Biggest plant you've ever transplanted...

14 years ago

I've posted here before how I got overrun with plants in my first year of growing tomatoes.

Anyway, I have three or four plants (one is iffy) that just are in too small a container (I put them there just to give me some time to figure out where to put them or get bigger pots)... By time I got back to them they looked sturdy and I didn't want to disturb them. Now they all have fruit, but are obviously in containers that are way too small (2 gallon pots).

Can they still be transplanted? Or is it probably just too late and I should take it as a lesson learned?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

digdirt2
14 years ago
Or is it probably just too late and I should take it as a lesson learned?

It is somewhat late in your growing season right? How long before frost? Just accepting it would be my suggestion unless you don't care if you get any fruit off of them this year. Transplanting larger, older plants is very stressful for them and will likely cause them to abort the fruit they have.

But other than the fruit you have nothing to lose so give it a try and hope for better long-term production if you have time before frost.

As an alternative try rooting a cutting off of them for another plant if there is still time for you to get fruit before frost.

Dave
piratezeke
Original Author
14 years ago
I'm not sure where we are growing season-wise to be honest. The weather has been so crummy in July. Even today it looked like we were finally going to have a sunny 80+ degree day and now a front is passing through, it's raining and it feels more like early May than July.

Normally, given the abundance of tomatoes I probably will have - I would just transplant to see what happens. But two of the plants are a Carbon & Gold Medal Yellow and those are the only two I have of those varieties that are really producing anything (given their stunted growth from the pot and the weather - not a lot... but at least I may get a half-dozen tomatoes off of each). If the prevailing opinion is transplanting would cause them to drop their fruit, I think I'd rather have six tomatoes from each plant than maybe none.

