Leaves extending up and out?

[Maverick8550]

Since our weather here in Missouri has been really hot this week my tomato’s leaves look like they extended themselves upwards from the branch they attach too. Is that normal?

[rainbowgardener]

Pictures always help.

Do you mean the leaves are curling/ rolling up?



That is called physiological leaf roll. It is a natural response to hot, especially dry hot, weather. The leaves get more leathery and roll up, reducing the surface area and shading themselves. It helps prevent moisture loss through the leaves.

[Maverick8550]

I tried to get photos to show how the leaves are extending themselves and some of the branches they’re attached too have curled as well.

[imafan26]

It looks more to me like etiolation. How much light are the tomatoes getting?

[applestar]

Are they planted in the ground or in containers? Soome of mine have looked kind of like this when planted in containers that are too small and are getting rootbound/not getting enough water. AND growing borderline sufficient light has become critically in sufficient due to additional growth.

(I agree with imafan about the light .. suggesting it may have seemed OK before but now too bushy/too much upper growth).

...btw... maybe it’s just that I’m not fertilizing mine enough, or it’s just the light and camera sensors, but most of my tomatoes are never dark green like this. Could this leaf and stem color be due to lots of nitrogen?

[Maverick8550]

I have them planted in the ground. They get about 6 hours of morning sun and the it’s dappled/filtered for another hour or two.

I’ve been feeding them with Chick’n Poo fertilizer about once every 10-14 days. It’s high in calcium and lower nitrogen , maybe that has an affect? Should I trim off the lower branches to alleviate stress? The plant is about 5’ tall the lower half is fairly bushy.

[rainbowgardener]

They are a funny color, but I don't know if that is just the camera.

The curled leaves at the branch end resemble effects of herbicide spray. Could a neighbor have sprayed some kind of weed killer that drifted on to your plants? People don't realize how far that stuff can travel, especially if there is a breeze.

[Gary350]

Too much nitrogen fertilizer causes tomato leaves to curl up but they stay curled up after dark and all night too. Leaf curl from the hot sun usually fixes itself after dark next morning plant leafs look good but curl up again in the hot sun. Keep an eye on your tomato leave see if they look good in the morning when temperatures are cooler then curl up later in the day in the hot sun.