single stem<->bush

[Itoero]

Is it possible to prune tomatoes (which you normally grow as single stem) so they stay lower and bushier? Like a bonzai.
I would only do this with a couple cherry tomatoes.

[b54red]

I've had a few plants that grew like that. They got hit by large hail that destroyed most of the central stem and they were determinate varieties and just grew out to the sides. You could cut your main stem and only allow suckers that grow more outward and prune off the ones trying to grow too vertically. It might work.

[tlintx]

I had a red pear (fig) get decapitated - growing tip ripped right off - and it really bushed out in response. It looks like a juniper shrub right now. One of the stems eventually took off and is now growing above the rest of it.

I'm pretty sure it cut back the yield. There's only a few blooms on it, while the plants next to and around it have already set fruit.


Tl

[BennB]

I've grown indeterminate tomatoes upside down in some hanging pots the past few years and after there are 2 or 3 side shoots and at least one set of flower buds, I trim the leader off just above the flower bud on the main leader. I repeat this on each new leader once they get their first buds, on and on. It does produce a bushier plant, at least for the upside down ones.

[riceke]

For several years I have cut ot the top of the plants when they were too big for the indoor ligting system and they put out side shoots and great tomatoes as well. Tomatoes are like any other flowering plant and will try to put out fruit no matter what happens to the stem. Let us know how things turn out.