Tomatoes are a staple in many home gardens, offering both versatility in the kitchen and a sense of accomplishment for gardeners. While pruning is an essential part of growing healthy, productive tomato plants, the common advice to remove all tomato suckers may not be the best approach for everyone. In this article, we’ll explain why you might not want to remove tomato suckers, how to prune your tomato plants properly, and the benefits of a thoughtful pruning strategy that can increase both plant health and fruit yield.
What Are Tomato Suckers?
Tomato suckers are the small shoots that appear in the junction between the main stem and the branches of a tomato plant. These shoots are essentially extra stems that grow from the axils of the plant. While they can be removed, many gardeners and experts now recommend leaving them, depending on the type of tomato you are growing and your gardening goals.
The confusion about suckers comes from the fact that many gardeners believe that removing them helps the plant focus its energy on producing fruit, leading to a larger harvest. However, this isn’t always the case, and in fact, removing too many suckers can stunt the plant’s growth and reduce overall yield.
Why You Shouldn’t Remove Tomato Suckers
There are several reasons why you shouldn’t automatically remove tomato suckers. Here are some key points to consider:
1. Suckers Contribute to Increased Yields
One of the main reasons you might want to leave some suckers on your tomato plant is that they help increase the number of stems, which can result in more flowers and, ultimately, more fruit. By leaving suckers on indeterminate tomato plants, which continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the season, you’re essentially adding extra branches that increase the overall fruit production potential.
These extra branches contribute to more flowers, which means more tomatoes. For many gardeners, especially those looking for high yields, the benefit of increased fruit production far outweighs the idea of removing suckers for the sake of pruning.
2. They Provide Extra Foliage for Photosynthesis
Leaves play an essential role in photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into energy. By removing too many suckers, you’re cutting off potential leaves that can help fuel the plant’s growth. Fewer leaves mean the plant may struggle to produce enough energy to thrive, especially during hot, sunny days when the plant needs all the energy it can get.
Suckers help your tomato plant produce extra foliage, which in turn helps the plant photosynthesize more efficiently. While too many leaves can lead to overcrowding, moderate amounts of foliage can actually be beneficial for the overall health of the plant.
3. Not All Tomato Plants Require Heavy Pruning
There are two primary types of tomato plants: determinate and indeterminate. Determinate varieties are bushier, growing to a set height and producing fruit all at once. Indeterminate varieties, on the other hand, continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the season, often reaching heights of six feet or more.
For determinate tomatoes, removing suckers may limit the number of branches and therefore the number of fruiting sites, leading to a smaller harvest. For indeterminate varieties, on the other hand, suckers can be left to grow, as they contribute to a more vigorous plant that continues to produce fruit well into the growing season.
4. Improved Disease Resistance with Proper Pruning
Tomatoes are susceptible to various diseases such as blight and mildew, which thrive in humid, overcrowded environments. While it’s important to keep the plant well-pruned to ensure airflow and prevent disease, removing too many suckers can harm the plant’s natural resilience. In fact, by keeping a reasonable number of suckers, you help maintain a strong, well-balanced plant that can better resist disease.
In contrast, removing all the suckers and over-pruning can leave the plant vulnerable, as it won’t have enough healthy foliage to fend off pathogens. The goal with pruning should always be to maintain balance, ensuring adequate airflow and preventing excessive moisture buildup while still allowing the plant to grow.
How to Prune Your Tomato Plants Properly
Now that we’ve discussed why you shouldn’t remove all tomato suckers, let’s look at how to properly prune your tomato plants to maintain their health, increase yields, and reduce the risk of diseases.
1. Pinch Off the Tips
To encourage your tomato plant to grow in a bushier form, pinch off the tips of the main stem when the plant is young. This simple act encourages the plant to put more energy into growing side branches instead of continuing upward. While you can remove some suckers at this stage, don’t remove all of them — just enough to promote balanced growth.
2. Remove Diseased or Damaged Leaves
One of the most important aspects of tomato pruning is removing any leaves that show signs of disease, damage, or yellowing. These leaves not only detract from the plant’s overall appearance but also take away energy from the healthy parts of the plant. Removing these leaves promotes better airflow, which helps reduce the chances of fungal infections.
3. Manage Excessive Growth
Indeterminate tomato varieties can grow very large if left unchecked. While it’s important to let suckers grow to a certain extent, you should still control excessive growth by removing some of the larger suckers. This helps the plant focus on producing fruit rather than becoming too leggy or sprawling. Prune any suckers that are growing below the first cluster of flowers to maintain the plant’s shape and health.
4. Focus on the Bottom of the Plant
Many tomato diseases begin at the bottom of the plant, where moisture can accumulate in the soil and create the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. By removing the lowest branches and suckers near the soil, you’ll improve airflow and help prevent these diseases from taking hold.
5. Consider Your Growing Space
Another key factor to consider when pruning tomatoes is the space available for your plants to grow. In small spaces, such as container gardens or raised beds, it’s best to prune the plant more heavily to prevent overcrowding. However, if your tomatoes are growing in a larger area, you may want to leave more suckers to ensure the plant has enough foliage for photosynthesis and overall health.
Benefits of Proper Tomato Pruning
The benefits of pruning your tomatoes properly go beyond just increasing yields. Here are some additional advantages:
- More Efficient Growth: Proper pruning helps the plant focus its energy on producing fruit, leading to faster growth and better-quality tomatoes.
- Easier Harvesting: Well-pruned plants are easier to manage, with fewer tangles of branches to deal with when harvesting tomatoes.
- Better Disease Prevention: Pruning removes dead or diseased parts of the plant, reducing the risk of contamination and helping the plant stay healthy.
- Stronger Plants: By allowing your tomato plants to grow naturally and removing excess suckers, you’ll help them develop strong, healthy stems and roots that can better support fruit production.
Conclusion
Pruning tomato plants can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. The key takeaway is that not all tomato suckers need to be removed — in fact, leaving some can actually help increase yields and improve plant health. Whether you’re growing determinate or indeterminate varieties, understanding the role of suckers and how to prune your tomatoes effectively will lead to healthier, more productive plants.
Instead of blindly following the advice to remove all suckers, consider the type of tomato you’re growing, your garden space, and your desired outcome. With the right pruning strategy, your tomato plants will reward you with abundant, delicious fruit all season long. Happy gardening!