New flowers are just calyxes!?

discrepancy · June 29, 2010

My Red Brandywine keeps throwing buds that have nothing in them. They open up, and ... air! I'm up to blank flower #6. It's gotten to the point where I've been lifting the skirts of errr I mean peering into the flowerbuds on the other plants to see if they're doing the same. (So far, it's just the Brandywine. --> Oops, nevermind, the GOld Medal did it too. It's just the Brandywine that's done it for every bud it's produced so far

)

Is this the fault of the ridiculous heat NC's been having, or is there something I can do to stop this?

Timmah! · June 29, 2010

With sustained temperatures in the mid to high nineties & heat indexes hovering around the low one hundreds here in Kentucky, half to 60 percent of the blossoms on my Brandywines would fall off. When removing the sepals, petals & stamens, there was a stigma and style leading to a tiny ovary about the size of a BB at the base of these dropped flowers. Are you saying there were no components of a pistil whatsoever?

discrepancy · June 29, 2010

Yeah, exactly that. It's just calyx and a funny looking itty bitty pile of stuff at the base on the inside of the bud, which I assume was what was supposed to eventually develop into the flower but never did.

Timmah! · June 29, 2010

Could you take a picture of one of these pistil-less flowers?

discrepancy · June 29, 2010

These were taken on the Gold Medal, which IS producing flowers, but still had one not-flower/zombie flower on the truss. (I nipped off the Brandywine's zombie flowers this morning, and couldn't find them after ten minutes of scrubbing around in the dirt.

)

Timmah! · June 29, 2010

Wow, I've never see that before. Which is probably a better indication of my ignorance than it's frequency of occurence. =P Perhaps someone with experience with this phenomenon can comment.

Gobig_or_Gohome_toms · June 29, 2010

I have only ever noticed it on my early flower clusters, this year the first ones on Brandywine Suddiths and I think Brandy Boy had a few that were just the green outside with no flower parts on the inside.

I do not know the cause or if the heat would be related but like I said have only seen it on the first flower clusters early in the season.

Craig

discrepancy · June 29, 2010

The Brandywine has been doing this since I picked it up in May, which is why I got worried. I hope it starts putting out actual flowers soon!

ubergoober · June 29, 2010

I have never seen that before. Odd

heirloomdaddy · June 29, 2010

This happens to me on my large fruited varieties early in the season. Should correct itself.

discrepancy · June 29, 2010

All right, thanks!

stormymater · June 29, 2010

Too much heat makes mules.
If we get a break soon it'll likely straighten out. I had 2 plants that did nothing but those mules all summer - an Arkansas Marvel (the other AM was plenty fruitful but in a dappled light area) & an Angelo's Red. Weird how they would form on main stalks were one would expect to see a sucker start up. They were never out on tresses like normal flowers. Big healthy looking plants too.

northraleighboy · July 3, 2010

Discrepancy,

I'm in Raleigh and I'm getting the exact same thing on my Hillbilly. My other tomato plant (German Johnson I think) is doing fairly well and is setting fruit. The Hillbilly thing is exasperating because I explain the conditions to everyone and they give me this bizarre look like I'm speaking Chinese. "Your blossoms are dropping?" "No, there are no blossoms". "Oh, you mean all leaves?" "No, there are buds but no flowers". "What?"

Hopefully it's the heat; both of my tomato plants are in 12 or 14" containers out on the deck and it has been getting really hot with all the ridiculous weather we've had in NC the last month or so. I'm watering a gallon per container every morning (no water whatsoever ends up in the trays). I wonder whether the plastic pots are warming the soil too much. I read somewhere it's better to put plastic pots in a larger ceramic pot to reduce soil heat.

Hopefully they'll self-correct later in the season like heriloomdaddy says.

Good luck!

OkieJason · July 4, 2010

Discrepancy,

I'm in zone 7, and had the same thing on my Brandywine's. Then after a break in the heat poof! Flowers and fruit set. So your plants should grow out of it when you get a break in the heat. I also noticed it more on the plants that had a stress early in the season.

Good Luck!
Jason

rajshree · July 27, 2011

Hi Tomatovillians, I'm to new to this forum. I'm happy to know, rather surprised to know, there is a forum dedicated to this lovely fruit.

