Pruning Tomatoes: Pros, Cons, and Trimming Techniques

Is your tomato harvest a total bummer? Are your plants not producing like you’d hoped? Well, it’s possible they need to be pruned! We’ll walk you through some factors to consider – if you should prune – and basic techniques for pruning your tomatoes.

Lonely Pines Farm may earn a commission for purchases made after clicking links on this page.

I know it’s nerve-wracking thinking about trimming your precious tomato plants. When we first started gardening, those initial cuts were pretty painful, but sometimes it’s the best thing you can do for your plants!

That being said, this is all brought to you with one caveat – if your plants are doing fine, pumping out fruit & looking healthy, feel free to move on & ignore this post cause you’re already rocking the game!

Buuut, if you’re on the old side of the coin, and your tomato plants aren’t doing so great, you might want to keep reading…

Pruning isn’t a fix-all, but it can fight a whole host of problems like disease, pests, & lack of fruit.

So…if you wanna give pruning a try, let’s first get familiar with your plants! Knowing the size & type will help determine if and how you should prune your tomato plants.

Most of this information will be available on your seed packet, plant tag, or a quick internet search should do the trick!

Tomatoes – Main Size Categories

Small

Cherry
Grape
Cocktail

Medium

Sauce
Plum
Roma

Large

Beefsteak
Heirloom

Tomatoes – Types

Determinate

Indeterminate

Next, you’ll want to consider your growing environment…

Do you live somewhere wet, where excess moisture might be an issue?

Do you live somewhere hot, where your plants might burn?

These are all factors you should add to your notes.

Alright, now you’re armed with all this information – what’s next?

Now you’re ready to make your own Personal Pruning Plan!

Want to Know More??

– Check Out Our Video Below –

How to trim specific types of tomato plants & the benefits of pruning

So what do you think? Are you ready to start pruning your tomato plants? It could drastically increase your tomato harvest & improve the overall health of your plants!

If you liked this article, please share it to spread the gardening love.

Do you have any questions about your specific type of tomato? Are your tomato plants having any other pest or disease problems? How’s your harvest this year? Send us an email or leave a comment below! You can also let us know on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest pages.