{"id":5016,"date":"2026-10-10T17:52:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T17:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=5016"},"modified":"2026-10-10T19:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T19:25:08","slug":"more-flowers-and-weak-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/more-flowers-and-weak-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Drought Stress in Tomatoes: More Flowers but Weak Plants?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-auto kksr-align-left kksr-valign-top\"\n    data-payload='{&quot;align&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;5016&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;valign&quot;:&quot;top&quot;,&quot;ignore&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;reference&quot;:&quot;auto&quot;,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;count&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;legendonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;readonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;starsonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;best&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;gap&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;greet&quot;:&quot;Share your rating&quot;,&quot;legend&quot;:&quot;0\\\/5 - (0 votes)&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Drought Stress in Tomatoes: More Flowers but Weak Plants?&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;_legend&quot;:&quot;{score}\\\/{best} - ({count} {votes})&quot;,&quot;font_factor&quot;:&quot;1.25&quot;}'>\n            \n<div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 0px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                \n\n<div class=\"kksr-legend\" style=\"font-size: 19.2px;\">\n            <span class=\"kksr-muted\">Share your rating<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"tldr-box\" style=\"background: #f4f9f4; padding: 20px; border-left: 5px solid #4CAF50; margin-bottom: 30px; border-radius: 4px;\">\n<h3>\ud83d\udccc Quick Summary: The &#8220;Drought&#8221; Experiment &amp; Generative Steering<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udfdc\ufe0f <strong>The &#8220;No Water&#8221; Myth:<\/strong> A popular piece of internet gardening advice claims you shouldn&#8217;t water tomatoes after transplanting until the 3rd flower truss blooms to encourage deep roots. Growers discuss why trying this during a heatwave is a surefire way to get weak, spindly plants.<\/li>\n<li>\u2696\ufe0f <strong>Generative vs. Vegetative:<\/strong> Pushing a tomato into &#8220;generative&#8221; growth (via drought stress) does create a massive amount of blossoms. But if the plant lacks &#8220;vegetative&#8221; growth (strong stems and foliage), it won&#8217;t have the energy to actually size up the fruit.<\/li>\n<li>\u2702\ufe0f <strong>Topping Oxhearts:<\/strong> A happy accident with topping (snipping off the growing tip) of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/german-pink-strawberry\/\"><em>German Red Strawberry<\/em><\/a> seedlings proved that planting oxhearts out <em>before<\/em> their flowers open helps them build a strong root system, leading to a much longer harvest season.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf31 <strong>The Miracle Volunteer:<\/strong> Despite all the complex rules, a random &#8220;volunteer&#8221; tomato popped up in the yard, hasn&#8217;t received a drop of water since May 9th, and is thriving in the scorching heat completely untouched!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"add-review-cta\" style=\"margin: 20px 0; padding: 15px; background: #f9f9f9; border-left: 4px solid #4CAF50; border-radius: 4px;\"><strong>\ud83d\udcac Have you ever tried stressing your tomatoes to get more flowers?<\/strong> <a href=\"#wpdcom\">Drop your results in the comments below!<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">V<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Valtwelve (Valery) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (1,847 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Between Samara &amp; Ufa (USDA Zone 4a) | \ud83d\udcc5 August 25, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Russi wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\n&#8230;I just can&#8217;t eat another salad, nor another tomato or cucumber, I just can&#8217;t fit any more food in.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Your body is just prepping for winter! \ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">A<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Aleksan9ra (Ludmila) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (15,056 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region (USDA Zone 4b) | \ud83d\udcc5 August 25, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Valtwelve wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nYour body is just prepping for winter! \ud83d\ude06<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Hey Valera! How&#8217;s it going? Are you happy with your experiments, or would you do things differently? Which varieties are making the cut for next season?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">V<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Valtwelve (Valery) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (1,847 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Between Samara &amp; Ufa (USDA Zone 4a) | \ud83d\udcc5 August 25, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Aleksan9ra wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nAre you happy with your experiments&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I\u2019d call them less of an experiment and more of a real-world field test of the theory I was reading up on over the winter.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the biggest takeaway so far:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Don&#8217;t blindly follow Yuri Kuzminykh&#8217;s advice on withholding water.<\/strong> He claims you shouldn&#8217;t water transplants until the 3rd flower truss is almost open. If you do this during hot weather, the plants aggressively shift into <em>generative mode<\/em>. Sure, you get a ton of blossoms, but the main stems get super spindly and the whole plant just gets weak. This method might work for some commercial hybrids, but definitely NOT for pink oxheart varieties!