Question:
Could you explain the difference between Determinate and Indeterminate tomatoes? I get so confused each year when I buy my tomato plants. In addition, when is the ideal time to plant?Answer:
- All tomato varieties are not created equal, so knowing what you are growing is important. It's more than just the varietal name. Tomatoes are classified by their growth habit, which is determinate and indeterminate varieties.
- Determinate varieties do better in smaller spaces, making them ideal for containers. Indeterminate tomatoes are rigorous growers; hence, they require staking and a cage as they get large.
- Determinate plants are short and bushy and grow to only a height of about four feet. They are often called bush tomatoes. The tomatoes form on the plants' terminal ends; hence, they are self-topping and seldom require support. They stop growing when the fruit sets on the terminal or top bud, ripen all their crop, usually over two weeks, and then die.
- Indeterminate varieties continue to grow indefinitely until killed by a frost. I like to refer to them as the Energizer Bunny of tomatoes. The plant always produces stems and leaves as the lead or terminal buds do not set fruit—the fruit set on the laterals. In addition, the fruit ripens progressively as the vine grows, so there are tomatoes in all stages of development at any one time.
- Cherry tomato varieties and Early Girl, Brandywine, and Big Boy are examples of Indeterminate tomatoes.
- Also important is the maturity date. This is how long a variety matures from the seed's date to harvest under ideal conditions. You use it as a guide because our growing conditions change yearly. So, if you expect tomatoes in August, you don't want to plant a late maturing variety.
- Tomatoes are a warm-season crop that struggles and fails to set fruit with nighttime temperatures below 55 degrees. The key to growing tomatoes and developing fruit is not the daytime temperatures but how warm it is at night. Once the plants slow down, they never recover and fail to meet expectations. The ideal time to plant is late April when the rainy season has concluded, and the temperature has warmed up. May is a great month to plant tomatoes.
Question:
I'd like to know why my Sun Azaleas are so tall and leggy. They flower okay, but only at the ends of the long stems. What must I do to make these plants more compact?Answer:
- Sun Azaleas are not low-growing compact plants. They typically reach a height of four to six feet depending on the variety, with the flowers on the end of the branches.
- Being a leggy grower is a common complaint with Sun Azaleas. You can correct this by pruning the plants after flowering to reduce the height by about fifty percent and then feed them with the Azalea, Camellia, and Rhododendron Food to encourage new growth. This doesn't have to be an annual task.
- They will look a bit ragged for a while but recover. If this is still too tall, you may want to replace them with a different plant.