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Do determinate tomatoes need to be pruned?
Determinate tomatoes need no pruning other than removing all suckers below the first flower cluster, because pruning won’t affect their fruit size or plant vigor. If you do any pruning at all above the first flower cluster on determinate tomatoes, you’ll only be throwing away potential fruit.
Do you pinch determinate tomatoes?
Avoid pruning tomato determinate varieties or pinch back only suckers that appear below the first flower cluster, or you will reduce your yield. Indeterminates, on the other hand, will continue to grow and set fruit until frost.
What happens if you don’t prune tomato plants?
Indeterminate tomato plants So if they are not pruned, they definitely will need serious support. Some tomato growers like to cut indeterminate tomatoes back, so they stay small and let the suckers grow to a limited height. That way it turns into a wide bush. If space is not an issue it is an interesting way to grow.
Do you need to prune a determinate tomato plant?
Determinate plants prefer a cage to support them. They grow suckers just like all tomatoes, but do not need to be pruned. The reason is that the suckers will also not get bigger than the plant is, and actually give you more tomatoes.
Do you need to prune the suckers on tomato plants?
What to prune. The common practice is to prune the suckers at the bottom of tomato plants. The benefit of this practice is to improve airflow which may help to control foliar diseases. Shoots of determinate tomatoes stop growing once they set a terminal bud. Most of us understand that if suckers are pruned too much, plants may have reduced yield.
When is the best time to prune tomato plants?
Sometimes tomato fruit clusters decide to grow into a leaf or brunch, those need to be pruned off. How to prune plants at the end of the growing season About a month before the growing season is over you can clip the growing tips off all your tomatoes (determinate and indeterminate), and take new flowers off.
Do you have to take the leaves off tomato plants?
Tomato plants do need lots of sunshine and air circulation in order to be healthy. For indeterminate tomatoes, all the leaves under the first fruit cluster are not needed any longer and can be taken off. For determinate tomatoes, take off all the leaves that are lying on the ground.