Two consecutive fruit trusses and no growing tip

[tnkrer]

On one of the suckers of my black cherry tomato, I am seeing two consecutive fruit trusses and no growing tip at all. Does this happen once in a while? I will let the small sucker at the fruit truss grow out and see how that does.

[Redbaron]

happens all the time.

[travis]

What you show in the photograph is classic determinate ... a terminal flower on the end of a side shoot. You're saying this occurred on the end of a "sucker" which I call a side shoot. The terminal flower cluster has appeared where a continuing internode should instead be growing out of the leaf petiole if the shoot were indeterminate.

You also say this has occurred on a Black Cherry tomato vine, which I understand to be an indeterminate variety. If the rest of the growing tips on the same vine instead express indeterminate growth pattern, then this side shoot is a sport.

[b54red]

I grow a variety that does this all the time called Lumpy Red. It has made pruning it rather difficult because I have to wait to see what develops beyond the flowers before I can prune off some of the suckers lower down. I found out the hard way about this plant by pruning the suckers as they appeared the first time I grew it and then all of a sudden it didn't put on a growth tip above the flowers of the latest trusses. It never put out anymore suckers either. Now I am much more careful when pruning Lumpy Red. I have had it happen before on this or that variety but I have never noticed it happening regularly on any other variety that I grow.

Bill

[tnkrer]

Thanks folks. I have been gardening for last 3 years, so have not accumulated a lot of experience. Also I mostly grow indeterminates, so had not seen this before.

travis, black cherry is indeterminate. This is one of the 4 side shoots that I am allowing on that plant. So in terms of fruit production, I should be fine.

Bill - You are right, if this were to happen more frequently, I will need to wait and watch before I remove suckers. Currently I am quite aggressive in removing suckers.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by tnkrer

Thanks folks. I have been gardening for last 3 years, so have not accumulated a lot of experience. Also I mostly grow indeterminates, so had not seen this before.

travis, black cherry is indeterminate. This is one of the 4 side shoots that I am allowing on that plant. So in terms of fruit production, I should be fine.

Bill - You are right, if this were to happen more frequently, I will need to wait and watch before I remove suckers. Currently I am quite aggressive in removing suckers.

I too am aggressive at removing suckers on most varieties but there are a few I try to be a little more careful with. Sounds like you will still have enough growth stems since it is only one of four that this happened on so just watch a little closer on the other three and you should be fine. You might actually like having fewer main stems. I limit most of my plants to only two.

Bill