Sucker planting

karpes · January 13, 2010

Are there any draw backs to potting suckers and growing them into spring tomatoes? Are the suckers as good as growing from seed? I would think that they would be as good as the parent plant but I have heard negative comments about starting from suckers.

Salty_Dog · January 13, 2010

I have 4 suckers/nods/whatever, growing in 4" pots now, they have been for the last 6 weeks or so.

They are growing ok, they put down a good white root system, but top growth is slow.
They are right next to plants of a similar height growing from seed, the ones from seed and powering past the cuttings and flowering, the cuttings are still just looking like cuttings

I'll keep them going and see what develops, might be time they were in new mix with more nutrients.
But they are very green, lush and healthy looking.

cottonpicker · January 13, 2010

I have grown suckers to maturity in the same year and they were identical to the "mother" plant. Never overwintered them so don't know, but IF they survive ...they should be an exact replica of the "mother" plant.
LD

karpes · January 14, 2010

The parent plants were started in September and are close to having mature fruit. My thoughts were to clip and start the suckers for spring planting. If there is no draw back to suckers then it saves on seed because I am pruning every few days. Thanks for the comments

feraltomatoes · January 15, 2010

For me the growth habit is a little different, they tend to be very bushy. Sometimes I pick suckers and stick them right in the mud when I have gaps in my tomato rows and no transplants available. If allowed to grow without further pruning they grow into a tumbleweed wich is not all bad but tends to grow smaller fruit and doesn't go as well with my staking program.
As far as overwintering just be careful plants are clean and have no diseases.

RiverRat · January 15, 2010

I resorted to using suckers ( the branches that come from the axils of the plants ) when sowbugs did in my carefully tended and planted seedlings, leaving me with empty spaces for specific varieties. They did perfectly well, but of course they're genetically identical to the parent so there's no variance at all. That's fine if you only want to fill in some gaps, but it's probably better to grow tomatoes from seeds if you can. It gives you more options when you want to save seeds for the following year.

Fusion_power · January 16, 2010

I tried planting some suckers once. But they pleaded and whined so much that I couldn't bear to do it.

More seriously, suckers from indeterminates work fairly well, but suckers from determinate and dwarf plants tend to be less forgiving. Also, suckers from a plant that already has fruit set do not grow as well as suckers taken from a plant that is still in the vegetative growth phase.

DarJones

kimpossible · January 16, 2010

I would assume that the "sucker" option is more of a southern thing. With our growing season - end of May to mid October, give or take a week or two on either end if you are lucky, suckers would be an act of desperation if a plant was in jeopardy very early in the season & I wanted to make a heroic effort to keep the variety growing. Otherwise, there is not enough time to use suckers effectively. Wouldn't that be the case in Pennsylvania & New Jersey & other more northern states? Or are your growing seasons just-long-enough that it isn't such a challenge?
I guess the other option for our growing season would be to use suckers in a greenhouse setting to extend the growing/harvesting season, but I have not tried it.

Worth1 · January 16, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimpossible

I would assume that the "sucker" option is more of a southern thing. With our growing season - end of May to mid October, give or take a week or two on either end if you are lucky, suckers would be an act of desperation if a plant was in jeopardy very early in the season & I wanted to make a heroic effort to keep the variety growing. Otherwise, there is not enough time to use suckers effectively. Wouldn't that be the case in Pennsylvania & New Jersey & other more northern states? Or are your growing seasons just-long-enough that it isn't such a challenge?
I guess the other option for our growing season would be to use suckers in a greenhouse setting to extend the growing/harvesting season, but I have not tried it.

It isn't really that good down here either because the heat sets in and the blossoms drop off.
On a good year we can get bloom set in early June.
last year was so bad that when the weather warmed up enough for the plants to grow it jumped up to 100 degrees almost over night and stayed there.

The other option is to root plants for the fall but then I had rather just start seeds.

Nope, Okra is the plant for the south no doubt about it.

