New Growth on a Neglected Plant

JosephineRose · August 23, 2016

Odd question here:

I was traveling for a month for work and planned to pull out my tomato plants before I left, but was convinced by someone that they would water the plants while I was away and harvest the fruit.

Long story short, they left for vacation a few days before I returned home and my plants were an overgrown dying mess, loaded with dead leaves, some grey mold and tons of rotting fruit... as I knew the bulk of the harvest would come in during my absence. I guess the "volunteer gardener" lost interest, because these plants have been very neglected.

I kicked myself for not following my first instinct an pulling the plants completely before my trip. I went to clean up the mess as soon as I got home and discovered new green growth at the top of the plants, some new suckers and a few salvageable tomatoes. I also noted the new growth seemed pristine.

As an experiment, I decided to prune everything dead and see what happens. I've never tried this before. On two plants, the distance between the soil line and green growth is a bare two foot vine. Is saving this plant possible?

Our hottest months are September and October, so conceivably, I've got two months of tomato weather left. Any suggestions on what I could do to save these plants and/or get them producing again?

Thanks very much.

Scooty · August 23, 2016

Indeterminates will spring back (for the most part). Though neglected, the roots are already established, so all you need to do is care for it as you normally would a young seedling. Prune the dead, let the sucker establish as a new leader.

We have a two year old vine doing this.

imp · August 23, 2016

Often, in some of the greenhouse pictures on here, you will see bare stems COILED and lowered in big bunches ( Akmark is one off the top of my head) and the plants do not seem to suffer at all. Give your plants a try- what is to lose ?

dmforcier · August 23, 2016

I constantly marvel at how tough pepper plants are. You can literally mow them off and they will come back. (Sometimes the little %(^#!s up and die mysteriously, but that doesn't support my point.) Tomatoes are closely related. Yeah, there are differences, but I think most people underestimate them. Trim the dead and let them get on with it!

And refuse tomatoes to your friendly neighborhood shirker.

rhoder551 · August 24, 2016

Early this season I cut off the top and all the branches from a tomato, intending to dig the whole plant out but got too busy and did not. Fast forward a few months... It has been growing and flowering. No fruit yet but since we have 2 maybe 3 more months of warm weather, I think I will see some fruit. In addition, growth after the sever pruning has been healthier and more vigorous then before the pruning. I am very surprised by this....

Gardeneer · August 24, 2016

Old plants MIGHT try to re grow, but IMO it is not worth the effort to bet on them. I would rather plant new plants ( from nursery or from cutting )

Shapshftr · August 29, 2016

They will start producing again if you fertilize them as you would in the spring. Give them lots of nitrogen at first, then decrease N and increase P and K to make them start setting fruit again.

HudsonValley · August 30, 2016

I inadvertently fertilized a Roma plant that was in its death throes (or so I thought, since it's determinate), but did not pull it because it still had a half-dozen green fruit and I like to make sauce. Fast forward a few weeks, and the plant has grown 8 inches at the top, put out new blossoms, and is making little green tomatoes that may actually mature before a killing frost (mid- to late October). When I first noticed the new growth, I removed a lot of dead-looking leaves. I'm calling the plant a "zombie Roma" because it's back from the dead.

Unexpected things can happen, it seems... But if I were in the OP's shoes, I would probably leave a few plants to satisfy my curiosity, and replace the rest.

Shapshftr · August 30, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by HudsonValley

I inadvertently fertilized a Roma plant that was in its death throes (or so I thought, since it's determinate), but did not pull it because it still had a half-dozen green fruit and I like to make sauce. Fast forward a few weeks, and the plant has grown 8 inches at the top, put out new blossoms, and is making little green tomatoes that may actually mature before a killing frost (mid- to late October). When I first noticed the new growth, I removed a lot of dead-looking leaves. I'm calling the plant a "zombie Roma" because it's back from the dead.

Unexpected things can happen, it seems... But if I were in the OP's shoes, I would probably leave a few plants to satisfy my curiosity, and replace the rest.

Agree. But do give them fertilizer or they may not produce before seasons end. They will just sit dormant, waiting for nutrients.

b54red · August 30, 2016

This time of the year older plants will try to put out a multitude of suckers and new growth pick a few and prune the rest so the energy can go into making fruit and not into a mass of growth tips. Feed them more frequently than in the spring when the soil has more nutrients from prepping than now after being sucked up by the plant and leached out by rain. I started fertilizing my older plants that had vines up to 20 ft long with just a little green toward the tip a few weeks ago. I gave them a good dose of TTF every 5 to 7 days and kept them well watered in between and now I have new fruit set on many of them. It is a constant battle to keep all the new little suckers pruned that pop up along those long stems but if I don't they will end up making a lot of new foliage and little fruit.

Bill

Gerardo · August 30, 2016

They come back, the fruit will be slightly smaller and sometimes with more concentrated flavor.

They need a dose of fertilizer to stage a proper comeback.

Plenty of sun left for some tomatoes to form.

HudsonValley · August 31, 2016

I'll definitely keep feeding "zombie Roma" and the other plants attempting to stage a comeback. But I think I'll wait until the weekend before pruning any blossoms. Last year I pruned when nighttime lows hit 55 degrees. Just checked the forecast -- we're expecting a low of 55 this coming Saturday night.

JosephineRose · August 31, 2016

Thanks everyone for the responses. I am both fertilizing to stage a comeback and took a few cuttings to root in water to clone. Covering my bases.

We've got two solid months of warm weather left, so I am hopeful.

NarnianGarden · August 31, 2016

My Pearly Pink Orange had its main crop in June-July, so I had heavily pruned it and left just enough leaves to help the remaining fruits (about a dozen) to reach their full maturity. What looked a sorry sight and made me consider throwing the whole thing away, is now blooming and pushing new green leaves... I don't really need the new blossoms, but it is nice to see what a strong dose of fertilizer can do.

