Can plants recover from wind damage?

[JustinMM]

Hi all! So I'm a first time gardener, and I probably should have staked down my plants a while ago. We had some severe weather last night, and I noticed this morning that one of my cherry tomato plants had completely bent over. It's about 1.5 feet tall. I noticed that the stem was not broken, so I put it back upright, and staked it right away (I did the same to the other plants).

Is the plant still salvageable, or did it go through too much stress?

Thanks!

[GaryStPaul]

What doesn't kill them makes them stronger. They'll be fine.

[BigBrownDogHouse]

Originally Posted by GaryStPaul

What doesn't kill them makes them stronger. They'll be fine.

Couldn't have said it better myself. That's at least from my own experience.

I had three plants chewed down last week to about four inches tall. Not much left.....main stem, few small, very short nubs that use to be branches.
I dug them out and placed them in pots. (Replaced the plants with others)
Two of the three actually sprouted new shoots from the chewed off branches. Plants are doing very well.

Amazing what they can go through.

[Kazfam]

Originally Posted by GaryStPaul

What doesn't kill them makes them stronger. They'll be fine.

I like that.

I had some frost damage in April - particularly on a cherry (Sweet 100 Cherry) that I almost pulled.

That cherry is doing the best out of all the cherry tomato plants. Blows my mind.

[JustinMM]

Wow, I thought they were doomed. This is pretty reassuring!

[kath]

Like the others have said- it'll be fine. I broke a plant nearly in two and used some tree wrap and tape to try to hold it together. A couple of days later I saw the tape in another row as the rain and wind in a thunderstorm had undone my work, but the tomato plant had managed to heal the wound already and seems like it's fine. They are incredibly tough.

[PA_Julia]

Hi Justin,


I did the exact same thing the other day prior to me re staking with larger stakes.
I simply set the plant back up and placed four or five more skewers around the plant and all was well.


Julia

[Rockporter]

I get a bent branch and I wrap it in the green plastic tie and then tie the branch to the support to keep it from falling over and I continue to have growth as well as lots of maters. Yumm.

[kath]

Originally Posted by Rockporter

I get a bent branch and I wrap it in the green plastic tie and then tie the branch to the support to keep it from falling over and I continue to have growth as well as lots of maters. Yumm.

That's sure a better idea than what I came up with. When it comes to what tools to use I try to stick with the idea that you only need two: if it moves and it shouldn't- use duck tape; if it won't move and it should- use 3-in-1oil.

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by kath

That's sure a better idea than what I came up with. When it comes to what tools to use I try to stick with the idea that you only need two: if it moves and it shouldn't- use duck tape; if it won't move and it should- use 3-in-1oil.

Sounds like a good plan to me, lol.

[WVTomatoMan]

What doesn't kill them makes them stronger (GaryStPaul) is a good one. But, what I use most is they'll grow out of it.

I've had 'em break the stem and I put it back up, staked 'em, splintered them back together using garden velcro and they survived. Remember plants are resislient, they want to live, give them a chance and they will.

Good luck.

Randy

[amideutch]

The tomato plants pictured below were hit with everything mother nature could throw at them except a tornado and they all grew back and produced fruit. Ami

[BigBrownDogHouse]

Have been thinking about this thread lately.
Down below is a photo of one of the plants that I mentioned earlier in this thread that got devoured by a rabbit after being planted in the garden. I dug it up, put it in a plastic cup and nursed it back to health. It then got transplanted to a larger pot.
It was nothing but a nub back in May.

Never give up, they can bounce back. Looking forward to some late season toms from this one!

[casserole]

how the heck would any of us know ? we can only say good luck