How to Prune Plum Tomato Plants

Tomatoes are some of the most popular plants to grow in a home garden due to their versatility in cooking and their ability to thrive in a range of growing environments. Among the many types of tomatoes, the plum tomato is a favorite due to its firm, meaty texture and intense flavor. To get the most out of your plum tomato plants, proper pruning is essential. In this guide, we’ll highlight the steps to take when pruning your plum tomato plants.

Step 1: Understand the Purpose of Pruning

Before we dive into the specifics of pruning plum tomato plants, it’s important to understand why we prune them in the first place. Pruning is the process of removing the branches and leaves of a plant in a manner that improves its health and yields. For plum tomato plants, pruning serves to increase the quality and quantity of fruit produced. By removing unnecessary branches and foliage that divert the plant’s energy away from fruit production, we can encourage larger, healthier, and more bountiful tomato crops.

Step 2: Know What to Look For

When it comes to pruning plum tomato plants, the first step is to identify which branches and leaves need to be removed. Start by looking for suckers, which are small shoots that grow out of the main stem and the stems of the lower branches. Suckers take away from the plant’s energy and result in smaller, lower quality fruit. You’ll also want to look for branches that are damaged, diseased, or dead. These branches take away from the plant’s health and can spread disease to the rest of the plant.

Step 3: Use the Right Tools

Using the right tools is essential to making clean, precise cuts and preventing damage to your plum tomato plants. You’ll need a pair of sharp, clean pruning shears or scissors to remove branches and leaves. Be sure to clean the blades with rubbing alcohol or a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water to prevent the spread of disease.

Step 4: Prune Conservatively

Plum tomato plants are relatively easy to prune, but it’s important to be conservative with the amount of pruning you do. As a rule of thumb, never remove more than one-third of the plant’s foliage at one time. Removing too much foliage can shock the plant and inhibit its growth and fruit production. Start by removing suckers and any damaged, diseased or dead branches before moving on to other areas of the plant.

Step 5: Know When to Stop Pruning

Knowing when to stop pruning your plum tomato plants is just as important as knowing how to prune them. By mid-season, most of the major pruning should have been done, and you can focus on removing the smaller shoots that appear on the plant as it grows. By late summer, stop pruning the plant altogether to allow the remaining fruit to ripen properly.

Conclusion

With these steps in mind, you’re now equipped to properly prune your plum tomato plants. Remember to understand the purpose of pruning, know what to look for, use the right tools, prune conservatively, and know when to stop. A little bit of pruning can go a long way in improving the quality and quantity of your plum tomato crop, so get out there and start trimming!