My large plants are also growing new fruits after a stillstand. Some flowers were pollinated monts ago, and they are showing off with new green fruits... Don't know if they'll make it into full size before the end of this season, but at least i can make some tomato relish.

August 23, 2016	#1
JosephineRose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: California Posts: 383	New Growth on a Neglected Plant Odd question here: I was traveling for a month for work and planned to pull out my tomato plants before I left, but was convinced by someone that they would water the plants while I was away and harvest the fruit. Long story short, they left for vacation a few days before I returned home and my plants were an overgrown dying mess, loaded with dead leaves, some grey mold and tons of rotting fruit... as I knew the bulk of the harvest would come in during my absence. I guess the "volunteer gardener" lost interest, because these plants have been very neglected. I kicked myself for not following my first instinct an pulling the plants completely before my trip. I went to clean up the mess as soon as I got home and discovered new green growth at the top of the plants, some new suckers and a few salvageable tomatoes. I also noted the new growth seemed pristine. As an experiment, I decided to prune everything dead and see what happens. I've never tried this before. On two plants, the distance between the soil line and green growth is a bare two foot vine. Is saving this plant possible? Our hottest months are September and October, so conceivably, I've got two months of tomato weather left. Any suggestions on what I could do to save these plants and/or get them producing again? Thanks very much.

August 23, 2016	#2
Scooty Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Chicago-land & SO-cal Posts: 583	Indeterminates will spring back (for the most part). Though neglected, the roots are already established, so all you need to do is care for it as you normally would a young seedling. Prune the dead, let the sucker establish as a new leader. We have a two year old vine doing this. Last edited by Scooty; August 23, 2016 at 04:57 PM.

August 23, 2016	#4
dmforcier Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,825	I constantly marvel at how tough pepper plants are. You can literally mow them off and they will come back. (Sometimes the little %(^#!s up and die mysteriously, but that doesn't support my point.) Tomatoes are closely related. Yeah, there are differences, but I think most people underestimate them. Trim the dead and let them get on with it! And refuse tomatoes to your friendly neighborhood shirker. __________________ Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out? - Will Rogers

August 24, 2016	#6
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	Old plants MIGHT try to re grow, but IMO it is not worth the effort to bet on them. I would rather plant new plants ( from nursery or from cutting ) __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

August 23, 2016	#3
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	Often, in some of the greenhouse pictures on here, you will see bare stems COILED and lowered in big bunches ( Akmark is one off the top of my head) and the plants do not seem to suffer at all. Give your plants a try- what is to lose ?

August 24, 2016	#5
rhoder551 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 219	Early this season I cut off the top and all the branches from a tomato, intending to dig the whole plant out but got too busy and did not. Fast forward a few months... It has been growing and flowering. No fruit yet but since we have 2 maybe 3 more months of warm weather, I think I will see some fruit. In addition, growth after the sever pruning has been healthier and more vigorous then before the pruning. I am very surprised by this....

August 29, 2016	#7
Shapshftr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Illinois Posts: 162	They will start producing again if you fertilize them as you would in the spring. Give them lots of nitrogen at first, then decrease N and increase P and K to make them start setting fruit again.

August 30, 2016	#8
HudsonValley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Hudson Valley, NY, Zone 6a Posts: 626	I inadvertently fertilized a Roma plant that was in its death throes (or so I thought, since it's determinate), but did not pull it because it still had a half-dozen green fruit and I like to make sauce. Fast forward a few weeks, and the plant has grown 8 inches at the top, put out new blossoms, and is making little green tomatoes that may actually mature before a killing frost (mid- to late October). When I first noticed the new growth, I removed a lot of dead-looking leaves. I'm calling the plant a "zombie Roma" because it's back from the dead. Unexpected things can happen, it seems... But if I were in the OP's shoes, I would probably leave a few plants to satisfy my curiosity, and replace the rest.

August 30, 2016	#10
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	This time of the year older plants will try to put out a multitude of suckers and new growth pick a few and prune the rest so the energy can go into making fruit and not into a mass of growth tips. Feed them more frequently than in the spring when the soil has more nutrients from prepping than now after being sucked up by the plant and leached out by rain. I started fertilizing my older plants that had vines up to 20 ft long with just a little green toward the tip a few weeks ago. I gave them a good dose of TTF every 5 to 7 days and kept them well watered in between and now I have new fruit set on many of them. It is a constant battle to keep all the new little suckers pruned that pop up along those long stems but if I don't they will end up making a lot of new foliage and little fruit. Bill

August 30, 2016	#11
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,598	They come back, the fruit will be slightly smaller and sometimes with more concentrated flavor. They need a dose of fertilizer to stage a proper comeback. Plenty of sun left for some tomatoes to form.

August 31, 2016	#12
HudsonValley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Hudson Valley, NY, Zone 6a Posts: 626	I'll definitely keep feeding "zombie Roma" and the other plants attempting to stage a comeback. But I think I'll wait until the weekend before pruning any blossoms. Last year I pruned when nighttime lows hit 55 degrees. Just checked the forecast -- we're expecting a low of 55 this coming Saturday night.

August 31, 2016	#14
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	My Pearly Pink Orange had its main crop in June-July, so I had heavily pruned it and left just enough leaves to help the remaining fruits (about a dozen) to reach their full maturity. What looked a sorry sight and made me consider throwing the whole thing away, is now blooming and pushing new green leaves... I don't really need the new blossoms, but it is nice to see what a strong dose of fertilizer can do. My large plants are also growing new fruits after a stillstand. Some flowers were pollinated monts ago, and they are showing off with new green fruits... Don't know if they'll make it into full size before the end of this season, but at least i can make some tomato relish.