I regularly container grow a few kinds of tomatoes every year. Usually something for the porch for snacking tomatoes, and a couple to a few 5 gallon container kinds just for general growing out and testing- I know a lot of people that want smaller sized tomato plants, I always throw some of this into my growing plans. Sometimes I grow inappropriate tomatoes in pots to stress test or overwinter tomatoes. So in my experience, yes, tomatoes can be grown in five gallon pots successfully. You must pay attention to what kind of tomato plant it is though. And treat that plant differently than you would an in ground or even a bigger potted tomato. Indeterminates are pretty much right out. Even the smaller of them are still a bit overwhelming for that size pot. An exemption to this is if you WANT to bonsai a tomato. People want to do this sometimes for various reasons with a large plant instead of a small one. But that's probably a whole different thing than what the OP is looking for. Don't think all determinate are OK - a lot of them get really rather large, from 4-6 feet- that's getting to be too big for a 5 gallon too. You want stuff that stays under 4 feet tall for better results out of a 5 gallon pot. A general "rule of thumb" for me is a gallon per foot- a 5 gallon pot should top out max at 5 feet, and this should include the pot. Fruit sizes on plants- like Dave said, a lot of cherries are monsters. While a lot of the more common of the container suitable varieties grow around cherry-ish sized fruit, don't let that fool you into thinking anything that's a cherry stays small as a plant. Container suitable plants can also grow all the other sizes and shapes of tomato fruits- except huge beefsteaks. Small beefsteaks yes, but I've yet to see a good successful grow of large beefsteaks. Now, what you are really looking for are some key terms- and these pertain to growth habit. Dwarf, stocky, miniature, container, patio, and tumbling or cascading are all good terms. Phrases like "compact growth habit" and "urban grower" are also good to look for. Urban grower is showing up more in cities and greenhouses are smart enough to carry more patio/balcony sized veggie plants than they used to. Short season tomatoes are often a wee bit on the smaller side for growth habit. So look for terms like Siberian, ice A few favorite varieties around here.. Dwarf Wild Fred- this is an outstanding black plum, it's part of a whole line of Dwarf Project plants. Tasty, grows well, takes well to caging or staking. Jaune Flamme- a nice three foot tall plant that produces loads of orange saladette to plum sized fruits that start early and chug right on through the growing season. It can be a bit sprawly, so caging is better than staking with this one IMO. Totem is a classic red. Compact, responds well to caging or staking, it does not require much because it's a pretty stocky plant. Grows large cherry to salad sized fruit that is basic, balanced, and tasty. I have successfully grown this in a 1 gallon hanging pot, but it wasn't as good as a 5 gallon pot. Tumbling Tom yellow and red are nice little hanging plant. Flavor is pretty good. Needs a lot of watering though. You really need at least a three gallon hanging pot, and better a 5 gallon to plant in with multiple plants like cascading hangers usually are. How you grow your 5 gallon tomato is just as important as picking the right kind too. I actually use kitty litter buckets, because we have a lot of cats and those buckets and jugs are damn handy for all sorts of gardening chores. But the point is, you want a sturdy container and you will have to put drainage holes in the things. And you only want to grow tomatoes about 2/3 taller than the pot. So if your pot is 12" tall, you don't want to go much over a 2 foot tall plant, making for a 3 foot total. An 18" deep pot can help you bump up to a three foot tall plant. If you over-reach your tomato pot depth:plant height ratio, you might have make considerations for top-heaviness. This is part of that gallon per foot thing I already mentioned. A 5 gallon pot that is ideally 18" deep with a 3-4' tall plant is in that 5 foot tall range of plant, including pot. They still need support, and those crap-o-la tomato cages that are normally pointless in the garden are actually perfect for this. They set nicely into that size container. Otherwise I would suggest sinking one or two 2x2 poles into your bucket for if you want to stake your tomato instead of cage it. As companion plants if you choose to have any in your 5 gallon pot... I would recommend cut and come again lettuce or spinach as a mulch plant. Basil or parsley as more ariel and insect byplay plants. Basil is a bit nicer because it can also be a trap plant for aphids and is easier to pull out and replant entirely if needed. If you like peppery greens, nasturtiums are tasty, all edible, look absolutely lovely trailing out of 5 gallon containers, and are aphid traps too. I don't really recommend any companion planting in a 5 gallon pot because you want the best of everything to go to your tomato. But I understand that often one likes or needs to share space in a garden. I often plant in the patio pots with companions, but usually flat mulch all other 5 gallon pots. If you don't companion plant, I strongly suggest using a mulch, 1-2" deep- and this filling in the bottom of the top rim of the pot. Leave yourself generous watering space too. I generally use scrap straw in the spring, and grass clippings through the summer with dressings of coffee grounds to add a smidge of brown matter to the grass clippings.

