What are the largest plants you have grown?

tomatoguy · May 23, 2008

I realize that we aren't growing plants for plant size but I think it would be good to see what plants get really, really big. I started thinking about this subject when I realized that I had probably made a mistake by putting Belgian Farmer's Beefsteak in a container this year. It looks like it is going to be huge. So, without further ado, here is my list of the largest varieties I have grown in the past. Please share yours.

1. Granny Cantrell's German Red - 15 1/2' monster plant was the largest I have ever grown.

2. Polish C - This one got huge too with the largest leaves I have ever seen.

3. Ashleigh - The variety that has produced the largest tomatoes on average also came from a sizeable plant.

4. 4th of July (hybrid) - While not an imposing, massive plant, this one always tended to really stretch out for me, especially when I used trellises. When they other plants would wane in the heat, this baby would take over their turf.

5. Rose - Not to be confused with Russian Rose or Rose de Berne, this one grew tall and set tomatoes high. I haven't seen too many beefsteaks hanging 8 feet in the air but Rose is capable of this.

mater

Tomstrees · May 23, 2008

Toms Yellow Wonder always turns into a beast of a plant for us.
Some other notables: Dr. Lyle, Akers West Virginia, & Polish C (RL) (have all been monsters).

~ Tom

dice · May 23, 2008

Pink Oxheart. 12' easy in a year when it rained half the summer.
This has thin leaves, but it is not a wispy plant. First cluster
had 17 flowers.

I had a huge Black Prince, too, but I think it was simply in the
freshest horse manure (higher nitrogen than the others).

Ruth_10 · May 23, 2008

Black Cherry has always been large for me in total volume. Dr. Lyle is another big'un.

gssgarden · May 23, 2008

Goliath and Big Bite. I was sorry I put these two next to each other. Yeesh what a mess. Don't know the hieght but my biggest by far. Right now it looks like my Italian Purple will be big. It's leading the way in hieght and tiny tomatoes.

Greg

matereater · May 23, 2008

My largest (longest) is Sungold, 13 feet, up one side of an 8 foot trellis and part way down the other.

barkeater · May 23, 2008

Black Cherry and Yellow Brandywine come to mind right away. Large Pink Bulgarian and Polish were also huge.

Earl · May 23, 2008

Mexico Midget. Small fruit but very branchy.

**carolyn137** · May 23, 2008

I can grow the same variety in different seasons and/or at different places and get different sizes, so I'm no help at all.

In addition I grew almost all my plants by sprawling and haven't the faintest idea of how tall they might have grown. So again, I'm no help here at all.

My point being that different folks in different locations growing the same variety are sure to have different size plants just b'c there are so many variables that go into determining plant size in any one growing season.

piegirl · May 23, 2008

Brandywines have always been huge in girth and maybe 6 foot tall. I tried a pink accordian several years back that was enormous in girth, about 5-6 foot - no fruit. BW would take over anything nearby. Piegirl

violet0996 · May 24, 2008

I let my plants sprawl so I don't know how tall they get, but I had a spring planted German Head that started off as a slow grower and didn't produce in the spring. It managed to live through the summer and by fall it took up enough space for three plants and did very well as a fall producer. It was huge.

tomatoguy · May 24, 2008

"My point being that different folks in different locations growing the same variety are sure to have different size plants just b'c there are so many variables that go into determining plant size in any one growing season."

Carolyn,

While "your mileage may vary" is always the standard disclaimer here, I think it would be safe to say that if this thread had been posted last year and a large number of people listed BFB as a huge plant, it might have prevented me from putting it in a container.

I think we can safely conclude some things from a consensus of opinion without it being authoritative or scientific. For example, Earl's Faux is a tasty tomato. Rose Quartz Multi-Flora is productive. Gregori's Altai has a tendency toward splitting. As the founding fathers said, "We hold these truths to be self evident".

So, while you obviously don't find this thread to be useful, perhaps others of us with less rigorous standards will.

mater

**carolyn137** · May 24, 2008

So, while you obviously don't find this thread to be useful, perhaps others of us with less rigorous standards will.

****

Wrong. I do find the thread useful in terms of seeing what others are saying.

Having a large plant is not all that important to me, that's true, for I'm much more interested in taste and production, for example.

I don't have any standards at all re plant size, so no rigorous standards from me.

All I've been saying is that with the huge number of OP varieties now accessible to everyone, that differences in plant size for a given variety will and does occur.

And that's b'c of all the variables I've mentioned.

Nothing controversial at all b'c I do think that folks recognize that soils and amendments and the way a plant is grown as to sprawling, caging, trellising, etc., do differ and weather in any given season also differs as well.

And those who stake or cage or trellis plants aren't seeing the same, re plant size for a given variety, that those who sprawl their plants see.

I apologize if I upset you with my comments for I certainly didn't mean to. I was just expressing my own opinion about plant size and the variables that can influence it that are far from standard for everyone.

Zana · May 24, 2008

All of mine are grown in containers. The largest plant I grew I knew ahead that it would be a monster, but I had no idea just how much it really would be. I put it into a container that is approximately 150L(about 42.85U.S. gallons) and trained it up over a trellis made of galvanised 1"dia. pipe that was anchored against the upright for an old 3m springboard diving board. I had been warned that the variety would produce some seriously big brutes, so make sure to have a sturdy support system. Well....it bent....and by October a few sections actually snapped under the weight. However the divingboard base is still there...hehehe. The diving board was not in use that year, because by August you couldn't see it! The vines had grown up and over the trellis and the board, over the railings (another metre higher) and down the other side. It was a job cleaning it up in the fall.

