Unusual Growth Patterns..

NarnianGarden · June 11, 2015

Thanks to a cold and damp spring, tomatoes have been very slow to grow and get on. Thankfully, they were all very healthy and strong before planting - but the cool period just keeps them there and has caused some funny looking patterns:

Khourma plant is otherwise healthy, green and lush , but the first flower truss and growth tip disappeared / merged into the leaf

The new growing tip is taking over next to it...so the whole thing kind of forked, with a new main stem while the original became a diminutive one.
Strange!

Pink Tiger is very slow... but at least is had several flower trusses. It may be thinking itself as a determinate, as there are only two leaves between the first and the secong flower truss

what mutation is this, or is it just a sign of diminished and withered growth? interesting..!

bower · June 12, 2015

Well... this had to be the year I resolved to count nodes and figure out growth habits.. I happened to also choose some new OP's with growth habits I hadn't seen before... and everywhere I look, there are 'anomalies' in the expected or typical growth pattern.
Yep I'm seeing 2 leafs or one on indeterminate plants, occasionally, and even flowering shoots that terminate in a leaf - and these are not the plants I thought I needed to watch closely. They aren't from crosses with determinate plants. They should be the ones with the ho hum 3 leaves between every cluster.

The ones that are supposed to be determinate or not, are even more confusing.

I'm now thinking that tomato plants can (and will) do whatever they want to, when it comes to when and where to put out a cluster. "You lookin for terminal buds? I can do that. Look at me!" The more I pay attention, the more they do things to get my attention.

I guess they call it "growth habit" because that's it, it's just a habit...

NarnianGarden · June 12, 2015

Haha, you nailed it

I think this all is due to the strange weather that has kept all plants somewhat stunted, some are symptomatic more than others... As the season progresses, I am sure they all revert back to their designated patterns

June 11, 2015	#1
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	Unusual Growth Patterns.. Thanks to a cold and damp spring, tomatoes have been very slow to grow and get on. Thankfully, they were all very healthy and strong before planting - but the cool period just keeps them there and has caused some funny looking patterns: Khourma plant is otherwise healthy, green and lush , but the first flower truss and growth tip disappeared / merged into the leaf The new growing tip is taking over next to it...so the whole thing kind of forked, with a new main stem while the original became a diminutive one. Strange! Pink Tiger is very slow... but at least is had several flower trusses. It may be thinking itself as a determinate, as there are only two leaves between the first and the secong flower truss what mutation is this, or is it just a sign of diminished and withered growth? interesting..!

June 12, 2015	#2
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Well... this had to be the year I resolved to count nodes and figure out growth habits.. I happened to also choose some new OP's with growth habits I hadn't seen before... and everywhere I look, there are 'anomalies' in the expected or typical growth pattern. Yep I'm seeing 2 leafs or one on indeterminate plants, occasionally, and even flowering shoots that terminate in a leaf - and these are not the plants I thought I needed to watch closely. They aren't from crosses with determinate plants. They should be the ones with the ho hum 3 leaves between every cluster. The ones that are supposed to be determinate or not, are even more confusing. I'm now thinking that tomato plants can (and will) do whatever they want to, when it comes to when and where to put out a cluster. "You lookin for terminal buds? I can do that. Look at me!" The more I pay attention, the more they do things to get my attention. I guess they call it "growth habit" because that's it, it's just a habit...

June 12, 2015	#3
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	Haha, you nailed it I think this all is due to the strange weather that has kept all plants somewhat stunted, some are symptomatic more than others... As the season progresses, I am sure they all revert back to their designated patterns