Leaf Curling

AndreaT · June 18, 2010

I grew my Super Bush tomato plant from seed in a container. I planted the seeds April 24th. The plant in question seems to be growing along pretty good. There is a lot of heat and humidty here in Florida right now. And I notice the plant's leaves get light green when left in the sun longer than 5 hours. So I don't do that any more. The plant is getting about 4 hours of direct sun. The heat index here gets up to 100 degress on many days thus far and it's not officially summer yet.

I am noticing some the leaves are curling. Not drastically, but quite noticeably.

What can cause leaves to start curling on tomato plants? Sorry I have no picture.

TimTom · June 18, 2010

My take on leaf curling is that it is a sign of needing water........That being said there are times when some of my plants have some leaf curling and my moisture gauge is reading that there is plenty of H20 at the root level.

This question reminds me that I need to get a new meter because I do not trust mine.

Any thoughts on anyone about using a water meter vs. reading the plant as a means to water or not to water?

Tim

creister · June 18, 2010

Andrea,

Do you mean that the sides are rolling in towards each other, making a tube shape? If so, that happens sometimes under heavy fruit set. I think I also have been told that plants will sometimes do this when the amount of roots is too small to adequately water the top growth. This is also normal, as a plant will grow roots, then vegetation, then roots, etc..

Have you tried draping the cage with a shade cloth? I've done that before, and it really seems to help. I use 30% shade cloth.

AndreaT · June 23, 2010

There was just some slight leaf curling at the tips of some of the leaves. They are fine now. Thanks.

June 18, 2010	#1
AndreaT Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: Florida Posts: 3	Leaf Curling I grew my Super Bush tomato plant from seed in a container. I planted the seeds April 24th. The plant in question seems to be growing along pretty good. There is a lot of heat and humidty here in Florida right now. And I notice the plant's leaves get light green when left in the sun longer than 5 hours. So I don't do that any more. The plant is getting about 4 hours of direct sun. The heat index here gets up to 100 degress on many days thus far and it's not officially summer yet. I am noticing some the leaves are curling. Not drastically, but quite noticeably. What can cause leaves to start curling on tomato plants? Sorry I have no picture.

June 18, 2010	#2
TimTom Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Massachuesetts Posts: 18	My take on leaf curling is that it is a sign of needing water........That being said there are times when some of my plants have some leaf curling and my moisture gauge is reading that there is plenty of H20 at the root level. This question reminds me that I need to get a new meter because I do not trust mine. Any thoughts on anyone about using a water meter vs. reading the plant as a means to water or not to water? Tim

June 18, 2010	#3
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	Andrea, Do you mean that the sides are rolling in towards each other, making a tube shape? If so, that happens sometimes under heavy fruit set. I think I also have been told that plants will sometimes do this when the amount of roots is too small to adequately water the top growth. This is also normal, as a plant will grow roots, then vegetation, then roots, etc.. Have you tried draping the cage with a shade cloth? I've done that before, and it really seems to help. I use 30% shade cloth.

June 23, 2010	#4
AndreaT Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: Florida Posts: 3	There was just some slight leaf curling at the tips of some of the leaves. They are fine now. Thanks.