Blossoms that don't drop but just "hang around" for a while.

[TNTiger]

Something I've noticed over the years is that many of my tomato plants will have a few blossoms that close up and turn brown after they bloom but they don't fall off for what seems like weeks . . . I'm not sure if they ever develop into a tomato or eventually fall off. The stems leading to the old blossoms look health and green and I keep wondering whether it's just a tomato in waiting. Has anyone seen this happen and if so, can you explain what causes this?

I'm just curious, not trying to fix anything. I really need to tag one or two of these so I can see what eventually happens with them!

Thanks!

[cythaenopsis]

Good question and something I've been wondering about too. In your case, do you see thickened truss stems for the flowers?

I've made a lot of observations regarding blossom cycles, and I've noticed a few trends. Usually when a blossom is going to be aborted, the stem will show a subtle shade of yellow-green. And then in a few days, just touching the blossom will cause it to fall off. I've also seen cases when a blossom may have fertilized but at some point the plant decided to abort it. By then the stem will have thickened a bit, but the knuckle develops a prominent crease and/or yellowing. The anther cone would be all dried out, but the sepals remain prominent and healthy looking. However, after about a week a light flick of the blossom will cause it to fall off.

In my case, I have about 6 or so flowers that have dried up anther cones stuck on good (a little flicking with a finger doesn't dislodge them) and the truss stems are thick and strong. However, after about 7-14 days later the flowers are still there with no swelling started (the usual sign of fruit being grown). The stems are still thick and sturdy. In one case, I pulled off the anther cone and could see a small fruit inside, but it didn't seem to be growing. I don't know if the heat wave caused the plant to abort the flowers just before fully committing to growing the fruits, and that all of the preparation like stem thickening makes it take a lot longer before the flowers fall off.

One last thing... I've also discovered that you should never pull off the anther cone if you're anticipating a fruit to grow. I did this twice thinking I was helping the fruit to begin growing larger (removing the anther cone to give it growing room) and in both cases the tiny fruit that was visible inside ended up browning and dying off. It looked like the dried up anther cone was still protecting it, although I wasn't sure if it was simply delaying the inevitable rejection of an aborted fruit or if it was protecting it until the plant started providing enough nutrients to begin the next growth phase.

[NarnianGarden]

Sometimes there seems to be some kind of break going on with pollinated flowers when nothing happens for a while... Right now, in some of my plants all action is concentrated in the upper level, while the first set of blooms have remained tiny tiny peas for weeks and weeks.
I have read here that it can happen and all of the sudden those small ones wake up and begin to grow. Hopefully that happens with my plants!

Cythaenopsis: Thanks for that info never to pull off the anther cone - I have been wondering about the damage caused by my well-meaning efforts. There are gardening videos where the gardener pulls of the dead flower, so I assumed that would be an ok thing to do. Now I abstain and keep my hands off....

[cythaenopsis]

^ Yeah, it's perfectly fine to pull off dead flowers (they should come off rather easily). The anther cone will eventually split and fall off as the baby tomato grows, so there's really no need to remove it. I'd thought that I was helping by pulling them off but probably made matters worse. At least seeing the tiny tomatoes shrivel up, brown, and fall off was the consistent behavior upon pulling the cones; I'm convinced it is better to let nature take its course.

I've not seen the pea sized tomatoes stall in their growth and then resume. Very interesting and good to know that this can happen. My hope is that this is precisely what has happened with a number of my set blossoms (rather than a bad omen for eventually dropping).

[TNTiger]

Originally Posted by cythaenopsis

In my case, I have about 6 or so flowers that have dried up anther cones stuck on good (a little flicking with a finger doesn't dislodge them) and the truss stems are thick and strong. However, after about 7-14 days later the flowers are still there with no swelling started (the usual sign of fruit being grown). The stems are still thick and sturdy. In one case, I pulled off the anther cone and could see a small fruit inside, but it didn't seem to be growing. I don't know if the heat wave caused the plant to abort the flowers just before fully committing to growing the fruits, and that all of the preparation like stem thickening makes it take a lot longer before the flowers fall off.