When taking the growing tip of a leggy tomato plant for rooting, what type of temp is required for best results? Should the tip cutting be kept indoors or if outside, what might be suggested as a min temp overnight. I have leggy tomato plants that I plan to grow in earthboxes. I started them indoors under lights (obviously too early) and moved them to the greenhouse hoping the cooler temps would slow down their growth. Just looking at them, I think they're more leggy than they should be, now it's time to transplant. Burying deep won't work because of the limited depth of the earthbox. The tomatoes are the ones from the Florida University tomato program, 2 Garden Gem (semi indeterminate) in one box and 1 Garden Treasure (indeterminate) in the second box. I only have one spot that receives adequate sun (6 plus hours) for attempting to grow tomatoes. In studying online photos of these two varieties, I think these tomato plants might naturally be a bit more wispy than most so perhaps what I'm seeing is close to normal for these particular tomato plants. Do you think taking tip cuttings and rooting would be better than planting out these leggy tomato plants? Based on the time frame, do you think it would delay fruiting or does the tomato plant take it's cue to produce from the original planting date? My thanks,

This is the first I've seen this thread and it makes me so excited that I already have this rose. When Lilyfinch was moving away I bought from her several of her roses that she had received in the early spring, but realized didn't need to be planted before she left. Poor JG was a nub and hadn't had an easy time of his early life--I think she threw him in the batch I bought from her for her for free. I planted him at the base of my beautiful limestone chimney and it wasn't until late in the summer he seemed to make a recovery a got going. He should start with a few blooms this spring--we'll see. This thread sure has gotten my hopes up!! dianela7bnorthal I'll let you know how he does on disease resistance. I'm just north of you and I suspect we have similar disease pressure.

Agree with erasmus and Sheila: I post in rose forum since 2011, and read many posts dated back to 2005. The tons of blooms pics. that people post are often from 2nd-year grafted-roses, that's when they are at its peak. Blooming depends on the age of the grafted-roses for particular climate. I visit both rose parks (Chicago Botanical Garden with 5,000 roses) and Cantigny garden with 1,200 roses. I visited Cantigny yearly for over a decade. The first and esp. 2nd year of roses grafted on Dr.Huey: tons of blooms (more blooms than leaves), then it's a drastic decline in 3rd year and the rose park replaces roses every 3 to 5 years. Rose park's 1st and 2nd year Jude the Obscure's spring flush was amazing: zillion of petals, at least 40 blooms per bush. In the 3rd year late fall, I saw only one bloom on their 7 feet tall Jude (no matter how much fertilizer & water is given). Dr.Huey-rootstock declines in freezing wet winter, esp. poor drainage clay. A friend in Southern CA gave up on her old grafted-Teasing Georgia which grows tall with zero blooms, versus Erasmus tons of blooms & many years-old own-root Teasing Georgia. Multiflora-rootstock behaves the same in Pakistan's hot climate. Rosarians there report Multiflora drastic decline then death within 5 years. A. Shopshire Lad is the wimpiest rose among my 134 own-root roses. Own-root ASL is mainly spring flush. Own-root James Galway has the vigor, it's 20 times bigger than ASL. James has thick canes and grew tall fast with 10+ blooms per flush in its first year as own-root. Khalid in hot & dry Pakistan also reported ASL as the worst among his 200+ roses. There's a thread on ASL with many complaints, and the folks who successfully grow it have the ideal soil & climate & plenty of rain for it. I have never seen a 5+ year- old ASL blooming with good repeat, but I have seen many 10-year old own-root roses with tons of blooms like Erasmus and Sheila's gardens. My James Galway now is 6 year own-root and it's giving 3 flushes a year, versus one flush for ASL. James Galway is best as own-root to keep it small & less watering. James' scent is moderate on the bush but becomes wonderful carnation once picked for the vase, plus James' blooms last much longer in the bush & vase than ASL: James' pink clusters with the best scent (becomes stronger old rose & carnation in the vase), beating Dee-lish & many others' scents in this bouquet: James Galway is the pink cluster along with purple Young Lycidas. James is best as own-root to control its height & less demand for water to repeat. I prune James down to 3 feet in spring, and give him no nitrogen, but high phosphorus & high potassium SOLUBLE with trace-elements, plus garden sulfur to lower pH. James repeats 3 flushes a year in my short-summer zone 5. James is compact & tall like a pillar, and NOT messy like other Austin climbers (crown princess mag). James is in 4 hours of morning sun, and I'm sure it blooms better if more sun: