Propagating by cuttings??

Ok, this is my first year with tomatos. I have all types of flowers from seeds & cuttings, but I am wondering if tomato plants can be propagated this way?

Yes, they can. For the cutting you take the suckers off and root them. They root very easily and quickly. I usually take suckers that are about 6" long, take off the lower leaves and any blossoms, and just put them in potting soil up to just beneath the remaining leaves. Just like with any other plant that you've grown from a cutting, you are cloning the parent plant. Scroll down on this article and you'll see a good photo of what a sucker looks like.

http://blog.gardenharvestsupply.com/2008/03/03/to-prune-or-not-to-prune%E2%80%A6/

Some advise cutting all suckers cut off. Some advise cutting only certain ones off. Yet others say removing suckers is not necessary. I think it's up to you. I myself do not routinely remove the suckers.

Karen

That is awsome! Usually with my cuttings, I put a plastic bag over the pot until the rooting takes. It is around 90 degrees here during the day, cooling to about 70 at night. Do I need the bag? Can I overwinter (50-60 deg) in a covered patio area then bring outside in spring?

Thanks so much for the picture link also. I never would have figured out what a "sucker" was!

Does this work for peppers (Serrano) also?

wow, this is super info. debbie, thanks for asking and karen for answering! i will sure try!

LOL. I had to look up a picture when someone told me about the suckers. It's easy with a picture -- but otherwise hard to explain.

I didn't use a bag over them as it is pretty humid here anyway. If it's not humid there, you could use the bag. Cut the top corners off so you have air circulation. If it looks as if there is too much moisture in the bag, take it off for a while. You want the potting mix to be damp but not soggy. I started mine in pots on my shaded front deck. They root very easily and quickly My temps were about the same as yours. As far as overwintering them goes, I don't think the 50-60 degrees would kill them, but they might not continue to grow. I know that people do overwinter tomatoes in greenhouses, so why not give it a try? Couldn't hurt.

Tomatoes will root anywhere on the stem if that part is underground, which is why you remove the lower leaves, and put about two-thirds of the stem/plant underground when you plant your original tomato plants, makes a stronger root system. But I've not heard of peppers being started with cuttings. So, that's a very good question. I don't see any reason not to try it. I would cut off a section about 6", remove the lower leaves so that you have a couple of leaf nodes to put down in the potting mix. I would use a rooting hormone, too. Pretty much like any other cutting, I would think. It would be an interesting experiment.

There is a fellow here on DG who breeds/hybridizes zinnias. He grows them inside all winter from cuttings he took in the fall. Who would have thought zinnias would grow from cuttings? Apparently, zinnias will root anywhere on the stem that is getting moisture, like tomatoes will. When we had four days of heavy rain from TS Fay, I noticed afterward that my zinnias had formed little short roots about an inch above ground.

As you can tell, I belong to the "give it a try and see what happens" school of thought.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Karen

Ok, so now I will definately make time tomorrow to get started. I will let everyone knows how it goes:) The major problem I have had with tomatos & peppers is the amount of pests that seem to come out of nowhere. Many more pest problems than with flowers!

Debbie,

I haven't had any pest problems on the peppers -- just the occasional hole in the leaf here and there. This year I did have a couple of pests on the tomatoes. I did find one hornworm, but the big problem was the tomato fruitworm. This was a new one to me -- Farmerdill did the ID on it for me. Last year I had aphids on the tomatoes - I used a very dilute soap spray and got rid of them -- took a couple of applications - but that worked nicely. There are a number of toads in the yard, and I think they do a lot to keep the pest problem a small one.

With your zones, you and moonglow both should be able to grow quite a few winter veggies, I would think.

Do let me know how your cuttings come out.

Karen

I took some cuttings from a Giant Belgium Tomato by accident.. broke then when leaning over.. I just stuck them in some potting soil in the shade and they took off in a few days!

So easy!! Remember Murphy's Law...

Just put them somewhere in the shade where you can't see them to baby them or they will for sure not make it! LOL If they think for one minute that you REALLY want them to make it.. poof.. they die.
(works for me!)