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Hello!

I have a few indeterminate tomato plants growing in pots indoors (in a very sunny spot of the condo). They have started to bloom, with flowers in about three branches. They are about 3ft tall right now, however, they will continue to grow since they are indeterminate and I don't have a lot of space (they could reach the ceiling). How can I control the height of the plants? Some things to consider:

1. I live in Hawaii, so I was hopping to continue to grow the plants as perennials. If I top the plant, would it continue to generate fruit next year?
2. How long can a plant produce tomatoes if there is no frost?
3. I have been cutting the suckers so I can control the width, but how do I control the height?

Basically, I don't want to kill the plant and make it stop producing tomatoes if I trim it wrong.

Thanks!

You can pinch the terminal growth, but it will still produce side shoots and they will vie to be the leader, so you need to keep pinching the suckers you don't want.

In Hawaii, tomatoes, eggplant, and some peppers are technically perennial. However, since there are so many insects and diseases, that is what kills tomatoes. I have kept tomatoes up to 10 months before they died from disease. I have seen eggplant and peppers last 5-10 years, but their production drops, so I don't keep eggplant past a couple of years and only some of the peppers remain productive for about 8 years.

Don't expect tomatoes to live very long in a pot, especially an undersized pot. Tomatoes have a very large root system and it needs then to get tall and to continue to thrive. I plant tomatoes in 18 gallon pots and the roots still go into the ground under the pots.

Thank you for the additional info.
Is there a particular way to pinch the terminal growth?
So, even if I cut the terminal growth, it would still grow suckers near by and those would eventually become the main stem?

Thanks again!

It will continue to sucker and you will need to keep controlling the suckers. Most plants have a leader that controls the height of the plant. If you want to make a plant bushy, you pinch or prune out the leader and suckers will grow. You need to remove suckers you don't want. To keep a plant from becoming too wide, you keep a leader. A strong leader controls the growth of suckers and side shoots and inhibits their rank growth. If you choose to top your tomato, you will need to keep up with the removal of the suckers and control the length of the side shoots.

Indeterminate tomatoes get 8-10 ft tall. If you trellis them and let them hang down over the top of the trellis you can keep the leader. Since you are in a condo, you don't have as much light as you would have if the tomato is kept in full sun so it will probably be taller. Plants in full sun are shorter than plants that are in the shade and have to reach for the sun.


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