Pruning tomato plant suckers is a great way to promote healthy plant growth and an abundant harvest. Learn about tomato pruning and how to have fruit production for a bountiful harvest.
Tomato plant suckers were completely unknown to me when I first began gardening. We were newly married and living in an old farmhouse on a tobacco farm in eastern NC and had a lot to learn. Looking back now, I’m a little embarrassed at the poor state of my first garden bed. It tended to be more abundant with weeds than veggies, but I have to give a little grace to the newly married 21-year-old who was in school, working, and watching the real housewives in her free time. I was quite a different woman leaving my 20s than I was entering them.
Tomato suckers were introduced to me by the farmer we rented our house from. He had a tendency to stop in and check on these kids that had gotten married and moved across the state from all of our friends and family. Sometimes he’d bring veggies from his garden or a big bag of peanuts. Most often he would share a little wisdom. One day he was casually looking at my garden when he said “You know those tomatoes will grow better if you pinch off the suckers”. I had to show my ignorance and ask “What in the world is a sucker?”. And so began the start of my gardening education.
What is a Tomato Sucker?
Tomato suckers are the small shoots that grow in the crook of the plant between the branches and main stem. You’ll notice the main stem of the plant will have a leaf growing at a 90-degree angle, these are called the leaf axils. A sucker will grow right in between at a 45-degree angle. If left and not pruned, the sucker will become a new stem of the tomato plant.
Benefits of Pruning Tomato Suckers
While tomato suckers will grow into branches that produce fruit, the plant will often yield smaller tomatoes. By pruning the suckers, you allow the main branches of the plant to utilize the nutrients that would otherwise be directed toward the suckers. This allows the main plant to grow larger tomatoes. And while you will technically get fewer tomatoes, your fruit will be much bigger.
Another benefit to pruning tomato suckers is that the plant will be less dense and bushy. This allows better air circulation and decreases the likelihood of tomato diseases. Tomato plants do not like to be damp, and allowing them a better chance to dry and circulate air will result in healthier plants overall. There will also be fewer places for pests to hide out, like the pesky hornworm you see below. The removal of suckers can help with the health of the tomato plant overall, which always helps give a higher yield.
When should you start pruning tomato suckers?
You can start pruning the suckers when the first set of flowers appear and the plant is at least 12 inches tall. It is a good idea to prune the suckers throughout the entire growing season, and the best time to pluck the suckers is when they are small and tender so that they are easy to take off. It’s one of those satisfying little garden chores that you can do mindlessly as you spend time tending your little piece of earth.
How to Prune Tomato Suckers
This is so simple it’s crazy. The best way to prune tomato suckers, is to simply take them between your index finger and thumb and pinch them off at their base. This is obviously much easier, and less likely to damage the plant if they are removed when they are small and tender. You can also use a skinny pair of garden snippers for a clean cut like the ones pictured below, this may be the best method if the suckers are a little bigger. They are narrow enough to easily reach into the crook of the tomato branches. It’s important to make a clean break, no matter what the size of the sucker is, so that you don’t remove a larger part of the plant’s protective skin or disrupt it’s roots by pulling and yanking.
Types of tomato plants
Did you know that just like there are a wide variety of types of tomatoes (Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, etc), there are also different types of tomato plants? The type of tomato plants that are the most important to prune are the indeterminate tomato plants. This variety of tomato plants will grow like a vine, for example, Beefsteak tomatoes. Vining tomato plants can grow up to 12 feet tall! With proper pruning, indeterminate tomatoes can produce fruit all season until the first frost.
The other varieties of tomatoes that do not grow as large are bush tomatoes and determinate tomatoes. These plants will only grow to a certain size and then stop. So when purchasing your tomato plants, look at the label to see if you are buying bush, determinate, or indeterminate plants so you can know what type of care and space they need. Determinate tomatoes are better for a smaller location or for growing in a container because of their smaller size, they tend to grow more like a “bush”. Indeterminate tomato plants will thrive in a larger space and they need taller support so that they can grow to their potential as they grow and vine out. If you are purchasing starts, the tomato plants will be labeled for what type of plant they are.
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