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connordub

Will tomato plants regrow after being cut to the ground?

connordub
15 years ago

My first time growing tomatoes in Phoenix was surprisingly successful, although the frost cracked my fruits. I'm pretty sure i planted a few weeks too late in the fall season. I had great luck with the growth of the entire plant as well as the fruits. I had 4 huge bushes that all yielded lots of large fruits (beefsteaks). Anyhow, a friend of the family who is an avid gardener said that after harvest (or in my case, death) of the fruits, he cuts his bushes down to the main stem, leaving 5-6" poking above the soil. I followed his advice because i know my plants had great root systems that i didnt really want to dig up. Will they re-grow from these stumps in time?

Comments (10)

  • sautesmom Sacramento
    15 years ago

    Usually, yes, although I have had tomatoes broken off at ground level which did not recover. If it is growing within a couple of weeks after being cut off, you should be fine. If not, no.

    Carla in Sac

  • connordub
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    thanks, should i also be watering these stumps?

  • catman529
    15 years ago

    I would say to keep them watered. They need that to grow...they are still alive under there so keep them hydrated.

  • az_pamperedchef
    14 years ago

    connordub-

    I was glad to find your post. I'm planning on fall planting some heirloom tomatoes this year. I haven't read much encouragement on this site about fall planting of tomatoes bigger than cherries. So, I'd like to pick your brain on the methods that made your venture successful. I just started the seeds yesterday and am thinking of raised beds. When did you transplant your tomatoes? Any other suggestions you have? Thanks!

  • digdirt2
    14 years ago

    I haven't read much encouragement on this site about fall planting of tomatoes bigger than cherries.

    I find that very surprising as many of the regulars here plant fall crops every year and discuss it often. We may not be in AZ true, so planting times and varieties used may be quite different, but many different varieties should serve you well there. Cherry varieties sure wouldn't be the first choice of many of us at any time of the year. ;)

    One often discussed approach to fall tomato growing is using clones (rooted cuttings) from existing plants rather than starting new ones from seeds or cutting to ground. Easier and gets you much faster results.

    Dave

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    14 years ago

    This relates to my post a bit earlier about fall tomatoes. The idea of regenerating cherry tomato plants by cutting them down is pretty interesting. I'm not sure I'd want to cut back to 5-6 inches, as I'd think having some leaves left is helpful to survival of the plant. My plants had 6-7 foot stems (all bent over after the fruits started forming). I'm going to cut those back to the halfway mark, water carefully, and see what happens. Maybe even throw some nitrogen-rich stuff on top to encourage foliage.

  • bogaat
    13 years ago

    Did they grow back after cutting back? I am considering this for 40 plants in my greenhouse...don't ask :)

  • Joanne Bodner
    6 years ago

    my neighbors trailer house burnt down and took out my garden. My question is will my tomato come back. It is still green on the stems. and some leaves are still green. I took off all the burnt leaves and burnt tomatos.


  • Joanne Bodner
    6 years ago

    What about Broccoli? The fire was hot enough to burn there leaves.

  • stevie
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    was there a lot of water runoff from the fire? if the roots aren't damaged and has a good stem still attached then they will come back.

    i'm not sure if there are harmful chemicals that leech from the water in a fire (ie from things that melted/burnt). if there is a lot of water that came from the fire then you might want to find that out, specifically from the fire department. only good thing might be from from burnt burnt wood ash is it contains a good amount of phosphorous.

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