7 Ways to Support and Prune Tomato Plants: Cages, Trellises, String and More
Tomato plants need support and maintenance as they grow. They’re naturally tall, bendy, and usually can’t stand upright on their own – especially once they’re heavy with fruit! So let’s explore 7 different ways to support tomato plants, plus tips on how to prune them.
This article will cover the pros and cons of using cages, stakes, trellises, string, the Florida weave, lower and lean system, and more – with tips and photos on how to execute each method!
The best method for YOU simply depends on your personal preference, garden size, tomato varieties, and how intensely you want to prune them. I’ve utilized a many tomato support systems over the years; my current favorite is our DIY tomato trellis.
RELATED: Be sure to check out the best practices on planting tomatoes here, or visit our more comprehensive guide on how to grow tomatoes from seed to table for more tips.
Determinate vs Indeterminate Tomatoes
First, are you growing determinate (D) or indeterminate (ID) tomato varieties? (Read the plant description to see.) The plants grow quite differently, so they’ll need different types of support or pruning! There are also semi-determinate varieties which have characteristics of both.
Determinate tomatoes, also known as bush tomatoes, stay far smaller in size (growing up to three or four feet tall). They have a shorter lifespan and bear all of their fruit over a shorter window of time. Determinate tomatoes don’t like to be pruned, which will hinder their production. It’s best to support determinate tomatoes with a modest cage, the Florida weave, or stakes (but not pruned to a “single leader”).
On the other hand, indeterminate tomatoes grow well over 6 feet (often taller) and produce fruit over a long growing season. They’re more common among home gardeners, and take well to pruning (though you don’t have to). Without adequate support, indeterminate tomatoes will sprawl out on the ground an/or break. You can use any of the tomato support options in this post for indeterminate varieties.
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How to Prune Tomatoes: Removing Suckers
Several of the tomato support systems described below require some level of pruning, so here’s how to do so:
- Pruning tomato plants involves removing excess side branches – also known as “suckers”. Suckers always grow out from the main stem just above a leaf branch, as shown in the diagram below. (Don’t confuse it with a flower bract, which grows slightly higher on the stem!)
- To remove tomato suckers, simply pinch and snap them off. Or, use a clean pair of pruning snips for larger suckers. It’s best to remove suckers when they’re still nice and small – before they start drawing energy from the rest of the plant. (They’re called suckers for a reason!)
- Do NOT top the plant or cut the main stem (the terminal growing tip), and avoid removing flower or fruit bracts.
- As the season goes on, I also like to cut off unproductive lower leaf branches as they begin to yellow and fade.
Diligently removing all the suckers will result in a single long tomato vine. Removing all but one sucker will leave you with two “leaders”. Or, you can remove just some of the suckers, resulting in several leaders but an overall more manageable plant.
Pros and Cons of Pruning Tomatoes
If you don’t prune tomatoes, each sucker will become a large secondary vine, producing more and more new branches, flower bracts, and suckers of their own. The result is a much bushier tomato plant, and yes, a greater number of fruit per plant! However, the plants quickly become unruly and the fruit may be smaller or inferior in quality compared to a tomato plant that was pruned.
On the other hand, pruned tomato plants can focus all their energy into growing fewer but higher-quality fruit instead. They may also ripen sooner! Pruning tomato plants takes more effort, yet the plants are generally more tidy, easy to manage, allows for closer plant spacing, and may reduce disease and pest pressure.
I prefer to do somewhere in between: I lightly prune by tomatoes but allow several suckers to grow too.
7 Ways to Support Tomato Plants
1) Cages
Cages are a classic way to support tomatoes. They also happen to be the most simple and low-maintenance option!
To grow tomatoes in a cage, you can essentially let your tomato plants grow au natural; no pruning required. The only task you’ll need to do is occasionally (and gently) tuck branches in and up to keep them inside the cage as much as possible. I like to provide a stake in the center of the cage to support the main stem too.
Finding good, functional tomato cages can be a bit of a challenge. Most pre-made tomato cages are fairly small and flimsy, sufficient for determinate bush tomatoes (or peppers, eggplant, or tomatillos) but do not adequately support big heavy indeterminate tomato plants.
I make my own DIY tomato cages and re-use them year after year. They’re large, affordable, durable, and super-sturdy! Follow this step-by-step tutorial, or check out the video below.
