Tomato Plant Not Flowering? 10 Causes & How To Fix

You have eagerly and interestingly planted your tomato plants, done your level best, cared for them, and are now waiting for your plant to bloom. But unfortunately, your plant is not blooming. In such situations, people lose their patience as they feel their hard work will go in vain.

But as per my experience, you should not panic because your tomato plant can still bloom, and you can enjoy a high yield.

In this article, I have listed 10 causes with their solution to help you understand why your tomato plant is not blooming and how you can make them bloom. So let’s jump into it!

Why Are My Tomato Plants Not Flowering?

When flowering or fruiting is not seen in any plant, tomato gardeners really become worried, and obviously, they want to know why?

The plants may not be getting the ideal amount of sunlight, water or heat needed for their growth and development and to initiate the flowering or fruiting process.

There might be a few more reasons, like frequent and unlimited pruning, scarcity of nutrition or too much nitrogen. Or there might be some other simple reasons for which you don’t need to panic and resolve the issues patiently.

As a gardener, I can walk into the shoes of those impacted gardeners. Thus have explained those possible reasons with solutions to resolve their issues and produce healthy tomato plants. 

1. Lack of water

Water is one of the most important factors needed for fruiting tomato plants. And water scarcity is one of the most common reasons why they produce fewer tomatoes flower.

There may be a few reasons for not providing the ideal water supply to your tomato plants:

• Due to less time, you may be underwatering the plants or need to know the right time to water your plants. 
• Overwatering your tomato plants can also lead to a lack of water in the tomato plants. 
• Overwatering makes the soil soggy and results in root rot, making it inefficient in delivering the required nutrients to the plants.

Thus it can be said that both under and overwatering can cause a lack of water in the tomato plants. 

How To Fix (Solution)

Lack of Water in tomato plants can be fixed by following the below tips:

• Increase the frequency of watering your tomato plants.
• If you have already figured out the root rot problem of the plant. Simply pull the plant, trim the infected roots and replant the same plant in any new and fresh location.
• Always check the soil’s moisture level before watering the plant because the soil should be moisturized but not over-moisturized. 
• To check the moisture in the soil, stick your finger in the soil, and if 1- 2 inches of your finger comes out dry, then it is the right time to water your plant. 
• Always ensure watering in the base of the plant with soaker hoses.

But sometimes environmental factors can also be a reason for not producing the flowers. Insufficient sunlight or cool or low temperatures can restrict tomato plants from producing any flowers, or the plants may end up producing only a few flowers. 

Incorrect amounts of water supply to plants can result in low plant growth and less production of flowers.

Bad-quality soil with insufficient nutrients can also be one of the most common reasons for less or no flowering on the plants. 

2. Insufficient pruning

Your plant might be getting everything in an ideal proportion but still unable to flower. Your plants might need more pruning. 

If the plants are not pruned, it utilizes their energy to produce suckers and new leaves. In such situations, plants cannot focus or utilize their energy for producing fruits and flowers.

The plants can never think of even initiating the fruiting process and continue spending their energy producing branches, leaves and suckers.

Thus, prune the excessive leaves and suckers when the plants are matured. This process helps the plants focus on producing flowers and developing strong stem and root systems. 

How To Fix (Solution)

The problem can be fixed by following the below points:

• Remove the excessive leaves and suckers. This helps plants to utilize their energy in producing flowers. Never forget to pinch or prune the dead flowers. 
• A maximum ⅓ part of the tomato plants can be pruned at once, or else the plants become stressed because of the low number of leaves on them. 
• Weekly monitor your tomato plants and remove any undesired parts. Suckers that are less than 2 inches, twisting and pulling them with the hands are also possible.
• Any large suckers on the plant should be pruned. But always clean and sanitize the pruning tools before and after their use. 

3. Lack of nutrients

Tomatoes are heavy feeders, i.e., many nutrients are required to produce fruit and flower. Insufficient nutrients won’t let the flower buds and fruits develop properly.

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient to develop flowers, meaning growing tomatoes can never produce fruits without phosphorus and would result in very fewer tomato flowers.

How To Fix (Solution)

Soil can be made nutritious by ensuring below points:

• It is recommended to add organic compost to the soil while planting the tomato plants, and the soil can be made nutritious. 
• Keep adding fertilizers to the soil each month. Use N-P-K balanced fertilizers in the ratio of 1:1:1 when the plants are very new and young. 
• When the plants are matured, and you want your plant to start the flowering process, reduce the nitrogen content from the fertilizers. The best fertilizers to be used at this point are less nitrogen and more phosphorus and potassium-containing fertilizers. The recommended ratio for nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus is 1:2:2.

