Three of my heirloom tomatoes are not doing so well. I realize what mistakes I have made and have not lost hope that these will recover, but they are leggy, with sparse leaves that are turning purple and yellow and I'm just not sure that my emergency care is going to help them pull through. Anyway, I cut off some of the lower branches/leaves that were looking the worse or touching the mulch cover on the container in hopes that they will focus their energy on new, healthier growth.

So, my question is, can I try to root these cuttings. Some don't look too bad and I figure I have nothing to lose, but I'm not even sure if they were cut from somewhere that will root. Additionally, I don't know if and where I should trim and what I should plant. They are all pretty much lower branches with smaller side branches shooting off. None were suckers. Can I trim the leaves off and try to root the large branches or should I pick the healthiest looking smaller, off-shoot branches and try to root those? Or should I just toss them and hope their parent plants make it?

I know what a sucker is, but I'm not exactly sure what part of these branches is a growing tip or if there even is one. And I would love to go out and buy smaller, healthier versions of these particular plants, but I can't find anymore that look even as good as mine (which I don't think look very good).

A cutting is either what you call a sucker (a lateral leader) - a small one say 4-6" long - or a growth tip. A growth tip is either the growing end of a big "sucker" OR the top tip of the main stem on the plant (aka shoot tip).

OK?

Dave

I guess I'll just hope the original plants recover.

One other follow up question, if the plants are sickly, does it make sense to cut and try to root the growth tip of the main stem on these plants? Or should I try hope for the best and do better next year?

Oh, and the three plants are a Black Krim, a Cherokee Purple and a Hillbilly.

Many people take cuttings or clippings of tomatoes and root them. I think one of the most common methods is to root them in water. Personally I don't like that method very well, though I have used it. One reason I don't care for it is that the roots that are developed in water are different than the ones that plants grow in soil. That means that once you have water roots, you then have to plant the cutting into a soilless growing medium, and it has to go through a process of growing roots that are adapted to its natural environment. Tomatoes don’t normally grow in water. It isn't their natural habitat.

So what I do, is take a smallish container, such as a 2x2" or 3x3" pot and fill it with soilless growing medium, poke a hole big enough for the tomato stem and put it in it, then firm the medium around the stem and water very well. (To the point of saturation.) Then I put the tomato in an area with bright but not direct light. For me that is usually under my fluorescents that I use for seed starting. I start with cuttings that have at least 3-5 leaves on them and about 3-4” of stem below the leaves. (I have used smaller than that successfully, but it takes longer to get a good sized plant for transplanting.) Keep the medium pretty wet, I have even had the rooting container sitting in about a quarter to half inch of water and just let it stay in there but don’t add anymore water. The first day or two the plant will droop a lot and look like it is gonna die, but then it will perk up. When it perks up, that means it has started making roots and you can stop keeping the potting mix so wet and follow a normal watering regimen. Give it a few more days to a week longer and once it is well established, you can harden it off for planting outdoors.

You can use bigger cuttings, but you'd need a bigger pot and they may not recover quite as quickly. People do it all the time when they have a branch break off a plant in the garden and they just shove the broken branch into the soil and as long as it is moist enough and the branch is somewhat shaded, it will usually grow.

By the way, taking cuttings works best with indeterminate tomatoes like your three.

Betsy

All depends on what they are sickly with. A systemic disease - no sense. A fungal or bacterial disease of the lower leaves that hasn't affected the condition of the majority of the plant or the tip - probably ok.. Nutritional issues or pest issues - no problem if cause is corrected. Just environmental damage - no problem.

Dave

I'm pretty sure they are not sick with fungus or bacteria ...based upon the research I did. I suspect it may either be from overwatering or lack of nutrients. I am pretty sure the mix in my first container where they were overcrowded was holding too much water and not providing enough aeration. I am trying self-watering setups and I think too much moisture coupled with lack of nutrients because the plants hadn't accessed the fertilizer in the strip at the top of the container yet was my problem. I moved them each to their own container, but now I think even though I amended my mixture, it still may be too wet (just based on how the plants look and what I've been reading). I am hoping for some warm, sunny weather (we've had rain for the past two days) to see if the soil will dry out some and they can recover. I don't see any pests or damage that I think points to anything bacterial or fungal ...but I am a novice and am just going off of what I've been reading.

Anyway, I think I will try to take some cuttings and see if I can propagate some new plants.