Key Takeaways
Both cold and hot temperature extremes can cause a lack of tomato flowers.
Pruning, watering, and fertilizing tomatoes too much can reduce flowering.
Plants weakened by pests, diseases, and poor growing conditions may not flower.
For many gardeners, the best part about summer is the steady stream of fresh homegrown tomatoes. But what if your tomato plants aren’t even producing flowers? Uncooperative weather or poor plant care may be to blame.
Here are the top reasons your tomato plants aren’t flowering and what you can do to increase flowering—and ultimately enjoy the summer fruit you’ve been waiting for.
1. Planting Too Early
It’s essential to plant your tomatoes when the weather in your plant hardiness zone is warm enough. Nighttime temperatures below 55°F can limit a tomato plant’s bloom production. Planting your tomato plant in cold soil can also delay or eliminate flowering.
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To remedy cooler nighttime temperatures, cover your caged tomatoes at night with woven fabric. This will raise the temperature inside the tomato cage and protect your plants from frost. Remember to remove your coverings by midday to prevent your plants from overheating.
2. Not Getting Enough Sun
Tomatoes grown in a shady location will not have enough energy to flower and thrive. For the best tomato harvest, plant your tomato plant in a location that receives at least 8 hours of direct sunlight per day from morning to dusk. If your yard doesn’t offer a sunny in-ground planting spot for a tomato plant, try growing tomatoes in a large container on a sunny driveway or deck.
3. Outdoor Temperatures Are Too Hot
If your plants experience a heat wave, their ability to flower will be hindered. Daytime temperatures above 90°F combined with high humidity and drought make it too hot for your tomato plants to grow and produce flowers. Nighttime temperatures above 70°F and hot, drying winds also make it difficult for tomato plant growth.
You can lower the outdoor temperature for your tomato plants by 10 degrees if you cover your plants with shade cloth. Just be sure to remove the shade cloth when temperatures drop below 90°F so the plants can get the needed sunshine to thrive.
4. Pollination Problems
Tomato plants are self-pollinating, but high humidity, rain, and hot weather can interfere with successful pollination. Wind and bees usually help with plant pollination, but sometimes tomato plants need a little extra help to spread pollen. By simply shaking your plants’ stems, you can pollinate tomatoes by hand to boost your harvest.
5. Insufficient Watering
Not watering your tomato plant enough prevents your plant from absorbing an adequate amount of calcium from the soil, an essential nutrient for tomato flowering. When watering tomatoes, deliver water directly to the base of a plant using a watering wand, a drip hose, or a watering can with a long spout. Tomatoes grow best with about an inch of water a week from rainfall or irrigation.
6. Too Much Water
Watering your tomato plants too much can weaken the plants by causing the roots to rot. Without enough roots, your plant won’t be able to take up the water and nutrients it needs to produce flowers. Determine when to water your tomato plant by checking the soil a couple of inches below the surface. If the soil is dry to the touch, water the plants deeply. A rain gauge can help you determine exactly how much water your plants need.
7. Pruning Tomato Plants Too Much
Pruning tomato plants can lead to more tomatoes per plant, larger tomatoes, and higher-quality tomatoes. However, trimming off too much excess foliage can stress the plant and hinder the growth of tomato flowers. If you choose to prune your tomato plants, you should start pruning them after their flowers appear.
8. Disease and Pest Problems
In order for your tomato plants to flower, they need to be healthy. Insects and plant diseases can stunt tomato plant growth and reduce flowering. Be on the lookout for common tomato plant diseases and tomato plant pests that can interfere with your plants’ flowering. Plant resistant or disease-tolerant tomato varieties to help grow healthy, pest-and disease-free tomato plants.
9. Too Much Nitrogen in Soil
If your tomato plant has lots of stems and leaves but no flowers, it probably had too much nitrogen and water in its early growth stages. Nitrogen stimulates lush, leafy growth but delays maturity and fruit production.
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Too much nitrogen in the soil is also the reason why your tomato plants get big but have no tomatoes. When overfertilizing occurs, it’s best to stop fertilizing right away so that your plant can recover. Eventually, it should flower and set fruit.
10. Tomato Blossom Drop
If your tomato plants are forming flowers, but they’re dropping off before they set fruit, your plants are experiencing blossom drop. This usually happens when nighttime temperatures are below 55°F; pollen germination rate is so slow at this cool temperature that the blossoms drop off before they can be fertilized. Rain and prolonged humid conditions also contribute to blossom drop.
Read the original article on Better Homes & Gardens
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