Anyone heard of this? Tried it? I figure I can get a cheap tomato plant already started or root a cutting to try this
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tomato bonsai??
- Thread starter Nightshade
- Start date
Hmmm, not sure if that will work or not. Tomatoes are much more agressive growers than peppers. Plus they never get a woody stem. You could always give it a go though 
I think I am going to try it. For entertainment purposes only
tiny tim, patio and tumbler are examples of tomatoes that may work.
good luck.
good luck.
FWIW, I'd go with one of the dwarf varieties.
I've got some Dwarf Wild Fred that just sprouted.
I've got some Dwarf Wild Fred that just sprouted.
I think the Fred would have too large of fruit. I was thinking about currants
Tomatoes will develop a woody stem, not entirely tree-like like a pepper, but by the second or third season they definitely grow a tough bark. Those sections won't flower or grow fruit - that will only come from new growth.
It's an interesting idea, but there are a few inherent problems that come to mind.....
growth rate first and foremost - you won't have time to train it into the shape you want because it's going to just grow too damn fast, and still being a "vine" as opposed to a "tree" it's not likely to hold any sort of shape you try to impart in it anyway.
second, tomatoes only grow from the tips of their primary vine or suckers - branches will not bifurcate or start new growth. You could allow suckers to develop, trim them back, and let new suckers form from their branch intersections or nodes, but I can't see how you're never going to get a progressivley bifurcating tree-like appearence out of one.
tomatoes also tend to direct their energy towards growing whatever growing tip is doing best, has the most light, etc. by nature, the vine is trying to extend its life and size by forming suckers which then re-root in the soil they contact as older parts of the plant wither and die back as they're no longer needed to supply water and nutrients since the rooted suckers become self-sustaining. this doesn't seem to really lend itself to using one to create something resembling a traditional bonsai plant.
starting with a dwarf variety might alleviate some of these issues, but realize that the term dwarf is used in two very distinct ways in the tomato world. there are dwarf varieties which are miniature tomatoes - "container" or "patio" varieties, like tumbling tom or tiny tim, which are small, stay small, and need very little space. these are pretty close to bonsais to begin with and I'd imagine you could keep one alive for several seasons by cutting back old growth and keeping it around 55 degrees or so in the winter so it's growth slows.
the other type of dwarf is a tomato that grows shorter than a normal indeterminate and has a single strong central stem with a more tree-like growth habit. they produce few if any suckers which I would think would actually make them poor candidates for your idea, (they also tend to be large-fruited) because they won't be cranking out new growing tips for you to utilize (remember, branches terminate and do not bifurcate). Also, without new growth via suckers you're unlikely to get any fruit off it after the first or second season if you manage to keep it alive. these varieties include new big dwarf and the plethora of dwarf tomato project varieites recently developed or still in the works like dwarf sweet sue, summertime gold, dwarf wild fred, rosella purple, etc. etc. etc.
overall, i think your best bet might be a wild variety or semi-wild variety like a currant, coyote, matts wild cherry, saras galapogos, etc. these should produce a ton of suckers which is what you need. they make very samll, sometimes pea-sized fruit, life long, and are quite tolerant of environmental factors. some also have excellent resistance to normal tomato ailments like late blight.
ok, that's enough, i'm tired of typign and could go on all day. good luck, keep us posted.
Eli
It's an interesting idea, but there are a few inherent problems that come to mind.....
growth rate first and foremost - you won't have time to train it into the shape you want because it's going to just grow too damn fast, and still being a "vine" as opposed to a "tree" it's not likely to hold any sort of shape you try to impart in it anyway.
second, tomatoes only grow from the tips of their primary vine or suckers - branches will not bifurcate or start new growth. You could allow suckers to develop, trim them back, and let new suckers form from their branch intersections or nodes, but I can't see how you're never going to get a progressivley bifurcating tree-like appearence out of one.
tomatoes also tend to direct their energy towards growing whatever growing tip is doing best, has the most light, etc. by nature, the vine is trying to extend its life and size by forming suckers which then re-root in the soil they contact as older parts of the plant wither and die back as they're no longer needed to supply water and nutrients since the rooted suckers become self-sustaining. this doesn't seem to really lend itself to using one to create something resembling a traditional bonsai plant.
starting with a dwarf variety might alleviate some of these issues, but realize that the term dwarf is used in two very distinct ways in the tomato world. there are dwarf varieties which are miniature tomatoes - "container" or "patio" varieties, like tumbling tom or tiny tim, which are small, stay small, and need very little space. these are pretty close to bonsais to begin with and I'd imagine you could keep one alive for several seasons by cutting back old growth and keeping it around 55 degrees or so in the winter so it's growth slows.
the other type of dwarf is a tomato that grows shorter than a normal indeterminate and has a single strong central stem with a more tree-like growth habit. they produce few if any suckers which I would think would actually make them poor candidates for your idea, (they also tend to be large-fruited) because they won't be cranking out new growing tips for you to utilize (remember, branches terminate and do not bifurcate). Also, without new growth via suckers you're unlikely to get any fruit off it after the first or second season if you manage to keep it alive. these varieties include new big dwarf and the plethora of dwarf tomato project varieites recently developed or still in the works like dwarf sweet sue, summertime gold, dwarf wild fred, rosella purple, etc. etc. etc.
overall, i think your best bet might be a wild variety or semi-wild variety like a currant, coyote, matts wild cherry, saras galapogos, etc. these should produce a ton of suckers which is what you need. they make very samll, sometimes pea-sized fruit, life long, and are quite tolerant of environmental factors. some also have excellent resistance to normal tomato ailments like late blight.
ok, that's enough, i'm tired of typign and could go on all day. good luck, keep us posted.
Eli
Thanks for the information EB very useful and do you by any chance have saras Galapagos or Galapagos wild tomato seeds I could trade you for them
Sorry, but I don't. The only currant type I'm growing this year and is Matt's Wild Cherry as I have limited garden space (for tomatoes anyway, since peppers have taken over most of it). I probably have seeds from some other wilds laying around, but none were collected recently and I wouldn't have much faith in their good germination. I'd be happy to send you some MWC, just let me know.
Yes I will love a few Matts wild cherry. I will have to buy those other wild cherries as I like to collect edible plant species like peppers and tomatoes from the Galapagos islands and Brazil.