How to Root Tomato Suckers: Grow New Tomato Plants from Cuttings

Learn how to root tomato suckers and grow new tomato plants from cuttings. This easy step-by-step guide shows how to clone tomatoes in water.

Tomato plants grow quickly once the weather warms, and before long, they begin producing small shoots known as suckers. Instead of pruning these stems and tossing them into the compost pile, you can root tomato suckers to grow brand new plants.

Propagating tomatoes from cuttings is surprisingly easy. Tomato stems root readily in water, allowing you to clone a healthy plant and create additional transplants without starting from seed. In just a week or two, a small cutting can develop roots and become a productive tomato plant.

This trick can be especially helpful later in the season. By rooting tomato suckers while your plants are still healthy, you can grow a second wave of fresh plants to replace tired vines or extend your harvest into fall. Since the weather is warm and the soil is already prepared, these cuttings often grow faster than seedlings started in spring.

In this guide, you’ll learn what tomato suckers are, when to take cuttings, and how to root tomato stems step-by-step so you can grow new tomato plants from the ones already thriving in your vegetable garden.

What Are Tomato Suckers?

Tomato suckers are the small shoots that grow between the main stem and branches of a tomato plant. These shoots, often called tomato plant suckers, develop in the joint where the branch meets the main stem.

If left alone, tomato suckers will continue growing, producing their own leaves, blossoms, and eventually fruit. In other words, they can become full tomato-producing branches.

Many gardeners remove tomato suckers to keep plants tidy and easier to manage, especially when growing indeterminate tomatoes on trellises or stakes.

Because tomato plant suckers grow so vigorously, they can easily be rooted to produce free tomato plants. Instead of discarding them, you can place the cuttings in water and grow a new plant that is genetically identical to the parent.

Should You Prune Tomato Suckers?

If you are growing tomatoes, you may have already encountered the debate on whether tomato suckers should be removed or left on the plant. Some recommend pruning them all off to direct the plant’s energy into fewer stems and fruit. Others prefer to leave them so the plant produces more branches and potentially more tomatoes.

Personally, I don’t prune out all my tomato suckers. The suckers eventually grow into stems that produce blossoms and fruit of their own, so removing every one can reduce the plant’s overall yield.

The only time I prune tomato suckers is early in the season, when the plants are growing vigorously. Once the tomato plants reach about two feet tall, I remove the suckers and lower leaves near the base of the plant. This helps prevent foliage from touching the soil and improves air circulation around the plant.

Pruning the lower foliage and adding mulch around the base of the plants helps reduce soil splash, which can spread fungal diseases that live in the soil. By keeping the lower portion of the plant clean and well-ventilated, I can often delay early blight disease long enough for the plants to produce most of their harvest.

Instead of throwing the trimmed suckers away, I like to root them to grow new tomato plants. Since summer temperatures are warmer than early spring, these cuttings often establish quickly and begin growing right away.

Why Root Tomato Suckers?

Rooting tomato suckers is an easy way to grow additional tomato plants without starting from seed. Because tomato stems root readily, these cuttings can quickly develop into full plants that are genetically identical to the parent plant.

There are several advantages to growing tomatoes from suckers or stem cuttings:

Grow More Plants for Free

Instead of purchasing additional seedlings or starting seeds again, you can use the healthy suckers your tomato plants naturally produce to grow new plants at no cost.

Replace Tired Plants Later in the Season

By midsummer, some tomato plants begin to slow down from heat, drought, or disease pressure. Rooting a few suckers early allows you to have fresh plants ready to take their place.

Get a Faster Start Than Growing Tomatoes from Seed

Tomato cuttings grow quickly because they are already mature plant tissue. Once roots develop, the new plants often grow rapidly and may catch up to the parent plant.

Clone a Favorite Tomato Variety

Propagating tomato plants from cuttings allows you to clone a plant that is performing well in your garden. The new plant will produce the same type of tomatoes as the original.

Extend Your Tomato Harvest

Rooting tomato suckers early in the season allows you to plant new tomato plants later in summer, which can extend your harvest if conditions are favorable.