Adding excess nitrogen to the soil can result in more production of foliage instead of producing flowers.

It is best to use organic fertilizer as they benefit soil, plants and creatures.

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers can lead to burning and destroying the root of the plants, and it becomes inefficient in delivering required nutrients to the plants. (Check out our guide on How To Fertilize Tomato Plants For Best Harvest)

4. Poor soil

The ideal pH of soil for tomato plants is 7. To achieve this, a correct balance of sand and clay is needed.

The plants won’t grow properly with poor soil quality, and flowers are also not produced on the plants.

For good soil quality, the soil should have a good texture that helps retain moisture and pass air through it. And it should also be able to drain the excess moisture, if any. 

How To Fix (Solution)

The quality of the soil can be made excellent by ensuring the below points.

• Add organic compost to the soil when planting your tomato plants, and the texture of the soil should be made fine. The beneficial organisms in it also enhance the quality and texture of the soil.
• Nothing can be best if you can do a soil test before planting the tomato plants. Later share the results with your local extension service, and they will let you know if any addition in the soil is needed. 
• If the soil quality is poor, add some compost to improve its quality, and you can grow and produce a high yield in the next growing season. 

5. Lack or Inadequate sunlight

Tomatoes prefer to grow and produce flowers and fruits in full exposure to sunlight. Ideally, 6-8 hours of daily sunlight is a must for the plants. And in any situation, if the plants cannot get enough sunlight, the flowering process is interrupted.

So it is better to plant your tomatoes in a sunny location where your plant can get enough sunlight. 

How To Fix (Solution)

Follow the instructions below to resolve the lack of sunlight problem for your plants.

• If your plant is getting shaded due to a large tree or plants, prune their branches, and you can start receiving enough sunlight. 
• If a wall or fence shades your plant, you can do nothing except move the plants to sunny and new locations. Containerized plants are easy to relocate to sunny locations. 

6. Lack of heat

Tomatoes are warm weather-loving plants. The ideal day temperature is 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Any temperature lower than ideal is dangerous for the plants, and they cannot bloom.

I recommend growing a tomato plant in warm weather only when the threat of the last frost has passed. 

How To Fix (Solution)

You can overcome the issue by following the points below.

• If your plant is going through cooler nights, use a row cover to provide warmth to the plants and ensure to remove the cover in the morning. 
• When the temperature reaches above 85 degrees Fahrenheit, then plants need to struggle for their survival and increase plant stress. In such situations also, they become incapable of producing flowers. You can only wait for the temperature to lower down and reach an ideal temperature.

The ideal temperature for tomato plants is 65 Degrees F to 85 Degrees F. Any temperature lower and higher than the ideal temperature can stress your plant, resulting in no flowers on the plants. 

Thus in the early season, when it’s cold temperature, the plants won’t produce healthy flowers, and in extreme summers, the plants stop producing flowers.

7. Lack of growing space

You can either choose determinate tomatoes or indeterminate tomato plants but the space requirements in both tomato varieties are different. If there is too little space between each plant, it can get stressed and ultimately won’t be able to set flowers on it.

Plants grown too close to each other compete for nutrients, leading to stunted growth of leaves and flower.

So it is very important to maintain enough space between the plants while planting them. 

How To Fix (Solution)

The below tips can be used to resolve the spacing issues.

• If your plant is stressed because of spacing issues, it is better to take one of the plants and replant it in a fresh location.
• To replant, make a deep hole and place the plant so it can hold its roots. Now put soil in the hole to cover the roots properly. 
• Now water the plants properly and ensure not to put fertilizers. Let your plant adjust to this new environment and protect it from stress. 

8. Diseases

Diseases are the most concerning issue for tomato plants. It can stop the plants from producing new flowers and even results in the blossom drop.

Your plant stops flowering if it goes through fungal diseases like blights, which are very common in tomato plants. 

How To Fix (Solution)

The best way to prevent and control tomato plants diseases are:

• Diseases usually attack tomato plants in humid conditions. It can be protected by prohibiting the overhead irrigation of the plants. If water is already splashed on the foliage, you can wipe it off and keep your plants dry.
• Maintain proper spacing between the plants to keep up the good air circulation between them, which in turn controls the plants’ humid conditions. 
• Plant the disease-resistant variety of tomato plants. It can at least reduce the chances of getting the plants infected.

First, you must trace whether pests like aphids and caterpillars attack your plants. They feed on the foliage and make the plant inefficient in photosynthesis. 

Diseases like blight and septoria leaf spots can also destroy the leaves. So, identify the problem and treat your plants accordingly. 

If it’s pests, hand-pick them or use neem oil to get rid of them. 