2) Single Stake or String Method
Another popular option is to train tomatoes up a single tall stake, or up a string connected to an overhead beam.
This method is works best to support vining or indeterminate tomatoes, and requires heavy pruning. Most (if not all) side branches or “suckers” are removed as they emerge, resulting in only one leader stem (maybe two). As the tomato grows taller, secure the main vine to the stake or string with ties or tomato clips. I like to use this soft coated garden wire.
This method is also great for small spaces, or to grow many tomato plants in a single garden bed. Keeping the plants well-pruned means you can space them much closer together: only a foot or so apart instead of several feet.
The one drawback of pruning tomatoes to a single vine is that each plant will produce fewer tomatoes (albeit better quality). Lacking excess foliage, the fruit may also be more susceptible to sunburn or scalding.
Warning: Because the plants are focusing all their energy on growing up rather than out, tomatoes that are pruned and trained to a single leader can grow very, very tall – easily upwards of 10 feet or more – so be prepared! Therefore, choose sturdy stakes that will extend at least 6 feet above ground once installed (such as 8 foot stakes). The lower and lean system is one way to deal with excessively tall tomatoes, explained next.
3) Lower and Lean
The “lower and lean” system is a great way to train and support tall indeterminate tomato plants, and keep the fruit in reach! This method is common in commercial greenhouse settings, but gaining popularity among home gardeners as well.
Similar to the single stake/string method described above, the tomato are diligently pruned to just a single leader and spaced close together. Each tomato vine is trained up a vertical string – either with tomato clips, or by gently winding the string around the stem.
Suspended from some sort of horizontal support above (such as a wood beam, A-frame, pipe, electrical conduit, or other clever DIY solution), each string is connected to a tomato below – usually gently tied around the base of the plant. Each string also has has several feet of extra slack at the top, either dangling free or kept tight in a spool. Use any type of natural twine or garden string. These specialized tomato spool hooks are made just for the lower and lean system!
As the tomatoes grow taller and taller, let slack out of the line from the top to literally lower and lean the plants down and out. That way, you don’t have to worry about your tomatoes growing taller than their support system! Remove leaf branches from the bottom portion of the vines as they’re lowered and possibly end up laying along the ground.
Check out this video from Johnny’s Seeds to see the tomato lower and lean system in action.
4) The Florida Weave
The Florida Weave is a fantastic way to train many tomato plants growing in a row. The goal is to essentially sandwich the plants between layers of string, holding them upright and supporting heavy branches of fruit. You may also hear it referred to as “basket weaving” tomatoes.
Since it offers support for the leaders as well as side branches, the Florida weave requires less intensive pruning than the single stake or lower and lean methods. You can choose how heavy or light you wish to prune the plants. The more you prune them, the closer you can space the plants – ranging from 1 foot to several feet apart.
The Florida weave is great for both determinate, semi-determinate, and indeterminate tomatoes alike. It also takes up less space than providing cages for every plant.
How to Use the Florida Weave
- Insert tall sturdy stakes or t-posts between every plant (or every other plant). A stake may also be provided at the base of each tomato for additional support.
- Next, weave horizontal rows of garden string or natural twine between the stakes, spaced about a foot or so apart going up the stakes. Tie and secure the string at each stake as you go. Some gardeners put up all their rows of string right from the start; we often start with just the lower few and then add more above as the plants grow taller.
- As the plants grow, gently tuck the branches up and between the rows of twine. This requires checking on the plants at least once per week to do so. See the diagram below.
5) Our Weave + Stake Hybrid Tomato Trellis
In my garden, we use our own tomato trellis and training system. It’s like a hybrid between the Florida weave and single leader method – combining the best aspects of both! It’s sturdy, tidy, effective, and looks great in the garden.
See my complete guide and YouTube video on how to make a DIY tomato trellis here.
The design is versatile and can be made with a variety of materials, or applied in various garden settings. It’s also compact, leaving plenty of space in the garden beds for companion plants too. Moderate pruning keeps the plants manageable, but is less work to maintain than a single leader.
6) Flat Trellis
It’s quite easy to train tomatoes up a vertical flat trellis. You can use a small trellis to support a single tomato or two, a larger trellis behind a row of many tomato plants, or even plant tomatoes along both sides of a trellis (but offset from one another).
