This may be a dumb question, but did you take the right cuttings? (It has to be a growth tip, not a leaf branch)

I just snap of a lateral growth tip, stick it in light potting mix, and put it in a shady spot until it gets going, then I harden it off and plant it. I wish I knew some tricks for you, but so far I haven't had to go to any great lengths to get them to root.

Say howdy to Central Texas for me! I'm an Austin girl and I do miss that Texas hill country.

You don't need rooting hormone for tomato cuttings - they do fine on their own. I put mine in a small pot of moist potting soil and cover loosely with a plastic bag. Put it either inside on the windowsill (not in direct light), or on the deck in a protected spot. You might have more challenge with the heat, perhaps they are getting "cooked" before they can take root. If that's the case, I would let them root indoors. As the other poster said, make sure you are taking the right sort of cutting.

I do a couple hundred a year both for plant sales and for my own use and it really is quite easy but my method may be different from others. And without much more info from you I can't tell what you may be doing wrong to cause so much failures.

So how I do it:

~6" long growth tip cutting with sharp 45 degree angle cut
~remove any bloom trusses
~strip all leaves off stem except top cluster of leaf growth and if long leggy leaf branches trim them back 1/2 way so nothing rests on the soil
~4" pot full of well wetted soil-less potting mix lightly compacted
~ poke a pencil sized hole in the center of the mix and stick in the stem all the way down so it rests on bottom of the pot, firm soil around stem. You want as much buried stem as possible.
~set pots in base tray indoors or in wind-sheltered, very shady, cooler outside location. I do it in the dark corner of the greenhouse.
~cuttings will droop for approx. 3 days and then perk up
~monitor soil moisture level and don't allow to dry out but do NOT over-water (most common cause of death)
~10 days to 2 weeks, harden off and then transplant

Most common causes of failure:

too big a cutting
over-watering
too many leaves left on for adequate circulatory support
damp-off from contaminate soil mix or over-watering
environmental stress from wind, sun, heat

Not saying this is the only way but it works for me and I get about a 95% or better success rate with it.

Dave

Agree. You have to use a young lateral branch(about 8" long), also called "SUCKER".
The compound tomato leave might look like a branch but it is not.

Another thing: If I want to root, I will do it in potting soil , in a 4" (or bigger) pot and keep in a shaded place with NO or VERY LITTLE direct sun , until it is established. Then I would plant it where it is supposed to be.

I started out taking just a leaf cutting, but then used growth tips (suckers). No joy. I put them in moist potting soil (though not with a plastic bag -- a good idea!) on a window sill. No joy.

This would be certainly done indoors.

This is frustrating. No recommendations of magic sauce or incantations? But before I try once again, I thought I'd poll the experts.

Jadie, Central Texas sends a "howdy" back at you. But we're just moving into the couple of months that you'd really rather not be here ...

Hmm. This is getting helpful.

6-8 inch long tip cuttings almost completely stripped? That's a major sucker. Can do.

Now, overwatering is a possible issue. How do I know it's not overwatered? I mean, I want the soil moist, but if it's well drained soil, it won't be soggy. So what this means is well-watered, but well-drained soil?

Little sun? Makes sense, I guess. Maybe the windowsill isn't the right place.

How do I know it's not overwatered? I mean, I want the soil moist, but if it's well drained soil, it won't be soggy. So what this means is well-watered, but well-drained soil?

First I stress soil-less mix, not potting soil. Crucial difference. Some think they are the same thing but they aren't. Soil-less potting mixes are sterilized, potting soils are not. They contain only peat, perlite or vermiculite and some lime to balance the pH so soil-less mixes drain better too.

What I teach in the Master Gardener course for properly wet potting mix is dump the dry mix into a container, pour in enough warm water to cover it all well, let it soak for a few hours stirring now and then with your hand, when it is all sloppy soaked wet then grab it by handfulls and wring it out in your hand just to the point it starts to stick together in a clump, fill the containers with that wrung out mix and lightly tamp it into place with your fingers. make sense?

If the containers are kept indoors out of the direct sun then you shouldn't have to give it any more water for 3-5 days. After that if you stick your finger in it and if feels dry bottom water only and don't let the pots sit in water once the top of the soil surface shows any signs of moisture absorbtion.

i don't agree with the plastic bag as that can encourage damp off or the windowsill as it can be too much sun and heat but that's your choice.

No recommendations of magic sauce or incantations?

I suppose you can always try the voo-doo magic BER cures of TUMS, aspirin, milk and crushed egg shells or recite the alphabet backwards while turning in clockwise circles. :-)

Dave

Thanks, Dave. That's very useful. I would have used sterilized potting soil, but maybe the soil-less mixture is indeed more moisture-appropriate.

I'll hold off on the sauces, but maybe I'll try that incantation. Nothing to lose. I'm on travel for a week, but I'll start in on this when I return. Takin' notes as fast as I can ...