If it’s a disease, identify if it can be treated; if not, destroy the infected plant completely to avoid the further spread of the disease in your garden. 

9. Poor pollination

It is a well-known fact that tomatoes are self-pollinated plants because they possess both male and female organs which can easily produce seeds and perform the reproduction process.

But it needs help from pollinating agents like bees or wind to complete the pollination process.

If your garden lacks these environmental pollinating factors, the plants get stressed, and the chances of fruit production out of a high number of flowers become very less.

How To Fix (Solution)

It can be resolved by noting and following the below-mentioned points.

• Grow the plants as companion plants that attract pollinating agents in your garden. 
• Hand-pollination can also help to achieve pollination. Collect the pollens with the help of a painting brush and put them in the flowers, and pollination can be achieved. 
• Gently shake the flowers at the interval of 1 or 2 days and encourage pollination for your tomato plants. 

10. Age of the tomato plant

The maturity time of tomato plants depends on their type, i.e., determinate or indeterminate plants. It also depends on the tomato variety used.

Determinate plants produce all flowers at one go and at the same time when they are completely matured. 

And in the case of indeterminate plants, plants set flowers many times after getting matured. 

How To Fix (Solution)

It is very important to know the type of plants which you are going to plant. 

If you are purchasing tomato seeds, read the label where the type of plant is specified. 

The maturity period of the plants is also mentioned on the packets of the seeds. 

Generally, it’s 30-90 days depending on the variety of the seeds.

Just note the date when you have planted the tomato seedlings or transplanted the plants, calculate the date of their maturity and wait till the time. And you would never be misunderstood regarding the maturity of the plants. 

Thus, you can come to know whether it is a flowering issue or you just need to wait a little more time.

Your plant might be too new to produce flowers and has yet to reach the stage of maturity and blooming. Some plants bloom when they are 6-8 weeks old; cherry plants can produce flowers when 4-6 weeks old.

What triggers tomato plants to flower?

Age is a vital factor and even more important than sunlight or temperature to trigger flowers on tomato plants. But improper growing conditions can lead to stunted growth of the plant. Healthy trusses on tomato plants are a sign of initiating flowering on tomato plants.

Certain additional things described below need to be ensured to trigger flowers on your tomato plants, and it also enhances the overall growth and development of the plant. 

How To Increase Flowers On Tomato Plants?

If the plants are matured completely and are not blooming, start to water the plant using the correct method, provide enough sunlight for at least 6-8 hours daily and take all the possible measures to control the diseases.

Flowering problems can be resolved by following the below-mentioned points. 

Plant indeterminate tomato plants

Indeterminate tomato plants produce flowers several times after they get mature. Thus for more flowers, plant indeterminate types of plants. 

Also, choose the variety which is best suited for your local environment. It is very important to encourage pollination to increase the production of flowers.

Water the tomato plants regularly

Always ensure to plant the tomatoes in well-drained soil. Keep watering your tomato plants in the correct amount, in the correct way, and during the daytime. 

Never under or over water your plants; always water in the base of the plants and not on the foliage. It would never stress the plants, and flowering can be encouraged.

Provide adequate sunlight and circulation

Maintain good air flow facility between the plants by maintaining adequate spacing between them. Staking or caging the plants also prevents them from falling on each other.

Tomatoes are sunlight-loving plants.

Tomatoes grow in full exposure to sunlight. So choose a sunny location to plant them and avoid planting them near buildings, trees or big plants which can shade them and block the direct sunlight. 

Use the right amount of fertilizer

Balanced fertilizers are vital in increasing the number of flowers on tomato plants. Choose fertilizers containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in the correct proportion.

When your plant is completely matured, reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer and increase potassium and phosphorus. It encourages the production of flowers on the plants. 

The best nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus ratio is 5:10:10 with some required minerals. 

Practice disease and pest control protocol

Pests are easily attracted to tomato plants and are also prone to many diseases.

Thus, examining your plants to check for pests or diseases closely is very important. The leaves of the plants can form spots, lesions or may wilt. If any sign of the disease is spotted, quickly take action to get rid of it. Otherwise, it can spread to your whole garden and destroy all the plants.

If the diseases are incurable, it is better to destroy the infected plants to prevent further spread.

Summary

Setting flowers on tomato plants is the first step towards tomato fruit production. Thus, it is one of the most important stages for getting the highest yield of tomatoes. If your plant is not blooming, you can easily fix it by following the tips and tricks discussed in this article.

You must have also understood the importance of removing the early tomato flowers. It helps the plant to focus on producing more leaves and developing strong stem and root systems. So if you notice any sucker or early blooms, remove them. 

Keeping these small things in regular practice can help you keep your plants healthy and you will enjoy high tomato yields.