The variety? African Vining Tomato. A green when ripe that averaged 2 to 3lbs.(.896-1.344kg) with the largest getting close to 3.5lbs(1.568kg.)! I'll have to grow it again sometime, because I ended up sharing what seed I saved, and have little left.

TZ-OH6 · May 26, 2008

In order to uncover several other plants and the adjacent woodpile, I pruned off about 40 ft of vine from one Hawaiian Currant last September. The plant was still big after pruning, and I had to cut it back again several weeks later. Some of our other cherries had rampant growth as well, so I don't think I'd put them in the same catagory as big fruited varieties when talking about big plants. And I'll never again plant them in the best spots.

May 23, 2008	#1
tomatoguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rockvale, TN Zone 7A Posts: 526	What are the largest plants you have grown? I realize that we aren't growing plants for plant size but I think it would be good to see what plants get really, really big. I started thinking about this subject when I realized that I had probably made a mistake by putting Belgian Farmer's Beefsteak in a container this year. It looks like it is going to be huge. So, without further ado, here is my list of the largest varieties I have grown in the past. Please share yours. 1. Granny Cantrell's German Red - 15 1/2' monster plant was the largest I have ever grown. 2. Polish C - This one got huge too with the largest leaves I have ever seen. 3. Ashleigh - The variety that has produced the largest tomatoes on average also came from a sizeable plant. 4. 4th of July (hybrid) - While not an imposing, massive plant, this one always tended to really stretch out for me, especially when I used trellises. When they other plants would wane in the heat, this baby would take over their turf. 5. Rose - Not to be confused with Russian Rose or Rose de Berne, this one grew tall and set tomatoes high. I haven't seen too many beefsteaks hanging 8 feet in the air but Rose is capable of this. mater

May 23, 2008	#2
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	Toms Yellow Wonder always turns into a beast of a plant for us. Some other notables: Dr. Lyle, Akers West Virginia, & Polish C (RL) (have all been monsters). ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

May 23, 2008	#3
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Pink Oxheart. 12' easy in a year when it rained half the summer. This has thin leaves, but it is not a wispy plant. First cluster had 17 flowers. I had a huge Black Prince, too, but I think it was simply in the freshest horse manure (higher nitrogen than the others). __________________ -- alias

May 23, 2008	#4
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	Black Cherry has always been large for me in total volume. Dr. Lyle is another big'un. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

May 23, 2008	#6
matereater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: S.E. Michigan (Livonia) Posts: 1,264	My largest (longest) is Sungold, 13 feet, up one side of an 8 foot trellis and part way down the other. __________________ Steve Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

May 23, 2008	#5
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,827	Goliath and Big Bite. I was sorry I put these two next to each other. Yeesh what a mess. Don't know the hieght but my biggest by far. Right now it looks like my Italian Purple will be big. It's leading the way in hieght and tiny tomatoes. Greg

May 23, 2008	#7
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	Black Cherry and Yellow Brandywine come to mind right away. Large Pink Bulgarian and Polish were also huge.

May 23, 2008	#8
Earl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,278	Mexico Midget. Small fruit but very branchy. __________________ "Seriously think about what you're about to do/say before you do it and the outcome will always be better." Earl

May 23, 2008	#9
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	I can grow the same variety in different seasons and/or at different places and get different sizes, so I'm no help at all. In addition I grew almost all my plants by sprawling and haven't the faintest idea of how tall they might have grown. So again, I'm no help here at all. My point being that different folks in different locations growing the same variety are sure to have different size plants just b'c there are so many variables that go into determining plant size in any one growing season. __________________ Carolyn

May 23, 2008	#10
piegirl Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 791	Brandywines have always been huge in girth and maybe 6 foot tall. I tried a pink accordian several years back that was enormous in girth, about 5-6 foot - no fruit. BW would take over anything nearby. Piegirl

May 24, 2008	#11
violet0996 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 36	I let my plants sprawl so I don't know how tall they get, but I had a spring planted German Head that started off as a slow grower and didn't produce in the spring. It managed to live through the summer and by fall it took up enough space for three plants and did very well as a fall producer. It was huge.

May 24, 2008	#14
Zana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,521	All of mine are grown in containers. The largest plant I grew I knew ahead that it would be a monster, but I had no idea just how much it really would be. I put it into a container that is approximately 150L(about 42.85U.S. gallons) and trained it up over a trellis made of galvanised 1"dia. pipe that was anchored against the upright for an old 3m springboard diving board. I had been warned that the variety would produce some seriously big brutes, so make sure to have a sturdy support system. Well....it bent....and by October a few sections actually snapped under the weight. However the divingboard base is still there...hehehe. The diving board was not in use that year, because by August you couldn't see it! The vines had grown up and over the trellis and the board, over the railings (another metre higher) and down the other side. It was a job cleaning it up in the fall. The variety? African Vining Tomato. A green when ripe that averaged 2 to 3lbs.(.896-1.344kg) with the largest getting close to 3.5lbs(1.568kg.)! I'll have to grow it again sometime, because I ended up sharing what seed I saved, and have little left.

May 26, 2008	#15
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 848	In order to uncover several other plants and the adjacent woodpile, I pruned off about 40 ft of vine from one Hawaiian Currant last September. The plant was still big after pruning, and I had to cut it back again several weeks later. Some of our other cherries had rampant growth as well, so I don't think I'd put them in the same catagory as big fruited varieties when talking about big plants. And I'll never again plant them in the best spots.