Propagate Cutting or Cut Back to Ground?

lapk78 · August 28, 2022

Is it better to replant a rooted tomato cutting, or to cut the original plant down to the ground and let it grow back from a sucker?

Weeks ago I took some cuttings from my indeterminate cherry tomatoes. Using a little rooting hormone, I have now got quite a few in water that have sprouted lots of roots.

I could completely pull the original plant and replant a cutting in its place. Or I could let the original plant grow back from having cut it down nearly to the ground. In this scenario the pre-existing full root system would already be established. But I'm wondering if that somehow would make it a "tired or elderly plant" as opposed to planting one of the cuttings that I have propagated.

dshreter · August 28, 2022

It depends how you care for the plant. Greenhouse plants with optimum nutrient delivery can grow extraordinarily long and don’t become elderly. An ordinary plant that goes through a long summer, uses up the fertility, gets lots of foliage damage during fruit growth is a different thing.

If you can grow from a low sucker with the full root system though, I think that’s preferable all other things the same. It takes a while for a plant to establish itself.

eyolf · August 29, 2022

I have two tomato plants in my garden that are about 10 years old...in a sense. In the fall, when the worst of summer heat and humidity are over, tomatoes try real hard to start over, unaware that soon the snowballs will fly.

I have rooted cuttings from this plant every year.

I disagree, at least to a degree, that a plant can grow "elderly". I give them just enough light and nutrients to keep them alive through the dark months, and by mid-May, when planting seedlings, I put them out, too.

It's an unremarkable pink globe, except for one thing; it began as a comparator to verify if a project seed was done segregating...and I just kept going.

As regards the original question, I would choose the strongest examples of what you have. An already-established plant/root system is not going to exhibit "transplant sulk" if that is a factor.

As always, my opinion, based on my experience. I'm a random nut on the intertubes.

Sent from my motorola edge using Tapatalk

August 28, 2022	#1
lapk78 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: San Antonio, TX Zone 8B Posts: 118	Propagate Cutting or Cut Back to Ground? Is it better to replant a rooted tomato cutting, or to cut the original plant down to the ground and let it grow back from a sucker? Weeks ago I took some cuttings from my indeterminate cherry tomatoes. Using a little rooting hormone, I have now got quite a few in water that have sprouted lots of roots. I could completely pull the original plant and replant a cutting in its place. Or I could let the original plant grow back from having cut it down nearly to the ground. In this scenario the pre-existing full root system would already be established. But I'm wondering if that somehow would make it a "tired or elderly plant" as opposed to planting one of the cuttings that I have propagated.

August 29, 2022	#3
eyolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central MN, USDA Zone 3 Posts: 294	I have two tomato plants in my garden that are about 10 years old...in a sense. In the fall, when the worst of summer heat and humidity are over, tomatoes try real hard to start over, unaware that soon the snowballs will fly. I have rooted cuttings from this plant every year. I disagree, at least to a degree, that a plant can grow "elderly". I give them just enough light and nutrients to keep them alive through the dark months, and by mid-May, when planting seedlings, I put them out, too. It's an unremarkable pink globe, except for one thing; it began as a comparator to verify if a project seed was done segregating...and I just kept going. As regards the original question, I would choose the strongest examples of what you have. An already-established plant/root system is not going to exhibit "transplant sulk" if that is a factor. As always, my opinion, based on my experience. I'm a random nut on the intertubes. Sent from my motorola edge using Tapatalk __________________ a day without fresh homegrown tomatoes is like... ...sigh

August 28, 2022	#2
dshreter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2019 Location: Seattle Posts: 58	It depends how you care for the plant. Greenhouse plants with optimum nutrient delivery can grow extraordinarily long and don’t become elderly. An ordinary plant that goes through a long summer, uses up the fertility, gets lots of foliage damage during fruit growth is a different thing. If you can grow from a low sucker with the full root system though, I think that’s preferable all other things the same. It takes a while for a plant to establish itself.