In regions with a long growing season, this method can be used to grow a second tomato crop for a fall harvest. In shorter growing seasons, like here in Maine, rooting tomato suckers early in summer can still provide a nice late-season bonus harvest.

Best Tomato Varieties for Rooting Cuttings

Most tomato plants can be propagated from cuttings, but some varieties perform better than others. If you are rooting tomato suckers for the first time, choosing the right type of tomato plant can improve your chances of success and help ensure the new plants produce a good harvest before the end of the growing season.

Indeterminate Tomatoes Root Best

I have had the best success rooting cuttings from indeterminate tomato plants, especially cherry tomatoes. These varieties grow as long, vining plants that continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the season rather than setting one large crop all at once.

Suckers trimmed from indeterminate tomato plants root quickly, often within a week, and establish themselves rapidly once transplanted into soil.

Determinate tomato plants (sometimes called bush tomatoes) will root from cuttings, but in my experience, they tend to produce fewer tomatoes when grown this way. Because determinate plants are programmed to grow to a certain size and then produce fruit all at once, cloned plants may not perform as vigorously as indeterminate varieties.

If you are experimenting with rooting tomato suckers for the first time, indeterminate tomato varieties are usually the easiest and most reliable option.

Choose Quick-Maturing Tomato Varieties

When growing tomatoes from cuttings later in the season, it helps to select varieties that mature quickly so they can produce fruit before the first frost.

Many large tomato varieties require 80 to 90 days to mature and begin ripening. Cherry and grape tomatoes typically mature faster and are excellent choices for propagating from cuttings.

Fast-growing varieties have a better chance of producing a crop even if the cuttings are planted in early summer.

When to Take Tomato Cuttings

For the best results, take tomato cuttings early in the growing season while the plants are still healthy. Strong, actively growing plants produce the best suckers for rooting.

I like to take tomato cuttings in early to mid-summer, once the plants are large enough to have several healthy suckers. By this point in the season, the weather is warm, and the plants will form roots and adapt quickly.

Even though our growing season here in Maine is relatively short, I’ve had good success rooting tomato suckers as long as the cuttings are transplanted into the garden by the end of June. This gives the new plants enough time to establish, grow, and begin producing tomatoes before our first frost in October.

If you garden in a warmer climate with a longer growing season, you can take advantage of this technique even later in summer to grow a succession crop of tomatoes for fall harvest.

What You Need to Root Tomato Suckers

Rooting tomato suckers is simple and requires only a few basic supplies that you likely already have in your kitchen or garden shed.

You will need:

• Healthy tomato suckers from an established plant.
• Sharp pruning shears or scissors for taking cuttings.
• A clean jar or glass filled with water.
• Small containers or pots for transplanting the rooted cuttings.
• Fresh potting mix for growing the young plants.

If you prefer, tomato cuttings can also be rooted directly in moist potting soil or in your garden bed, rather than in water. However, rooting them in water lets you easily see when roots form before transplanting.

How to Root Tomato Suckers in Water

Rooting tomato suckers in water is one of the easiest ways to propagate new tomato plants. Tomato stems form roots naturally when placed in water, making the process simple and requiring very little equipment.

Choose a dry day to trim or prune your tomato plants so the cut area can heal quickly, reducing the chance of disease entering the plant.

Follow these steps to grow new tomato plants from cuttings.

Step 1: Choose Healthy Tomato Suckers

Select healthy shoots growing between the main stem and branches of the tomato plant. Look for suckers that are about 3 to 5 inches long with no signs of disease or damage.

Use clean pruning shears or scissors to snip the sucker from the vine. Making a clean cut helps reduce stress on the plant and encourages faster rooting.

Step 2: Prepare the Cuttings

Remove the lower leaves from the cutting, leaving only a few at the top. This helps the plant focus its energy on producing roots instead of supporting excess foliage.
Place the cutting in a jar or glass filled with warm water so that the bare portion of the stem is submerged.

Step 3: Allow Roots to Develop

Freshly cut tomato stems may wilt slightly during the first day or two. This is normal and usually resolves as the cutting adjusts.

