Heartbreak!

[beac]

I think in adding additional stakes to my grape tomato I may have damaged the roots and caused vascular wilt. :( I added new bamboo stakes to the pot Tuesday b/c it was growing such gangbusters (did this last year too, BTW) and yesterday morning it was all wilty and sad. The soil seemed a little dry, so I watered and the plant perked back up by evening. Still looking good early this morning, but now he's drooping again.

It's ridiculous how sad and guilty I feel. I'm a BAD tomato momma. :(

Any opinions on whether I should yank him and discard (:cry:) or just let him die off naturally and hope a few of his luscious fruits finish ripening before that happens?




ETA: Also, do you think I could take a cutting from one of the healthier-looking stems and use that to root a new plant??? Is the vascular wilt throughout the plant or just in the roots?

[Denninmi]

1. Should be OK.

If the cause of the wilting was indeed damage you did to the root system with the staking process, the fact that it perks up overnight indicates that it's not that severe. In a few days with some TLC I'd guess it will be just fine. You might try moving it into a shady spot for a couple of days to help it recover faster.

However, perhaps the wilting is something else going on -- could just be climate/weather (does it cool off at night then warm up fast where you are -- this sometimes stresses the top and the roots can't keep up). Are you sure the soil is good and moist all the way down (sometimes only the top gets moistened and the rest is dry).

If I were you, I'd water it really well, move it into the shade for a couple of days and see what happens.

[beac]

2. You've made me feel much better.

:)

I stuck my finger up into the drainage holes yesterday and the soil seemed evenly moist. The other tomatoes around it (also in pots) show no signs of distress, so I don't THINK it's bacterial wilt or something else contagious.

We've had horrible hot days all last month, but actually the last two have been quite pleasant with highs in the mid-eighties (as opposed to the high-nineties we were seeing.)

Off to move him to a shady recovery spot (not so easy to find in my morning-to-sundown sunny yard, so the porch might end up serving as the tomato hospital.)

Thanks again, Denninimi! :hi:

[Crystal Clarity]

3. Nothing to add in the way of advice

(I have next to no idea what you are talking about), but I hope it'll all work out ok. :hug:

[beac]

4. Thanks.

His lower leaves started yellowing yesterday, which is another sign of vascular wilt :(, but I took a cutting and rooted it so, if he doesn't make it, I'll have the possibility of success with his 'clone.' (Haven't actually taken a cutting all the way through acutal fruiting, so it'll be a good experiment anyway.)

[beac]

5. UPDATE: I took two cuttings from it in the hopes they will survive if the main plant dies.

This will add a twist to the tomato cutting rooting experiment I had planned anyway. *fingers crossed*