Tomato plants produce small yellow flowers filled with pollen. If the pollen inside the bloom gets combined just right, then a tomato will be the result. It’s easy to tell if a tomato flower has been pollinated and in this blog post I will teach you how to do it.
So, how can you tell if a tomato flower has been pollinated?
Observe the yellow tomato flower after it has opened. If the stem right behind the flower remains green and begins to enlarge, pollination has been successful and a tomato is on the way. If the stem turns yellow, pollination has failed. The plant will no longer support the life of the bloom so it will dry up and fall off.
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In this post I will also share with you how to help with the pollination process to ensure a larger harvest of fresh, homegrown tomatoes! Let’s dive in!
First Signs Of Pollination
It will take 1-3 days after pollination to see a noticeable change in the plant but here a few things you can look for:
- If you notice a lot of pollinators flying around in the garden, it’s a good sign the tomatoes have been pollinated.
- The stem directly behind the bloom will begin to swell and you can feel a BB-sized tomato at the end of the blossom.
- The flower will wilt within 24 hours and fall off the plant in 2-3 days.
Do Tomato Flowers Need To Be Pollinated?
Yes. All plants, including the tomato, must be pollinated to produce seeds. The tomato has an advantage over many other plants – it is self-pollinating and has ‘perfect flowers’. In horticulture, a ‘perfect flower’ does not refer to the dimensions or color of a bloom.
It means the flower has both male and female parts and can reproduce by itself. Though they are ‘perfect’, tomato flowers need to be pollinated and the wind assists the plant in getting the job done. Keep reading to learn more about male and female flower parts.
How to Identify Male And Female Tomato Flowers?
Tomato flowers are monoecious, which means that each flower is both male and female. The visiting insects looking for a meal or the wind transfer the pollen from the male stamen to the female pistil parts of the flower.
The stamen (male part) consists of the filament and an anther filled with pollen at the top of the filament. It’s yellow like the flower petals and shaped like a tube. The pistil (female part) is the hair-like middle of the flower and consists of the stigma, style, and ovary.
What Does A Pollinated Tomato Flower Look Like?
If a tomato flower has been pollinated, the hair-like center of the flower will go from white to dark and shrivel in size. A pollinated flower will also wilt within 24 hours after pollination has occurred. The flower will look very much like one that is old and dying of old age, but it will be dying at an accelerated rate.
How Long After Flowering Will Tomatoes Appear?
The appearance of the tiny yellow tomato flowers indicates that the plant has begun the process of trying to reproduce. Flowers will appear when the plant is 12-18 inches tall. It will take 7-10 days after the flower has opened before you will know if the tomato has been pollinated.
The tiny green tomatoes develop slowly for the first 2-3 weeks. During the following 3-5 weeks, the fruits grow quickly. When they reach their mature size, the fruits begin to change color and ripen. When the tomatoes are firm and reach their full color, it’s time to harvest them.
The time required to get from bloom time to harvest time varies according to the tomato variety and environmental factors. It will take between 45 days and 100 days for a tomato to ripen. Most of the time tomato plants will be ready for harvest in September.
What Is A Tomato Blossom Set Spray And How Does It Work?
Blossom set spray, also known as blossom set hormone, is a liquid that helps plants produce tomatoes from blossoms. The active ingredient in the spray is kinetin, which is a variety of the cytokinin hormone. The hormone helps the plant set and grow fruit even when growing conditions are not ideal.
Tomatoes are warm-season vegetables and will produce best when temperatures are above 60 degrees F. Late frost and/or spring cold snaps cause temperatures to dip below the comfort level for the plant. It might begin a process called ‘blossom drop’ in which the plant drops its flowers.
Blossom set spray can help minimize blossom drop, making growing tomatoes possible even in cooler weather. It will not, however, prevent blossom drop due to the plant being exposed to temperatures that are too high.
When to use a blossom set spray?
You can also use a blossom set spray when pollination is poor. Tomatoes are typically pollinated by wind, though insects help spread the pollen around. When tomatoes are grown in sheltered conditions, like in a greenhouse, the wind and insects have not had the opportunity to spread pollen around.
Is it better to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse? Want to know the answer? Read this article!
Keep in mind that tomatoes growing in a greenhouse must be hand pollinated! Or you can have a beehive inside the greenhouse to ensure pollination.
Blossom set spray will cause the plant to set fruit even if the tomato has not been pollinated. If the spray is used on an un-pollinated plant, the fruit will mature normally but the seeds will be immature and won’t be good to save and re-plant.
- Bonide Tomato Blossom Set Pump Spray
- Price: $14.99
If the tomatoes has been pollinated, using the blossom set spray will increase the number and size of the tomatoes each plant produces. The spray also helps the plant ripen fruit faster for an earlier harvest. Check out when to move tomatoes to a greenhouse.
Apply the spray when the first blossoms are beginning to open. Saturate each flower and nearby leaves until the liquid drips off. Spray once a week until all the blossoms have set fruit. You can grab a bottle of blossom set spray from Bonide on Amazon to increase ripening time by 3 weeks.
How To Pollinate Tomatoes?
There are 3 types of pollination processes - wind, buzz, and hand.
- Wind pollination occurs when the wind blows across the plant and may also occur when a human or animal brushes against the plant.
- Buzz pollination occurs when pollinating insects, like bees, visit the flowers. The pollinator lands on the flower to retrieve pollen and in so doing transfer the pollen from the male to female flower parts.
- Hand pollination is when humans lend a helping hand to ensure a tomato has been pollinated. Several hands-on methods are used to ensure pollination. You can gently shake the plant when it’s in bloom. Or use a cotton swab, toothbrush, or make-up brush to transfer pollen.
Conclusion
Growing tomatoes is the most popular gardening activity. Planting the seed, watching it grow, helping with the pollination process, tending to the plant throughout its growth cycle, and finally harvesting that first ripe tomato is a fun and rewarding experience!
Tomatoes are easy-care plants that can be grown in-ground, indoors, in a container, or a greenhouse. Under the right conditions, tomatoes can be grown year-round and they are one of the most versatile fruits that you can grow in the garden.
How are you pollinating tomato flowers in a greenhouse? Let me know in the comments section down below!
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Happy Greenhousing :)
With Love,
Ana