Keep the jar out of direct sunlight for the first few days while the cutting recovers. Once the leaves perk up again, move the jar to a bright location or return it to a shaded outdoor area.

Within about a week, you should begin to see small new roots forming along the stem.

Step 4: Change the Water Regularly

Change the water every few days to keep it fresh and well oxygenated. Use lukewarm water to avoid shocking the developing roots.

As the roots continue to grow, the cutting will begin to look more like a young tomato plant.

Step 5: Transplant the Rooted Cuttings

Once the roots reach about 1 inch long, the cutting is ready to be planted in soil.

I like to transplant rooted tomato cuttings into containers first. This makes it easier to monitor watering and protect the young plants while they adjust to growing in soil.

Water the plants well after transplanting and keep the soil consistently moist while the roots continue developing.

Step 6: Harden Off and Move to the Garden

After the new tomato plants begin producing fresh growth, gradually introduce them to full sunlight. This process, known as hardening off, helps prevent transplant shock

When the plants are ready, transplant them into the garden or larger containers and provide a trellis or support for the vines to grow on so the plants stay healthy and productive.

Because the weather is already warm, these newly rooted tomato plants often grow quickly and may even catch up to the original plant.

Frequently Asked Questions About Rooting Tomato Suckers

Since this article was first published in 2016, many readers have had questions about rooting tomato suckers and propagating tomato plants from cuttings. Here are a few of the most common questions and answers.

How Long Do Tomato Cuttings Take to Root?

Tomato cuttings root surprisingly quickly. In warm conditions, you will usually see small white roots forming along the stem within 5 to 10 days after placing the cutting in water.

The exact timing depends on temperature, light, and the health of the cutting. During the warm summer months, tomato suckers often root faster because the plants are actively growing.

Once the roots reach about 1 inch long, the cutting is ready to be transplanted into potting soil or planted in the garden. At this stage, the young tomato plant will begin establishing a stronger root system and producing new growth.

Can You Grow Tomatoes from Cuttings Instead of Seeds?

Yes, tomatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow from cuttings. Tomato stems naturally develop roots, which makes it possible to propagate tomatoes simply by placing a healthy cutting in water or moist soil.

Growing tomatoes from cuttings is essentially a way of cloning a tomato plant. The new plant will be genetically identical to the parent plant and will produce the same type of fruit.

While most start tomatoes from seed in early spring, propagating tomato plants from suckers later in the season can be a great way to grow additional plants or extend the harvest.

Can you Clone Tomato Stems or Only Suckers?

You can clone both tomato stems and tomato suckers. Suckers are commonly used because they grow between the main stem and branches and can be removed without affecting the plant’s fruit production as much. However, any healthy tomato stem with leaves can be rooted using the same process to grow a new plant.

What Growing Zones Can You Root Tomato Suckers for a Second Crop?

Rooting tomato suckers for a second crop works best in areas with a long enough growing season for the new plants to mature before the first frost.

In cooler climates like USDA Zone 5 or Zone 6, transplanting rooted cuttings into the garden by the end of June usually gives them enough time to grow and produce tomatoes before fall frost. If you are in warmer zones, you may be able to start later and enjoy a longer harvest.

Grow More Tomatoes from the Plants You Already Have

Rooting tomato suckers is a simple way to grow new tomato plants from the ones already thriving in your garden. Instead of discarding those extra shoots when pruning, you can turn them into productive plants with just a jar of water and a little patience.

Because tomato stems root so easily, propagating tomatoes from cuttings is a great way to experiment with growing additional plants for free. These new plants often grow quickly in the warm summer weather and can provide a fresh round of blossoms and fruit later in the season.

Even if you only root a few suckers, it’s a fun way to make the most of your tomato plants. With very little effort, you may end up with a bonus harvest of homegrown tomatoes just when your garden needs it most.

Good planning is key to a successful vegetable garden

Whether you are new to growing your own food or have been growing a vegetable garden for years, you will benefit from some planning each year. You will find everything you need to organize and plan your vegetable garden in my PDF eBook, Grow a Good Life Guide to Planning Your Vegetable Garden.