landscape

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Southwest Gardener's July Checklist

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Hold on to your hat and prune those tree branches; monsoon season means damage prevention is key

Full Story

WEDDINGS Houzz Call: Show Us Your Backyard Wedding!

By Janet Paik

Did you say ‘I do’ at home? We want to hear and see everything about it. Share your photos and you could be featured in an upcoming ideabook

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Let Lilac Love Flower This Spring

By Alison Hodgson

Whatever you bestow or receive for Mother's Day, lilacs can be an unmatched gift in the garden in May

Full Story

ARCHITECTURE Style 101: The Birthplace of Today's Rustic Look

By Michelle Fries

A look back to the beginning of cabin and lodge design can help you decide on a rustic look for your home today

Full Story

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: From Olden Church to Soaring Modern Marvel

By Mitchell Parker

Pray join us on this trip through an incredible home in Melbourne that's a real sanctuary

Full Story

130

HOUZZ TOURS Discover a Hobbit House Fit for Bilbo Baggins

By Fred Albert

Part art studio, part guesthouse and all charm, this imaginative Colorado cottage looks like it grew right out of the earth

Full Story

170

huge truss - should I prune it?

Comments (9)

pennyrile

missingtheobvious

Related Discussions

pennyrile

zetterberg
Original Author

squonk

gringojay

opie12

sprtsguy76

zetterberg
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

huge truss - should I prune it?

Comments (9)

pennyrile

missingtheobvious

Related Discussions

pennyrile

zetterbergOriginal Author

squonk

gringojay

opie12

sprtsguy76

zetterbergOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

zetterberg
Original Author

zetterberg
Original Author