My 5yr old son fell on my plants as they were sitting outside waiting to be planted. Two tomato plants are wanting to lean over, but nothing appears to be broken on them. A squash plant (well there's two plants in one container) one of them is broken near where the stem goes in the soil. The other one got stressed near there, a side leaf got broken, but the stem itself doesn't appear to be broken.
My question is--I was going to plant these tomorrow evening. I am only planting 4 tomatoes and one squash. Should I just replace all these and start fresh, or if they look ok tomorrow, am I ok to plant these?
As long as the weather is mild, most plants will recover from such damage. If the stem is broken, I would get another one. Otherwise, they should only experience a temporary delay in growth while they repair themselves. That's my humble opinion. I think even the one with the broken stem could recover, unless it is severed, if you wrap it. You might have a disappointing result, however.
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jal_ut
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7453
- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
- Location: Northern Utah Zone 5
If a stem is broken off above the seed leaf (cotyledon) node, the plant will send out new leaves from that node. If it is broken below that node, it will not send out new leaves and will have to be replaced.
I would plant the damaged ones and see what they do. Good chance they will grow and do fine.
I would plant the damaged ones and see what they do. Good chance they will grow and do fine.
Gardening at 5000 feet elevation, zone 4/5 Northern Utah, Frost free from May 25 to September 8 +/-