You might become very happy to see tomato flowers growing early on your new young plants. But you would be surprised to know that these flowers are not good for your tomato plants’ health, further growth, and high yield. Yes, it is true; early flowers on young tomato plants really are not good.
In short, it depends on the age and development of your tomato plant; the flowers should be plucked. When the plant is young and yet to develop and grow and the plants are yet to be transplanted to their final location, the flowers should be pinched off for better growth and high yield.
In this article, I have discussed whether it’s good to pluck tomato flowers or not. If so, when and how should it be plucked? What is the main reason for removing them, and how will it benefit your plant?
What Are Tomato Flowers?
During the initial days of my gardening, I wondered about the importance of flowers on my tomato plants. I questioned whether these flowers were just for show or had any role in their life cycle.
Later I observed my plants closely and learned that these are very important for producing tomatoes on the plants.
After pollinating, these flowers convert into tomatoes, and all the flowers can become fruit.
When you see the flowers on your tomato plants, just understand that your plant has initiated the fruiting process because of the plant’s inherent capacity to reproduce.
Should I Pinch Off Early Tomato Flowers?
If you are still left with the transplantation process of tomatoes and yet those plants need to be brought to their final location, they may initiate their flowering process early in the growing season. In such a situation, I would also suggest you pinch off the flowers.
I have listed the reasons for pruning the early tomato flowers when they are yet to be brought to their final location.
Encourage leafy growth
If you want your plant to produce more leaves and stronger stems, it is better to pinch their buds which are produced early by the plants, and they start concentrating and utilizing their energy on producing more leaves. When the plants remain still in small pots, they pretend they are out of soil space and set their fruiting process.
Before the early tomato flowers are pollinated, pinch them off so that the plant can release the hormones responsible for increasing the number of leaves on the plant.
Prevent early fruiting
It is quite pleasing to see your tomatoes’ early fruiting and harvest them before the season. But personally, I would never favor this.
It is often said that sometimes it is harmful to get things before time.
If early set tomato flowers are left on the plant and if they start fruiting, the plants would never utilize their energy to grow more and develop stronger root systems and thus be left as an unhealthy and weak plant. Just prevent early fruit production and promote tomato growth with healthy and strong tomato plants, which later reward you with a high and quality yield.
Always remember to continue pinching off the early buds until they are brought to their final planting location. It should be healthy enough to bring them to their final location, and then they should be allowed to produce fruits. This process is damn important for determinate tomato plant varieties.
When are the best times to pinch blooms off of tomato plant flowers?
Pruning tomato flower buds is the best option when your tomato plant is blooming at an unwanted spot and at an unusual time.
You can pinch them at the certain time discussed below:
- When your tomato seedlings begin to bloom inside, before transplantation and while still beneath lighting fixtures or greenhouse plastic, you know that it is time for action!
- When the plants are just transplanted and going through the transplanting shock, in such scenarios also, they have started to produce flowers.
- When the height of indeterminate tomato plants is less than 30 feet, the fruit ripening process is reduced along with the proper growth of the plant.
- When the plants are badly impacted due to pests and disease, the plants need some time to recover rather than produce fruits.
- Just before the start of frost, when plants produce flowers, you prioritize the quick ripening process of matured tomatoes. (This is called the topping tomato plant method and it is done before 5-6 weeks of frost.)
Now, the main focus for removing the tomato flowers is to divert the energy of the plants in developing a strong stem and root system and producing more leaves and branches.
It also promotes the plant’s growth, and all these contribute to producing a high number of quality fruits and quickening green tomatoes’ ripening process.
How To Pick Off Tomato Flowers?
Tomato flowers can be plucked very easily and safely. The fingers can pick larger flowers, and small flower buds are safe to be plucked by using tweezers.
Tomato flowers are generally seen growing in bunches, and removing the whole bunch in one go is preferred.
This helps the plant generate more leaf-producing hormones and become more efficient in focusing on producing a large number of leaves and branches.
