nosebleed21
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Tomato Plant-Stunted Growth

my tomato plan stopped growing. what could be wrong.What should I do?Help
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rainbowgardener
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I looked back at your previous posts and you said you are in the Phillipines? What are the temperatures like now where you are? Temperatures much above 90 deg F can slow it down. In that kind of weather, it will need a lot of water.

Your tomato plant does not look really bad, but not quite thriving and maybe a little stretched out, lot of inter-nodal space. Is it getting enough sun? Tomato plants like at least 6 hrs a day of direct sun, if not more - except if it is really hot and dry, it will need some protection from hot afternoon sun.

How are you fertilizing it? That looks like a pretty small container for a tomato plant. To grow it in such a little bit of soil, you will need to fertilize regularly.

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applestar
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Hmmm.... I might be wrong, but it looks to me like this plant has grown a self terminating floral cluster at the top -- kind of like a determinate plant side shoot. NORMALLY this doesn't happen -- even determinate plants have a non-terminating growth at the top.

But I HAVE heard of tomato plants doing this. I think I saw at least three or four reports last year just from casual and random web surfing.

What variety is this plant? Is it your only plant?

If it's an indeterminate variety, it's possible the plant will either grow a growth shoot beyond the floral cluster or grow a new side shoot from (probably) a nearest leafnode and keep going. In any case. I suspect the plant will start growing suckers/ side shoots (unless you've pinched/removed them all).

If indeterminate variety, it may continue to grow upwards from the side shoots, if determinate, all the side shoots could terminate in floral clusters (and fruits) and the plant won't grow any more.

nosebleed21
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@rainbowgardener you guys rock you reay help people around here high temp 30 degrees celcius low temp is 21 degrees inplaced it in an area that gets minimum sunlight of 6 hours :-( there's two of them but the other one is already twice its height not really sure sbout internodal thing though please explain thanks

nosebleed21
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@applestar its an indeterminant cherry tomato I planted 2 of them one is twice as high
hope that helps thanks!

Juliuskitty
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Repot it larger,and I bet it will take off. Try a 10 gallon pot if you can. Thats about 40 liters.

imafan26
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The P.I. is in summer or fall now so it can get pretty hot. The tomato is in a small pot and you have it near a concrete wall which may be giving it more heat especially if it wilts in the afternoon. That could cause it to bolt to flowering faster. A bigger pot and farther from the wall to improve circulation. You can use mulch on the container and double pot to keep the roots from cooking.

nosebleed21
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should I pinch off the blossoms and fruits to allow it to thrive?

nosebleed21
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hope I did it right with this one
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imafan26
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If it is a determinate, pinching off the flowers will mean you won't get any tomatoes. Try to feed it more. It is kind of big to repot but if you are careful get it into a larger pot so the roots won't be crowded. You can tell if it is potbound by gently tugging on the plant if it comes out of the pot with the roots looking like the pot, it needs a bigger pot.

Do you know the name of the cultivar? Some of the smaller tomatoes like Amish paste or Patio do not get very tall.

nosebleed21
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imafan26 wrote:If it is a determinate, pinching off the flowers will mean you won't get any tomatoes. Try to feed it more. It is kind of big to repot but if you are careful get it into a larger pot so the roots won't be crowded. You can tell if it is potbound by gently tugging on the plant if it comes out of the pot with the roots looking like the pot, it needs a bigger pot.

Do you know the name of the cultivar? Some of the smaller tomatoes like Amish paste or Patio do not get very tall.

hi this one is an indeterminate type of cherry tomato

imafan26
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It looks like maybe a paste tomato. Many of those grow in clusters. They look too big to be a cherry and definitely not a grape. But, without a ruler or familiar object for reference it is hard to tell the actual size. If it is a indeterminate, you can take off some of the side shoots without harming the plant. TIP: Tomato can be grown from cuttings too.



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