Tomato tree grow and care – vine of the genus Solanum also known as Tomato tree Italian, Tomato tree short perennial evergreen or mostly grown as annual plant, can grows as vine or shrub, can grow in tropic, subtropical, mediterranean, temperate or desert climate and growing in hardiness zone 11+ as perennial and with the right overwinter care and the right cultivars in hardiness zone 10b and as annual in hardiness zone 2+ as annual, instead of annual plant possible to take indoor overwinter cutting and plant it in the spring after the last frost.
Tomato tree Plants, Seeds & Supplies for Sale
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Explore all live Tomato tree plants, pots, and starter kits on Amazon ↗Leaves color green, there are two types of leaves: RL (regular leaves) / PL – (potato leaves), Regular leaf: a leaf with serrated edges. Potato leaf: large and wide oval leaves with no serrated edges, there are claims that potato leaf plants more resistant to pests and disease than regular leaves and tomatoes, when the plant attack the leaves release chemical signal against pests.
Flower color yellow the flowers grow in clusters.
Tomato tree fruits
Fruit color red with round shape
Don’t be confuse with Tamarillo
Tomato tree for sale – Seeds or Plants to Buy
How to grow Tomato tree growing and care information:
Warm weather, rich soil (soil full of nutrients), trellising, for determinate should trellising like cage, mulch to keep the soil moist
How to care:
Put fertilizer with small content of nitrogen (delay bloom), add mulch especially in the summer and winter, and in hardiness zone 10b as perennial the plant suffer or die due to the cold of the winter, better to protect the plants and there are varieties that can survive the winter and will bear some fruits in the winter, vegetative reproduction can maintain high quality of cultivar indoor or greenhouse to next season, trellising and support for the plant (sometimes the fruit are heavy and without support the fruits will touch the soil and will be damaged).
What is the best way to start growing?
Plant / Seedling / Seed / Vegetative Reproduction – by cutting possible by water or by soil (explanation bellow) or bending a branch over and covering it with soil
Is it necessary to graft or use vegetative reproduction?
No, but it’s possible to use in vegetative reproduction and it’s easy the same as to start by seeds, when start by cutting its ensure the quality of the fruits and from seeds not always can ensure what kind of fruits will be
Possible to start overwinter from seeds use fertilizer with nitrogen (to prevent bloom and increase the growth of the stems) and use the plant to make cutting and in this method can get few plants from one seeds
Keep the stems for next year indoor and take them out in the spring after the last frost by this method possible to grow in hardiness zone 2-10 as perennial by using the cutting over winter.
Difficulties or problems when growing:
A lot of pests for the fruits
Planting season:
Spring after the last frost in hardiness zone 2-10a and better as perennial plant in the spring, spring to summer in hardiness zone 10b-11a, spring to autumn in hardiness zone 11b, all year in hardiness zone 12+
How to plant:
Dig a bigger hole than the root ball, add to the hole organic matter, dead leaves and humus put back some soil and mix it, after this put the plant cover lightly but strong enough that won’t fall put support for the plant and give it place to trellising on it, consider to prune week branches, water it twice in the first day and every day for two weeks, better to plant them few centimeters (inches) under the soil level in order that if there are problem in the base of the plant easy to cover the base and create new root for the plant and not lose all the fruits
Pests and diseases:
Aphids, mealy bugs, leaf miners, slugs, flea beetles, nematodes, whiteflies, wilt, mosaic virus
Pruning season:
All the season and as perennial after the fruits
How to prune:
Rotten stems and leaves, week stems, blooming season stems without flowers possible to cut and use them for cutting
Size of the plant:
3-10m (10-30 feet)
Growth speed in optimal condition:
Fast growing / Medium growing, when the plant grow slowly as annual plant better to add fertilizer and organic matter to increase the growth speed
Water requirement:
Average amount of water / Big amount of water
Light conditions in optimal condition for growing:
Full Sun (possible to grow in less than full sun but will bear less fruits
Is it possible to grow indoor as houseplant?
No, but small plants (need to choose the right cultivars) possible to grow on hedge of window and in this method the plants and the fruits will get enough sun
Growing is also possible in pots, planter, flowerpot or containers:
Yes, when grow in container, size 10-30 liter (2-6 gallon) depend the cultivar, average amount of water that needed, it’s to keep the soil moist and the water go out of the pot, better not to use bottom for the pot, when it’s grow as perennial every two years to switch soil, and prune part of the roots and the plants, soil need to be well ventilated with good drainage, rich with organic matter, can us in potting mix or peat soil with perlite or vermiculite.
Tip when grow in container:
When grow in container better to fill the container with 10% of soil when the roots fill the soil increase the amount of the soil until the container is full
Blooming information
Bloom season:
Start in 50-80 days
General information about the flower
Little yellow flower
Thinning the bloom:
If thinning happening should check the root, watering and try to hand polinate
Pollination is done by:
Bees and other pollinator, pollinate by hand, some of the species self-pollinator
Edible fruits
Fruit harvest season:
70-160 days from sowing sometime can take more time
Fruits pests or diseases:
Slugs, worms, birds
What can be done with big quantities of Tomato tree fruits?
Eat fresh, cooked, sauce, juice and much more
Work requirements on the fruit:
Clean the rotten leaves
How long does it take for a bear fruit?
1-2.5 month from planting
Ripening of fruit:
If there is massive attack on the fruit should pick them before they ready and let them be ripening at home
How to grow Tomato tree from seeds
Sowing requirement:
Easy to sow, brown-yellowish seeds, full sun, moist soil, high humidity, better 21-26C (70-79F) and possible 10-32C (50-90F)
Saving seeds until sowing:
Dark and dry location and better in the refrigerator if keep the seeds more than one year
Sowing season:
End of the winter indoor, start of the spring will be better, possible all year as perennial depend the temperature
Planting spacing:
20*40 cm (8*16 inches) depend the cultivars, for transplant 2*3cm (1*1 inch)
Depth of Sowing:
5-10 mm (0.25-0.5 inch)
Conditions for seeds germinate:
Full sun, better 21-26C (70-79F), moist soil, high humidity
Watering requires for Seeds:
Average amount of water, the soil should be moist
Germination time:
5-16 days, might be longer
Condition of seedling:
Full sun, more than 10C (50F), the sprout is very delightful to bug need protection in the beginning
Vegetative Reproduction
Vegetative Reproduction Method:
Cutting, Stems
Preferred time for vegetative reproduction:
Spring – beginning of the summer
Time to grow roots in vegetative reproduction:
1-2 weeks
Treatment for vegetative reproduction:
Warm, Moist, and should put the cuttings in glass of water and change the water every 2 days
Scientific name:
Solanum lycopersicum
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