I always recommend removing the early-produced tomato flowers at the earliest, so the plants can save their energy and utilize it to produce more leaves and develop stronger stems and root systems.
But please remember that tomato flowers should be removed only for younger tomato plants that are yet to be developed and brought to their final location from pots, containers, or garden beds.
When To Stop Picking Tomato Flowers?
Pinching tomato flowers to some extent is necessary but it has to be stopped at some point, after all these flowers will be converted into fruits.
So the question is when to stop this practice! When the plants are brought to their final location and transplanted in pots, containers, or garden beds, stop picking the blooming buds after 1-2 weeks. Let the plants adjust to their new location and begin to produce fruits.
The main reason for pruning tomato plants’ flowers is to cease the plants from producing fruits too early. So pitching should be continued when the plants are indoors till 2-3 weeks after transplanting the plant outdoors.
This practice promotes the growth and overall health of the plant. The plant produces more leaves and a strong stem and develops a strong root system which in turn helps the plant to produce a high number of quality fruits.
Why Are My Tomato Flowers Falling Off?
Pinching off the tomato flowers is different from falling off on its own. Rather, the falling of the blossoms is really a harmful issue for the plants. I have elaborated a few possible reasons below to understand the cause of the falling off flowers.
Excessive heat
Tomatoes prefer to grow and produce fruits in warm weather only, but when they cannot handle the excessive heat or when the temperature reaches 32 degrees Celsius, i.e., 90 degrees Fahrenheit, they begin to shade their flowers.
Shade your grounded plants with clothes during the afternoon, or bring the potted plants to a shaded area during excessive heat.
While planting a grounded plant, choose a spot where your plant can get shades of tall trees, especially the west side of those trees.
Too much nitrogen in the soil
Check the fertilizer you use for your tomato plants during their fruiting stage. If your fertilizer contains more nitrogen, your plant focuses more on producing leaves than producing fruits.
I recommend using fertilizer containing less nitrogen.
Feed your plant with more calcium and potassium as it can promote the production of fruits, and the chances of blossom end rot are also reduced.
Plants Getting Over-watered
It is well said that everything is loved and tolerated by limit only. Same way, watering is good, but overwatering is extremely harmful to your tomato plants.
If the plants are overwatered, the roots are soaked in water, and your plant will suffer from oxygen deficiency and become inefficient in breathing.
Ensure to maintain a good drainage system for your plants. Make drainage holes in the bottom of the pots for potted plants, and flat garden beds are good for grounded plants. It can help to drain the heavy rainwater from the roots of the plants.
Cold temperatures
Tomatoes are warm weather-loving plants. Thus when the temperature starts to fall, the tomato blossoms also fall from the plants. This is a regular and very normal process. The plant makes it ready to deal with difficult and unusual situations.
To control the temperature, cover the plants with a row cover to save them. But there are high chances of dying your tomato plants if the temperature continues to fall in late fall.
Tomato Pests
Like many other plants, Pests, and aphids are the enemies of tomato plants too. It can damage the flowers, fruits, leaves, or sometimes whole plants. Monitor your plant closely to spot any pests or aphids, as they are very difficult to spot with bare eyes.
Especially look underneath the leaves and flowers to spot them.
As and when spotted, initiate the treatment for your plants. Apply some neem oil or copper-based fungicides to eliminate these harmful pests.
If any of the points mentioned above are not your plant’s issue, you need to check if your plant has caught any diseases or infections. Tomatoes are more prone to blight, mosaic, and many other diseases, which can attack your plant at any point. It is very important to maintain good airflow by pruning the old bottom leaves of the plants.
Summary
In the above article, I have explained the importance of pinching tomato flowers when they grow on a rough spot or at an awkward or unwanted time.
By pinching the flowers, the plants become more capable of utilizing their energy towards making more leaves and branches, developing strong stems and root systems, and growing larger. All these produce high yields and promote the plant’s overall health.
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