Well, reason to join this forum is that even I'm facing the same prob, as like discrepancy. This tomato plant was gifted to me by my upstairs neighbor. The plant was very thin and I treated it with miracle grow. It got flowers, but then I found those, doesn't have yellow petals.

Should I break those flower like thing? Please someone help.
I promised my neighbour to give her at least one tomato from her plant. I've other tomato plants and they are bearing fruits in normal manner.

June 29, 2010	#1
discrepancy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: Holly Springs, NC (zone 7b) Posts: 112	New flowers are just calyxes!? My Red Brandywine keeps throwing buds that have nothing in them. They open up, and ... air! I'm up to blank flower #6. It's gotten to the point where I've been lifting the skirts of errr I mean peering into the flowerbuds on the other plants to see if they're doing the same. (So far, it's just the Brandywine. --> Oops, nevermind, the GOld Medal did it too. It's just the Brandywine that's done it for every bud it's produced so far ) Is this the fault of the ridiculous heat NC's been having, or is there something I can do to stop this? Last edited by discrepancy; June 29, 2010 at 10:35 AM.

July 3, 2010	#13
northraleighboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 12	Me too Discrepancy, I'm in Raleigh and I'm getting the exact same thing on my Hillbilly. My other tomato plant (German Johnson I think) is doing fairly well and is setting fruit. The Hillbilly thing is exasperating because I explain the conditions to everyone and they give me this bizarre look like I'm speaking Chinese. "Your blossoms are dropping?" "No, there are no blossoms". "Oh, you mean all leaves?" "No, there are buds but no flowers". "What?" Hopefully it's the heat; both of my tomato plants are in 12 or 14" containers out on the deck and it has been getting really hot with all the ridiculous weather we've had in NC the last month or so. I'm watering a gallon per container every morning (no water whatsoever ends up in the trays). I wonder whether the plastic pots are warming the soil too much. I read somewhere it's better to put plastic pots in a larger ceramic pot to reduce soil heat. Hopefully they'll self-correct later in the season like heriloomdaddy says. Good luck!

June 29, 2010	#2
Timmah! Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Elizabethtown, Kentucky 6a Posts: 754	With sustained temperatures in the mid to high nineties & heat indexes hovering around the low one hundreds here in Kentucky, half to 60 percent of the blossoms on my Brandywines would fall off. When removing the sepals, petals & stamens, there was a stigma and style leading to a tiny ovary about the size of a BB at the base of these dropped flowers. Are you saying there were no components of a pistil whatsoever?

June 29, 2010	#7
Gobig_or_Gohome_toms Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Zone 4 Lake Minnetonka, MN Posts: 967	I have only ever noticed it on my early flower clusters, this year the first ones on Brandywine Suddiths and I think Brandy Boy had a few that were just the green outside with no flower parts on the inside. I do not know the cause or if the heat would be related but like I said have only seen it on the first flower clusters early in the season. Craig

June 29, 2010	#9
ubergoober Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Brampton, Ontario Canada Posts: 202	I have never seen that before. Odd

June 29, 2010	#10
heirloomdaddy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Los Angeles Z10 Posts: 291	This happens to me on my large fruited varieties early in the season. Should correct itself.

June 29, 2010	#12
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	Too much heat makes mules. If we get a break soon it'll likely straighten out. I had 2 plants that did nothing but those mules all summer - an Arkansas Marvel (the other AM was plenty fruitful but in a dappled light area) & an Angelo's Red. Weird how they would form on main stalks were one would expect to see a sucker start up. They were never out on tresses like normal flowers. Big healthy looking plants too.

July 4, 2010	#14
OkieJason Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 69	Discrepancy, I'm in zone 7, and had the same thing on my Brandywine's. Then after a break in the heat poof! Flowers and fruit set. So your plants should grow out of it when you get a break in the heat. I also noticed it more on the plants that had a stress early in the season. Good Luck! Jason

July 27, 2011	#15
rajshree Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 7	Hi Tomatovillians, I'm to new to this forum. I'm happy to know, rather surprised to know, there is a forum dedicated to this lovely fruit. Well, reason to join this forum is that even I'm facing the same prob, as like discrepancy. This tomato plant was gifted to me by my upstairs neighbor. The plant was very thin and I treated it with miracle grow. It got flowers, but then I found those, doesn't have yellow petals. Should I break those flower like thing? Please someone help. I promised my neighbour to give her at least one tomato from her plant. I've other tomato plants and they are bearing fruits in normal manner.