Return to the Growing Tomatoes Forum | Post a Follow-Up

 o
So... options for a very tall plant

Posted by CaraRose 5b Chicago (My Page) on
Tue, Jul 29, 14 at 11:16

So Orange Roma is huge. Currently it's around 7' tall and outgrowing it's third stacked tomato ladder. This was a it a week ago and it's now reached to top of that support--


I'm growing all my plants in 1sf pruned. Orange Roma has two stems that are at the top of the support and one which was a missed sucker that was large enough when I found it that I just figured the support was fine for three stems. The last one is about half the size of the other two vines.

I know there's a to top or not to arguments on here. Right now my thoughts are either -- Add another level of support (the gardeners stacking tomato ladders, so I can add another, though I'm going to need a ladder to do it), don't add more support and let the vines drape, top the top two vines and maybe let the smaller vine produce a sucker or two.

My pros and cons thinking of these options--

1. Adding another level of support-- well, it's easy enough though I'm going to need a ladder. The supports just slide into one another. It may be interesting to see how big this thing gets, but being too tall will make pruning new suckers difficult.

2. Draping-- This is what I'd normally do when a plant outgrows the support. Main concern here is the spacing since I'm at 1sf. There's not much room to let it drape without interfering with the other plants.

3. Topping-- Obviously this will kill some production. Of course by pruning in general I'm killing some production. I'm thinking top the two large vines and let the third grow an extra sucker to make up for production loss.

Any thoughts?


Follow-Up Postings:

 o
RE: So... options for a very tall plant

Let them flop over back to you for easier pickings.


 o
RE: So... options for a very tall plant

I'd let them drape back down.


 o Post a Follow-Up

Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum.

    If you are a member, please log in.

    If you aren't yet a member, join now!


Return to the Growing Tomatoes Forum

Information about Posting

  • You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
  • Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
  • Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
  • After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
  • Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
  • We have a strict no-advertising policy!
  • If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
  • If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.


Learn more about in-text links on this page here