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Broken tomato plant

drcadrca Posts: 4
in Fruit & veg
My lovely pot plant tomato plant-just bearing 3 tomatoes with the promise of many more-lots of flowers - has snapped totally off not far above soil line?... I am not knowledgeable-can I save the  broken plant? Any advice very welcome!! 

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 15,849
    Unlikely. Depending on how deep you planted it, there may be side shoots that will come up from the root.  You are unlikely to be able to root the top part, but you could try standing it in water and see if it sprouts new roots.
    You don't stop doing new things because you get old, you get old because you stop doing new things. <3
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Billericay, EssexPosts: 8,484
    So long as you didn't pinch out the top of the plant you could use 4-6" of that as a cutting as well as doing as FB suggests above
    But at this time of year I rather doubt it would get big enough to produce fruit before the cooler weather arrives
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 767
    Yes you can save it with a bit of luck and fast action. Splint the break, so the 2 halves are held in place with a vertical thin stick (a green cane, bamboo skewer, anything similar). Then put another thick bamboo stake into the ground/pot. Use twine to tie both sides of the break to the bamboo, so that they are back in pre-break position and connected to each other. Get a teaspoon of pure honey and smear it all over the break.

    If you act fast enough, the plant will re-bond the break. When I get a moment I'll post a photo of one of mine where I did this successfully earlier in the year.
  • drcadrca Posts: 4
    Thank you... 
    I'm a novice and it's been so stressful! Who would have thought it feel so sad! 😔
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 767
    Here you go. Photo showing where the complete break was, and a photo of more of the plant (it's hard to move for a full photo) where you can see it's healthy and fruiting, with the break visible at the bottom. I've removed the splint, the honey has dried away, but it's staying tied up for strength. The break happened maybe a month or so ago. Tomatoes are tough as rock.

    I'm going to trademark my trick  ;)


  • drcadrca Posts: 4
    Wow.. That is amazing!!... 😊
  • drcadrca Posts: 4
    Definitely trademark that!! 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Billericay, EssexPosts: 8,484
    Nice work
    Do you work in A&E by any chance? 🤣

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 767
    Pete.8 said:
    Nice work
    Do you work in A&E by any chance? 🤣

    Tomato plant intensive care unit  ;)
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