If you have a vegetable garden, chances are you have tomatoes growing in it. Home-grown tomatoes burst with flavor and vibrant color that store-bought ones just can’t match. One way to ensure a continuous supply of delicious tomatoes is through pruning.
Benefits of Pruning a Tomato Plant
Pruning significantly boosts your tomato plants’ productivity, improves airflow, makes harvesting easier, and helps produce larger fruit. Here are some expert tips on how and when to prune your tomato plants for the best results.
Improved Plant Growth
Pruning helps your plant focus on producing fruit rather than foliage. According to Kelly Funk, president of Jackson & Perkins, “By pruning and keeping the plant tidy, it will focus on producing fruit instead of foliage.”
Increased Fruit Size
Pruning also allows the plant to produce larger fruit earlier. If the blossoming ends of the tomato are left on the plant, it will focus most of its energy into setting fruit instead of ripening existing tomatoes, says Funk.
Increased Circulation
Pruning improves airflow around the plant, helping fruits ripen and keeping the plant healthy. “Pruning helps increase airflow around the tomato plant by separating it from nearby plants,” says Susan Mulvihill, an organic gardener and author.
Reduced Disease
Removing lower branches that touch the ground reduces the risk of disease. Soil-dwelling pathogens can easily move onto the plant’s leaves from the ground, according to Mulvihill.
How to Know If Your Tomato Plant Needs Pruning
Not all tomato plants need pruning. First, determine if you have determinate or indeterminate tomatoes.
Determinate Tomatoes
Pruning determinate tomatoes is optional. “Determinate tomatoes are bush varieties because they do not produce continuously nor continue extending in length,” says Funk. They produce fruit all at once and don’t require pruning unless you want to limit the amount of fruit.
Indeterminate Tomatoes
Indeterminate tomatoes benefit greatly from pruning. They produce new leaves and fruit continuously throughout the growing season. Pruning helps keep the plants under control and prevents them from leaning and over-fruiting, says Adrienne R. Roethling, garden director for Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden.
How to Prune a Tomato Plant
Start pruning when your tomato plant is about 1 to 2 feet tall.
1. Locate the Suckers
Find the plant’s main stems and the suckers growing off them. Look in the V-shaped spaces between the main stem and the branches.
2. Remove the Suckers
Prune the tomato suckers just above the highest fruit using clean, sharp pruning shears. You can also snap off young suckers with your hands. Be careful not to remove all suckers at once, which can stress the plant.
3. Remove Low-Hanging Branches
Check the base of the plant for any branches touching the soil or looking diseased. Use pruning shears to snip off lower branches up to a height of about 12 to 16 inches from the ground.
4. Stake or Remove Long Branches
If the plant has grown beyond the height of the cage, either stake the branches or remove them. Look closely at each branch, see where the developing fruits are, and cut back the branch just past that point.
When to Prune a Tomato Plant
Begin pruning early in the growing season—around June or July, depending on your growing zone. The best time to prune is early morning on a dry day to prevent the spread of diseases.
Common Mistakes When Pruning a Tomato Plant
Pruning Determinate Tomatoes
Avoid pruning determinate tomatoes, as it significantly impacts the harvest.
Pruning Wet Plants
Never prune tomatoes when the branches are wet, as this increases the chance of diseases.
Pruning Too Much
Over-pruning can cause fruits to get sunscald, a form of sunburn that damages them. Remove foliage moderately to avoid this issue.
By following these tips, you can enjoy a bountiful harvest of bigger, healthier tomatoes. Happy gardening!
