Pruning Semi-Determinates (Maglia Rosa)

[Setec Astronomy]

I'm pretty new to this whole tomato thing, only been doing it for a few years. I grow mostly cherry tomatoes. I'm growing in containers, and this year will be my first attempt at pruning my indeterminates to a double-leader system to try and tame them, so that I can fit in more plants

I also grew an Artisan Maglia Rosa last year, which I really liked, and plan on growing several this year. There seem to be different points of view on pruning in general, and although most people say not to prune semi-determinates, I saw Mr. Artisan, Fred Hempel, posted this on another forum about Maglia Rosa: "we have recently seen that in intensive greenhouse culture, when trimmed to one or two stems, Maglia Rosa vines up fine, and it is very productive".

I'm pretty sure a pot on my deck with a cage or ladder is not "intensive greenhouse culture", but what does everyone think about me trying to prune Maglia Rosa to a double-leader? Or multiple-leader? Or just leave it alone?

I also found some Artisan Spike seeds, so I'm probably going to try to grow one of those, that's also considered a semi-determinate, not sure if the advice would be the same for that.

[Clkeiper]

my Maglia Rosa doesn't grow tall enough to prune it to grow up a string. it is more of a bush in my greenhouse. I did string it up but I used 5 or maybe more strings for it. I only did that to keep the vines from falling onto the ground and wasting all the tomatoes like the year before. I doubt it ever got more than 3' tall.

[SeanInVa]

I pruned the two I grew last year, on accident. I was thinking they were indeterminates, and realized after the fact that they were not. I don't recall how many leaders I took it to - it was more than two - maybe 3 or 4? Here is a (bad) picture of one of them. In this shot is one Maglia Rosa tomato, with some pepper plants behind and to the right, and some lettuce in the foreground. There is a second one embedded in the cukes in the top right. As you can see, it had no trouble growing and there were tons of fruits.

maglia01.jpg

[Setec Astronomy]

my Maglia Rosa doesn't grow tall enough to prune it to grow up a string. it is more of a bush in my greenhouse. I did string it up but I used 5 or maybe more strings for it. I only did that to keep the vines from falling onto the ground and wasting all the tomatoes like the year before. I doubt it ever got more than 3' tall.

I think mine was that tall 6 weeks after transplant (see picture)...but it didn't get too much taller after that. No strings for me, it will be some sort of cage (conical as shown, or square), or a ladder. I'm also going to grow one in a Tomato Success planter, I think I'll leave that alone, and maybe try pruning the other two I have planned to some degree based on the feedback I'm getting.

IMG_2348 (2).JPG

[Nan6b]

Mine only got about 2' vines on it.

[peebee]

I pruned both of mine last year to 1 main stem & got tons of fruit. This was done thru ignorance as I never knew determinate shouldn't be pruned
The plants grew very tall too, I had to tie the upper growth to a trellis. Do you think that is because they were pruned? They started to get bushy on the top after we got tired of the fruits & I stopped pruning. For some reason those 2 plants produced way into Dec this time.

[Labradors]

I grow Maglia Rosa in a 3-gallon pot and do not prune. I use a collapsible cage that I bought from the dollar store which does an ok job of keeping it in bounds. It doesn't get very tall, around 3'. Mine lasted until the frost hit in October, and I brought it inside for a month because it still looked very good.

Linda

[Cole_Robbie]

Not requiring pruning, or really even much trellising, is one of my favorite traits of Maglia Rosa.

[peebee]

I'm not going to prune Maglia Rosa this year then, will save me some time so I can attend to other plants. Can I assume I can also leave Blush alone since they're similar?

[Labradors]

I never prune Blush either .

Linda

[Setec Astronomy]

I'm not going to prune Maglia Rosa this year then, will save me some time so I can attend to other plants. Can I assume I can also leave Blush alone since they're similar?

Blush is an indeterminate, according to Artisan.

[peebee]

Blush is an indeterminate, according to Artisan.

Thank you, I'd always thought they were the same types as they have the same shape but different colors & taste. I'm growing both this year so I'll pay more attention to how Blush grows.

[MrBig46]

This year I will try to grow Maglia Rose on one shoot. I have no other possibility, either have them among other indeterminant cherry tomatoes.
Vladimír

[Labradors]

FWIW I grow Blush in a tomato cage. I never prune it and it doesn't hang over the top.

Linda

[peebee]

FWIW I grow Blush in a tomato cage. I never prune it and it doesn't hang over the top.

Linda

That's why I thought Blush was not indeterminate. Mine were smallish too. But perhaps it's classified as a small indeterminate? I'm confused as I thought indeterminate means they will grow very tall.

[Labradors]

I think that indeterminate means that they will continue to produce fruit all season instead of in one big flush like the determinates.

There are indeterminate dwarfs and compacts that don't get tall. Bulgarian Triumph is one ind. compact that does well in a cage.

Linda

[peebee]

I think that indeterminate means that they will continue to produce fruit all season instead of in one big flush like the determinates.

There are indeterminate dwarfs and compacts that don't get tall. Bulgarian Triumph is one ind. compact that does well in a cage.

Linda

Right Linda, about the continued fruit production. But when I looked up the definition of indeterminate, one site not only mentioned that fact, as many of us know as the main difference between the 2, but also said indeterminates grow at least 6 ft if grown under favorable conditions. So that's what got me.
Blush never grows that tall for me yet MR does.
Upon further digging (figuratively) I see that semi determinate can mean an indeterminate that grows bushy due to shorter stems. So that's why it fruits all season. But MRs in my garden grew tall. But they were bushy. I guess Blush then can be called a compact indeterminate but others will say they grow tall. The one thing I read that eased my mind was, it is hard to classify growth habits.
I'll grow both this year but they will probably switch growth patterns just to spite me

[Labradors]

Ha ha Peebee! It really does sound as if MR and Blush have switched growth patterns just to spite you! Please tell me that your Blush is yellow and your MR is pink. One year I thought I was growing MR, but it turned out to be a yellow Blush! Fortunately I grew it in my herb garden against the house where I could adequately stake it. I must have mixed up my seeds the previous year when I fermented and saved them......

[peebee]

Ha ha Peebee! It really does sound as if MR and Blush have switched growth patterns just to spite you! Please tell me that your Blush is yellow and your MR is pink. One year I thought I was growing MR, but it turned out to be a yellow Blush! Fortunately I grew it in my herb garden against the house where I could adequately stake it. I must have mixed up my seeds the previous year when I fermented and saved them......

Yes, Blush is yellow w/ faint pinkish stripes & MR is what I call or a orangey-pink w/ orange or reddish stripes. I never grew both at the same time but will try this time if my seedlings survive. I think I repotted too early & many are struggling. Fingers crossed.

[Clkeiper]

so, if anyone reads many of my posts (from the other..... universe...) most probably know I grow for selling at farmers markets. Maglia rosa is an excellent little tomato... so excellent in fact I had one plant left in the greenhouse over the Winter and I just cleaned that house out. there was one nice tomato still hanging on the plant and I gave it to my niece (27 yo) to try. mind you it was hanging there ALL WINTER... I wish I would have had a basket full of them. it was divine. she had never eaten a sweeter tomato in her life.