How to Prune Tomato Plants in Containers
Tomato plants grow best when planted outdoors, where their deep and extensive root systems have plenty of space to spread out. You can grow tomato plants in large containers, though these fast-growing plants must be pruned to keep their size under control. When tomato plant growth is left unchecked, the heavy clusters of ripe tomatoes will over-burden the plant. If this happens, the main stem could break, or drooping tomato clusters could rot against the ground. Prune a potted tomato plant after the first appearance of flowers or fruit. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Long wooden or metal stake
- Twine or cloth strips
- Disinfectant or rubbing alcohol
- Rag
- Pruning shears
Instructions
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Drive a 4-foot wooden or metal stake into the pot about 3 inches from the base of the main stem. Plunge the stake six inches into the soil, and avoid driving it into the plant's roots. If you meet with root resistance, remove the stake and drive it into a different area of the soil.
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2
Wrap pieces of twine or strips of cloth in a loose figure-eight formation around the stem and the stake, making one loop around the stem and the other loop around the stake, and tie in place. Repeat this process along the entire length of the stem at one-foot intervals, starting at the base and working your way to the top.
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Sterilize pruning shears by spraying them with a household disinfectant or wiping them with a rag soaked in rubbing alcohol.
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Break off all the delicate shoots that sprout in the joints between the main stem and the tomato leaves with your fingers.
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Snip away all stems and leaves below the first flowering or fruit-bearing cluster, if they are too tough to break off easily.
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Snip off select older shoots and leaf clusters along the length of the plant. Leave no more than four shoots per plant, spaced at even intervals along the length of the main stem.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't prune tomato plants immediately after watering. Wait until the plant is fully dry, as freshly cut areas are particularly susceptible to infections, which can be spread by water.
Tomatoes are separated into indeterminate varieties, which grown on vines, and determinate varieties, which grow on bushes. Determinate varieties grow especially well in pots and require minimal pruning, if any.