As the plants grow, secure the branches to the trellis using twine, soft plant ties or clips. Tomatoes will NOT naturally cling to structures on their own like peas or beans do!
Like the Florida Weave, you can prune the tomatoes as much or little as you please. The trellis can function similarly to the single stake method, supporting many closely-spaced tomatoes with only one or two leaders per plant. Or, give the plants a little more space and allow most of the suckers to grow, pinning those back to the trellis too.
When things got bushy and unruly, I’ve also strung twine horizontally across the front of the trellis to keep the plants pulled back, similar to a Florida weave.
Looking for trellis ideas? See how I make a simple, inexpensive, and sturdy DIY trellis here from panels of remesh wire. We use them for pole beans, peas, passionfruit, cucumbers, and more! Hog and cattle panel are also popular options to create a homemade trellis. Nylon mesh netting strung between stakes is another affordable, lightweight trellis option.
7) Arched Trellis
One final option is to grow tomatoes over an arched trellis. The idea is essentially the same as the flat trellis method we just explored, but with even more drama and flair! Who doesn’t love a good arched garden trellis, and especially one dripping with ripe homegrown tomatoes?!
This style is best to support indeterminate tomatoes, as determinate varieties are too short and bushy to extend over the arch. You can use plant ties to secure branches in place, as well as gently tuck and weave the vines through openings in the trellis.
We buy our pre-made arched trellises at a local nursery, but you can also make them from hog or cattle panel!
And that concludes this round-up of tomato support methods
Well friends, I hope this guide gave you ample information, inspiration and ideas on how to prune and support your tomatoes. As you can see, there are SO many options – even more than we covered today! You can get creative and combine various styles like we do, or get crafty and build other unique support structures of your own.
Please share your favorite tomato training styles in the comments below, and feel free to ask any questions! If you found this article to be valuable, please consider sharing or pinning this post. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We wish you a very fruitful tomato season ahead!
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29 Comments
Mark LoRusso
By trimming off most of the side branches, it seems like you cut down on the production a lot. Why not make a narrower trellis with horizontal strings or bamboo to support the side branches?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
You do cut down on overall production or volume of fruit but the fruit quality is better as the plants can concentrate on producing fewer but better fruit. Granted, when you have four tomatoes on the trellis, you will still get a ton of fruit. Also, as the season goes on, it does become more difficult to keep up with the suckers so you will typically get an increase in flowers from the additional suckers. If you don’t want to trellis them, it’s easiest to just use a cage.
Leticia Anaya
Hello again! Sorry for all the questions. When leaving suckers as leads, should I leave some of the initial suckers or wait and to leave leave some of the later suckers ?
Also, regarding how many leads to allow, what about the variety helps with that decision ?
Lastly, the crab meal used when transplanting tomatoes, can that be used elsewhere in the garden ?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Leticia, when it comes to pruning our indeterminate tomatoes, we like to prune all suckers from the bottom all the way up to the second flower cluster which will increase airflow. From there, we will typically allow the next 3-5 suckers to grow to then trellis, removing all of the suckers that continue to grow off the main stem as it gets taller along with pruning the suckers off of your original 3-5 suckers that you are leaving to grow. Obviously as the tomatoes continue to grow and the season goes on, we will typically miss some or stop pruning the suckers all together because it becomes harder to do the more dense the plants grow.
How many suckers we decide to keep is dependent on the variety of tomato we are growing which is more or less associated with the size of the tomato. For smaller tomatoes (2 ounce in size or even large cherry tomatoes) we will typically leave 5 suckers per plant, whereas for large tomatoes we may only keep 3 suckers per plant. Our climate is fairly mild during the summer so we find that reducing the number of fruit on each plant allows us to grow larger tomatoes more successfully. Obviously keeping tomatoes pruned and trellised allows us to grow more variety as well, we may be able to fit 3 indeterminate tomatoes grown in cages in our sized beds where we can fit one more tomato variety in the bed if we trellis them.
In regards to the crab meal, absolutely you can use it elsewhere in the garden. If you have an all purpose amendment you use like Down to Earth Fertilizers Vegetable Garden 4-4-4, I would just add the crab meal to the all purpose fertilizer in a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio and amend your garden space with the mixture. Hope that helps and have fun growing!