Worth

RiverRat · January 16, 2010

You know, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to which plants were from suckers and which came from seed, but we're in Zone 7, and there seemed to be plenty of time for the suckers to take off and fruit.

goodwin · January 16, 2010

My experience has been the same as Dar's. Generally the parent is past the main growth stage and the plants from the cuttings are smaller and less productive. I wonder if grafting would work

January 13, 2010	#1
karpes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: Louisiana Posts: 73	Sucker planting Are there any draw backs to potting suckers and growing them into spring tomatoes? Are the suckers as good as growing from seed? I would think that they would be as good as the parent plant but I have heard negative comments about starting from suckers.

January 13, 2010	#3
cottonpicker Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SE PA..near Valley Forge Posts: 839	I have grown suckers to maturity in the same year and they were identical to the "mother" plant. Never overwintered them so don't know, but IF they survive ...they should be an exact replica of the "mother" plant. LD __________________ "Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause". Victor Hugo

January 15, 2010	#5
feraltomatoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Home=Napa Valley/ Garden=Solano County Posts: 245	For me the growth habit is a little different, they tend to be very bushy. Sometimes I pick suckers and stick them right in the mud when I have gaps in my tomato rows and no transplants available. If allowed to grow without further pruning they grow into a tumbleweed wich is not all bad but tends to grow smaller fruit and doesn't go as well with my staking program. As far as overwintering just be careful plants are clean and have no diseases. __________________ Brad Gates-Wild Boar Farms ______________________________

January 16, 2010	#8
kimpossible Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Z5b SW Ont Canada Posts: 767	I would assume that the "sucker" option is more of a southern thing. With our growing season - end of May to mid October, give or take a week or two on either end if you are lucky, suckers would be an act of desperation if a plant was in jeopardy very early in the season & I wanted to make a heroic effort to keep the variety growing. Otherwise, there is not enough time to use suckers effectively. Wouldn't that be the case in Pennsylvania & New Jersey & other more northern states? Or are your growing seasons just-long-enough that it isn't such a challenge? I guess the other option for our growing season would be to use suckers in a greenhouse setting to extend the growing/harvesting season, but I have not tried it. __________________ *So Many Tomatoes ... So Little Time*

January 13, 2010	#2
Salty_Dog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Lorne, Australia Posts: 188	I have 4 suckers/nods/whatever, growing in 4" pots now, they have been for the last 6 weeks or so. They are growing ok, they put down a good white root system, but top growth is slow. They are right next to plants of a similar height growing from seed, the ones from seed and powering past the cuttings and flowering, the cuttings are still just looking like cuttings I'll keep them going and see what develops, might be time they were in new mix with more nutrients. But they are very green, lush and healthy looking.

January 14, 2010	#4
karpes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: Louisiana Posts: 73	The parent plants were started in September and are close to having mature fruit. My thoughts were to clip and start the suckers for spring planting. If there is no draw back to suckers then it saves on seed because I am pruning every few days. Thanks for the comments

January 15, 2010	#6
RiverRat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New Jersey Posts: 78	I resorted to using suckers ( the branches that come from the axils of the plants ) when sowbugs did in my carefully tended and planted seedlings, leaving me with empty spaces for specific varieties. They did perfectly well, but of course they're genetically identical to the parent so there's no variance at all. That's fine if you only want to fill in some gaps, but it's probably better to grow tomatoes from seeds if you can. It gives you more options when you want to save seeds for the following year.

January 16, 2010	#7
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	I tried planting some suckers once. But they pleaded and whined so much that I couldn't bear to do it. More seriously, suckers from indeterminates work fairly well, but suckers from determinate and dwarf plants tend to be less forgiving. Also, suckers from a plant that already has fruit set do not grow as well as suckers taken from a plant that is still in the vegetative growth phase. DarJones

January 16, 2010	#11
goodwin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Espanola, New Mexico Posts: 608	My experience has been the same as Dar's. Generally the parent is past the main growth stage and the plants from the cuttings are smaller and less productive. I wonder if grafting would work