should i take cuttings from my tomato?

Might they be "sports" which then come true from seed?

 

3-4 weeks if you put them in the fridge maybe, mine take 4-5 days on a SE facing windowsill. If they`re in flower they can take longer but what you lose on the swing you gain on the roundabout with instant flowering after they`re transplanted.


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That sounds much more like what I would have expected

 

This autumn I want to try growing some small bush varieties of tomatoes under growlights in an attempt to get some fresh homegrown winter toms. I seem to have the choice of either a late sowing or taking cuttings from the plants I already have growing in pots.

Any ideas? Do cuttings work as well if taken from bush tomatoes compared with using 'sideshoots' from cordon toms? (I'll probably try both methods for comparison)

 

Scrungee, the ones in the pic are from Garden Pearl, its a bush type. I`d take cuttings from the strongest, healthiest looking plants.

 

well , this is strange...
the side shoot i left on one plant has been the first to set some fruits, so that must be a slight advantage to leaving them on? its also got the same amound of flower trusses as the main stem... im also growing on a windowsill, not a greenhouse :]

 

im also considering air-layering this side shoot to stop the fruit dropping whilst removing this sideshoot

 

I don't think the roots will be able to support the fruit (once you detach the successfully air-rooted cutting). Better to create a fresh plant first, with decent roots, and remove all flowers / fruit to facilitate it rooting quickly and then establishing well.

 

thanks! i might do that then :]

 

I've now found myself a compulsive tomato cutting taker and blame reading this thread for the fact I now let tomato sideshoots grow to the right size for cuttings before removing them and I've got coffee jars full of rooting shoots all over the place. If we get an Indian Summer they might even do better than the very early sown toms they've been taken from that have very few, small trusses on them, each with very fruits set.

 

Its all good practice for next season, just sow a few of each variety around february time indoors and they`ll be big enough to take loads of cuttings when everyone else is busy sowing seeds. Cuttings grow a lot quicker than seeds and they have identical traits to the parent plant so choose the best of the early bunch