This is exactly what I am seeing (your description is far better though). I've wondered about pulling off the dried anther cone but never actually did it. Did you ever notice whether any of these ever actually developed?

[Father'sDaughter]

I'm seeing a lot this as well for the first time. I've just ket them be because the stems are good and sturdy and i didn't know what was going on. But, if I'm not mistaken, some of them look like they're starting to do something! I wonder if it isn't all just weather related and they stalled until the conditions were right??

[TNTiger]

We were gone for the weekend and I've just had a chance to look over the garden and I think one of mine started developing into a tomato! I'm going to go tag a couple of others to see what they do. One in particular has me intrigued because the sepals are huge but the anthers are dry and attached.

[bbjm]

I noticed this on my Prue plant. There were tiny tomatoes on the same truss as a mature fruit. I pulled them off when I harvested the fruit bc I assumed they would never mature. Now I know to let them be. Particularly on this Prue plant which isn't terribly productive and is a new favorite, flavor wise.

[cythaenopsis]

Originally Posted by TNTiger

This is exactly what I am seeing (your description is far better though). I've wondered about pulling off the dried anther cone but never actually did it. Did you ever notice whether any of these ever actually developed?

The two times I did pull the dried anther cone, the tiny pale green "proto" tomato ended up browning and dying off. I don't know if pulling the cone caused it or if it was just a coincidence (that the ovary was unfertilized and destined to not grow into a tomato). But I think it's better to just leave them alone, trusting in the strength of growth that will pop them off.

Two days ago, I was testing one cone to see if it might be near time to fall off and it did fall away, revealing a tiny green ribbed blob. This morning I inspected it and it's still OK but I'm not quite sure if the size has changed. It does appear to be larger than what I've observed in aborted flowers, so... I'm hopeful it might grow. Feels a bit silly to fret over just one flower, but my Black Krim has been an anemic producer so each one counts!

[TNTiger]

I am almost positive now that these little dried and lingering blossoms are potential new tomatoes. I have a Brandywine tomato that had 2 (count'em!) large tomatoes on 2 separate trusses. A squirrel ate one but on that same truss was one of these dried blossoms and I noticed this morning that the dried anther cone had fallen off and a tiny little tomato is starting to grow. I'm positive that that blossom was from much earlier this summer and it's just been sitting there idling while the other tomato was growing. I loosely tied a little twine about 6 more of these on other plants just so I can track them.

[NarnianGarden]

Originally Posted by TNTiger

I'm positive that that blossom was from much earlier this summer and it's just been sitting there idling while the other tomato was growing. I loosely tied a little twine about 6 more of these on other plants just so I can track them.

Hear, hear! Good news for all of us who have been eagerly waiting for more fruit to develop.

[cythaenopsis]

Here is two examples of blossoms that dropped after being attached to the trusses for long periods. I believe they were about this size when the last heatwave ensued.






And here is two examples of blossoms without the anther cones and holding firmly to the trusses. They haven't shown much growth over the last week, but hopefully they're in a "holding pattern" just waiting for the right moment to resume growth.





What do you guys think? Wishful thinking on unfertilized ovaries?

[NarnianGarden]

I have several of those. They look pollinated all right, but perhaps are just waiting for better weather conditions etc. If they decided not to resume growth, there is not much to be done. Hoping for the best!
These are the kind of questions I wish professionals (Carolyn, Mr. Wagner et al) would adress. Such are the mysteries of tomato reproduction that it would be nice to know a bit more

[FILMNET]

This happen to my plants this year, after June's rain, the heat came really hot here, 95 or over for over 9 days. I am 1/2 mile from ocean just under Maine 25 mile. Crazy here

[retiree]

I had lots of these on my plants when I returned from vacation. The weather had been extremely hot here while we were away. I thought they wouldn't go anywhere but the weather turned cooler and many are now growing. Surprised but pleased. I also have a few plants with NO flowers and maybe the extreme heat is responsible for that too.
Neil