-- I have two Gro-bags with two plants in each, and when pinching off
the side shoots of one (Alicante), I absentmindedly pinched off the main
shoot. Will it be worth keeping or should I replace it (if it's not too
late)?


Regards and thanks in advance

Syke

On 26/06/2015 10:07, Syke wrote:

-- I have two Gro-bags with two plants in each, and when pinching off
the side shoots of one (Alicante), I absentmindedly pinched off the main
shoot. Will it be worth keeping or should I replace it (if it's not too
late)?


The main plant might be a little reduced, but the sideshoot should
become the main stem. You could have also put the bit you cut off (if
it wasn't dried out) in water where it would grow roots. I've done this
a number of times (but usually earlier in the season) and they always
end up producing tomatoes - but not as many as a main plant.

--
regards andy

Sometime you get an unusual tomato plant, a good cropper or a bit special. Plant some side shoots towards the end of the season (not too late). l put half a dozen to a six inch pot on a windowsill in a warm room or in a heated greenhouse. When they start growing in the spring, look out for more sideshoots and plant these. These will be your tomatoes for the coming year. A simple form of cloning that works. The over wintering side shoots will produce flowers and tomatoes all be it very small but very edible in April.

"Syke" wrote


I have two Gro-bags with two plants in each, and when pinching off the side
shoots of one (Alicante), I absentmindedly pinched off the main shoot. Will
it be worth keeping or should I replace it (if it's not too late)?




I have had one do that on the allotment, something broke off the growing tip
just after I planted it out. However, it's now grown a sideshoot that has
taken over and is growing away nicely.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 26/06/2015 10:07, Syke wrote:

-- I have two Gro-bags with two plants in each, and when pinching off
the side shoots of one (Alicante), I absentmindedly pinched off the main
shoot. Will it be worth keeping or should I replace it (if it's not too
late)?


Regards and thanks in advance

Syke


This can happen, as you have found out.
When removing side shoots rub them out by hand, don't use a knife as
this makes it easier to remove the main shoot.
Always work from the top down, so that if you take out the top then you
still have a side shoot to grow on.
You can grow a side shoot on quite easily to replace the main shoot, in
fact I have often taken a side shoot from an adjacent plant to fill in a
gap caused by loosing a plant.

On 01/07/2015 09:57, David Hill wrote:
On 26/06/2015 10:07, Syke wrote:

You can grow a side shoot on quite easily to replace the main shoot, in
fact I have often taken a side shoot from an adjacent plant to fill in a
gap caused by loosing a plant.

I've also managed to fix a chopped off major stem before - by wrapping
with sellotape and splinting! Other than a knobbly joint, by the end of
the season it was impossible to tell there had been an issue.

--
regards andy

On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 09:24:41 +0100, Andy Wilkes
wrote:

On 01/07/2015 09:57, David Hill wrote:
On 26/06/2015 10:07, Syke wrote:

You can grow a side shoot on quite easily to replace the main shoot, in
fact I have often taken a side shoot from an adjacent plant to fill in a
gap caused by loosing a plant.

I've also managed to fix a chopped off major stem before - by wrapping
with sellotape and splinting! Other than a knobbly joint, by the end of
the season it was impossible to tell there had been an issue.


I have done it when the stem was not totally spliced through : very successful.

But: I have not succeeded when the stem had been cut in two. Perhaps you have
to get the cross-sections lined up spot on (thinking of my O-level biology -
Xylem in perfect line ??)

"Judith in England" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 09:24:41 +0100, Andy Wilkes
wrote:

On 01/07/2015 09:57, David Hill wrote:
On 26/06/2015 10:07, Syke wrote:

You can grow a side shoot on quite easily to replace the main shoot, in
fact I have often taken a side shoot from an adjacent plant to fill in a
gap caused by loosing a plant.

I've also managed to fix a chopped off major stem before - by wrapping
with sellotape and splinting! Other than a knobbly joint, by the end of
the season it was impossible to tell there had been an issue.


I have done it when the stem was not totally spliced through : very
successful.

But: I have not succeeded when the stem had been cut in two. Perhaps you
have
to get the cross-sections lined up spot on (thinking of my O-level
iology -
Xylem in perfect line ??)

Not sure how exact you have to be, I bought a packet of small plastic clips
which they use for grafting toms (I wanted to see if the work with
clematis - they don't!) I practiced on tomatoes and it was pretty easy to
do, I have to say I am not entirely sure why they do it or what benefits it
bestows.

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk