Integrating toms into flower beds

gdionelli · August 7, 2007

This is the first year I've planted tomatoes anywhere but in containers. I decided to use them to fill some bare spots in my flower beds.

Well, my container plants were always moderate in size, so it didn't occur to me that the tomatoes might stage a garden takeover. I'm getting worried that by the time Red Zebra and Caspian Pink are done producing I may have lost my Beautiful Edgings and Pink Cotton Candy daylilies, which are currently buried underneath!

How do you use tomatoes in the flower border, or do you? What kinds of caging/staking work best to keep them from decimating your other plants? What varieties would you choose?

korney19 · August 7, 2007

I would choose smaller determinates or dwarf varieties like Sophie's Choice, New Big Dwarf, etc.

I usually do the opposite of you--I make my tomatoes the focal point and then plant companion plants, herbs, etc as the fill-ins!

Ruth_10 · August 8, 2007

This might be one of those rare, IMO

, instances where some judicious pruning might be in order. Perhaps you can locate a couple of areas of the tomato plant that do the most shading of the daylillies and trim back to a main stem.

Hope you can have your cake and eat it too, as the saying goes. Good luck.

gdionelli · August 8, 2007

Thank you both for your replies. I think I will try to do some judicious trimming for this year (although in our current heat wave the daylilies may be appreciating the shade!) And if I do this next year I will choose more appropriate varieties.

dcarch · August 9, 2007

Hiding behind all the flowers are Sophie's Choice, Banana Legs and Green Sausage.

dcarch

gdionelli · August 9, 2007

Beautiful! I'm especially impressed because my Banana Legs just wants to sprawl! (although it's not as big as the ones that are choking the daylilies) Are those all staked?

August 7, 2007	#1
gdionelli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: WV Posts: 38	Integrating toms into flower beds This is the first year I've planted tomatoes anywhere but in containers. I decided to use them to fill some bare spots in my flower beds. Well, my container plants were always moderate in size, so it didn't occur to me that the tomatoes might stage a garden takeover. I'm getting worried that by the time Red Zebra and Caspian Pink are done producing I may have lost my Beautiful Edgings and Pink Cotton Candy daylilies, which are currently buried underneath! How do you use tomatoes in the flower border, or do you? What kinds of caging/staking work best to keep them from decimating your other plants? What varieties would you choose?

August 8, 2007	#3
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	This might be one of those rare, IMO, instances where some judicious pruning might be in order. Perhaps you can locate a couple of areas of the tomato plant that do the most shading of the daylillies and trim back to a main stem. Hope you can have your cake and eat it too, as the saying goes. Good luck. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

August 9, 2007	#5
dcarch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NY Posts: 2,618	Hiding behind all the flowers are Sophie's Choice, Banana Legs and Green Sausage. dcarch __________________ tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato

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August 7, 2007	#2
korney19 Buffalo-Niagara Tomato TasteFest™ Co-Founder Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: The Niagara Frontier Posts: 942	I would choose smaller determinates or dwarf varieties like Sophie's Choice, New Big Dwarf, etc. I usually do the opposite of you--I make my tomatoes the focal point and then plant companion plants, herbs, etc as the fill-ins!