Can a root cutting be any healthy stem off the plant or does it have to be from a certain area?
Related Discussions
OMG - the biggest freakin' catepillar ever!
Q
Comments (14)
I've plucked several from my tomatoes this week. I found their huge caterpillar poop outside the bed and went on a search to find what pooped it. They were chowing down on the plants. Those are way to big (and I'll bet juicy) for me to squash so I took them away from the garden and tossed them figuring the birds would get them. When I checked the area the next day, I saw one crawling around out there still, the others were gone. I found another on the tomatoes and this time snipped off the branch it was on. Later, the branch & worm were both gone, I'm guessing they were a snack. I agree, they are pretty (but they still give me the shivers when I pull them off the plants). I'm not a big fan of killing things so even though I most likely fed them to the birds, they could still be alive out there somewhere... Here is a link that might be useful: CSU Hornworm info
...See More
The most impractical piece of rose advice you've ever gotten
Q
Comments (135)
" Abstract: Browsing by overabundant herds of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can cause signifi cant economic damage to agricultural crops and landscape plantings. In many instances, for both commercial growers and homeowners, commercially available repellents may be an appealing alternative to physical exclusion and lethal control of animals. We tested 10 different commercially-available repellents (Chew-Not®, Deer Off®, Deer-Away® Big Game Repellent, Plantskydd®, Bobbex®, Liquid Fence®, Deer Solution®, Hinder®, Repellex® systemic tablets, and coyote urine) on yews (Taxus cuspidata Densiformis) at 2 different locations in Connecticut. The study included both positive (fence) and negative (no treatment) controls. We planted yews in 2 blocks at each location in the spring of 2006; each block had 12 groups of 6 yews. We randomly assigned one of the 12 treatments to each group of yews within each block. We applied repellents based on manufacturers’ label recommendations for the 2006 and 2007 growing seasons and recorded application costs. We derived a protection index based on plant size and dry needle weights at the end of the 2007 growing season. In general, repellents that required more frequent application performed better. Bobbex® ranked highest, but was the most expensive repellent treatment. Hinder® performed nearly as well at a fraction of the cost. Yews protected by Repellex®, Deer Solution®, coyote urine, and Plantskydd® were the same size as unprotected controls at both sites and did not have signifi cantly more needles. No repellents prevented 100% of browse damage. The choice of repellent usage is a trade-off among effectiveness, cost, ability to follow recommended reapplication interval, and plant to be protected." http://berrymaninstitute.org/files/uploads/pdf/journal/spring2010/HWC_4.1%20sp2010.pdf#page=60
...See More
slightly OT: worst gardening advice you've ever seen
Q
Comments (55)
Only because it comes up frequently at this time of year, I wanted to comment about the appropriateness or inappropriateness of using the "last frost date" as a planting guide. Many folks (and a whole lotta websites!) seem to think the average last frost date for their area will determine when any planting can take place. This is an invalid assumption. The average last frost date is typically only an indicator of when it might be safe to plant out cold sensitive plants like annuals or very tender perennials. And a date to count backwards from when starting seeds indoors, so they will be of sufficient size and maturity at a safe planting time. But it has little to no bearing on when one can plant fully zone hardy plants like most trees, shrubs and perennials. These should be able to take frosts easily, although newly emerging foliage may be damaged with a sharp frost but will recover. Generally, the only limitation to when they can be safely planted is the soil condition and if the plant has been hardened off. If the soil is workable and the plant still dormant or if not dormant, adequately acclimated/hardened off, then you can plant any time regardless of when the last frost may be.
...See More
What's the best liquid fertilizer you've ever used?
Q
Comments (27)
Yes I do use soil. I am not a wholesale grower, but I beg to differ regarding the growing of plants in soil. At one time, perennials were field grown, dug up as bare-roots in autumn, and sent out. This is still done for some perennials and many woodies but rowing in containers is the absolute most common method of herbaceous plant raising here in the UK...even many tree nurseries will maintain an inventory of strictly container grown trees...in soil. Might be worth defining what we mean by 'soil'. Yep, many nurseries will use a short term soilless compost, based on coir, peat, bark and so on...but I use a LOAM based mix of sterilsed topsoil with added base fertilser (plus perlite, grit or other aeration and drainage additions)...for both my own ornamental and edible plants...and my cannabis...and many (better) nurseries will also use a loam based potting medium as the structure is more stable, nutrient buffering has better equilibrium. and irrigation levels are easier to maintain...especially if the plant is going to remain in the container for more than 3 months. Incidentally, it is a somewhat bizarre assumption to make regarding cannabis growers..as well as being wrong. Not only in the fore front of conducting rigorous research on experimental (and innovative) growing methods (tomatoes were not exactly in the vanguard here), the sheer accumulation of data regarding breeding for example ( cannabis is an interesting botanical oddity as a dioecious annual ), not just regarding hermaphrodism, selfing but also separating compounds in the plant (again, it has an immensely long and fascinating history as well as complex alkoloids, terpenes and other phyto-active substances. It is fair to say that there has always been a heap more $$$ involved in the cannabis industry (both legal and illegal) than in tomatoes. And more than anything, money now drives research...but not always in a good way.
...See More
containerted
14 years ago
Last year, I transplanted a 6 foot tall plant (that had 11 6 ounce fruit on it) from a five gallon bucket to an 18 gallon pot. It really went smoother than I thought it would and I lost no fruit of foliage. The plant seemed to know it was in a larger pot and began to push out more folige and blooms.

You just have to preplan and support the plant and its support system and TAKE YOUR TIME.

Take a thin strip of metal or strong thin wood and loosen the plant and its rootball from the sides of its present container. This will help keep the rootball from disintegrating. When loose, set it into the new pot which has been prepared for the arrival of the transferee in a way that will allow you to only have to fill in around the sides of the rootball.

Works fine if you take your time and plan your moves.

Ted
jessicavanderhoff
14 years ago
I transplanted several a week or two ago from 5 gallon buckets. I only knocked off like one green fruit in the process. I leaned the main stem against my shoulder while pulling the bucket off and tipping the plant out of the bucket against my body. Because it was rootbound and dry, I could then grab the rootball and plop it in its new container before pulling apart the roots.

(Incidentally, Dave, you're completely right about the difficulty of getting enough water to a mature tomato plant in a five gallon bucket. There was barely any dirt left around the massive roots).

Biggest plant you've ever transplanted...

Comments (4)

digdirt2

piratezeke
Original Author

Related Discussions

containerted

jessicavanderhoff

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Biggest plant you've ever transplanted...

Comments (4)

digdirt2

piratezekeOriginal Author

Related Discussions

containerted

jessicavanderhoff

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

piratezeke
Original Author