<\/p>\n<p>I actually had to snip off a blooming truss and bump up the watering just to save the plants and force some vegetative growth (more foliage). Starving them of water to drive roots deep is fine if you&#8217;re having a cool spring and the ground is already soaked. But you absolutely cannot pull that off during a heatwave like we had this year. You gotta read the plant!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">S<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">SvetaR (Svetlana) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Master (27,477 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region (USDA Zone 4b) | \ud83d\udcc5 August 25, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Valtwelve wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nDon&#8217;t blindly follow Yuri Kuzminykh&#8217;s advice&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I would&#8217;ve just put a hard stop right after that first sentence! Sorry for chiming in.<\/p>\n<p>I completely agree with your bottom line:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Valtwelve wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nYou gotta read the plant!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">V<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Valtwelve (Valery) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (1,847 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Between Samara &amp; Ufa (USDA Zone 4a) | \ud83d\udcc5 August 25, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p><strong>2. No experiment is a waste.<\/strong> I did this seemingly pointless test where I topped (snipped the heads off) my <em>German Red Strawberry<\/em> seedlings to let them regrow. Ended up making a super interesting discovery!Because they got topped, flower bud development got delayed. When I finally planted them out, they only had these tiny, dormant buds on pause. Thanks to that, the plants focused 100% of their energy on pushing roots and foliage. Eventually, both plants set multiple trusses, and they are STILL growing and pumping out fruit as we speak! Usually, this variety gives me 2 giant clusters, totally taps itself out, and dies early.<\/p>\n<p>I basically proved to myself by accident that pink oxhearts need to go into the ground either with zero buds, or just as the very first microscopic bud shows up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">V<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Valtwelve (Valery) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (1,847 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Between Samara &amp; Ufa (USDA Zone 4a) | \ud83d\udcc5 August 25, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>SvetaR wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nI would&#8217;ve just put a hard stop right after that first sentence! Sorry for chiming in.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Are you saying I shouldn&#8217;t post about my screw-ups? Is it boring to read?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">G<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">gala7496 (Galina) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (2,474 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udcc5 August 25, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Valtwelve wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nIs it boring to read?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Not at all, it&#8217;s super interesting! Keep it coming, Valery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">S<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">SvetaR (Svetlana) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Master (27,477 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region (USDA Zone 4b) | \ud83d\udcc5 August 25, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Valtwelve wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nAre you saying I shouldn&#8217;t post about my screw-ups? Is it boring to read?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>No, no, I was just sharing my personal opinion on Yuri Kuzminykh and his cult following.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">V<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Valtwelve (Valery) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (1,847 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Between Samara &amp; Ufa (USDA Zone 4a) | \ud83d\udcc5 August 26, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>SvetaR wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nNo, no, I was just sharing my personal opinion on Yuri Kuzminykh and his cult following.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To be fair, Yuri&#8217;s info isn&#8217;t technically wrong, and he did warn that extreme generative growth would happen. But that\u2019s his experience, and now I\u2019ve got my own to put on the record.<\/p>\n<p>Turns out, drought stress really DOES boost the flower count per truss and the overall number of blooming clusters. But the toll it takes on the plant can be brutal. The plant gets so weak that all those extra blossoms end up dropping without setting fruit anyway.<\/p>\n<p>On the flip side, check out the pic below. This is a volunteer tomato (seed dropped last year that sprouted on its own). No clue what variety it is. Hasn&#8217;t had a single drop of water from me. We\u2019ve had brutal heat from May 9th until yesterday, without a single decent rainstorm. Yet this thing just keeps chugging along, completely untouched! Took this pic today.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin: 10px 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2021_08\/1069568428_26_08.jpg.365ef40275b3f658f85727513b781819.jpg\" alt=\"Volunteer tomato surviving drought\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"editor-note\" class=\"editor-note\" style=\"background: #eef7ff; padding: 20px; border-left: 5px solid #2196F3; margin-top: 25px; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.6; border-radius: 0 4px 4px 0;\">\n<h4 style=\"margin-top: 0; color: #1565c0;\">\ud83d\udc68\u200d\ud83d\udd2c Editor&#8217;s Botanical Note: Generative Steering &amp; The &#8220;Guru&#8221; Effect<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Who is Yuri Kuzminykh?<\/strong><br \/>\nMentioned in the thread above, Yuri is a popular and somewhat polarizing figure in the Russian-speaking gardening community\u2014much like certain famous YouTube gardeners in the West. He is famous for advocating highly aggressive <em>Crop Steering<\/em> techniques. His signature advice is to withhold water for weeks after transplanting to force the roots deep into the soil and trigger a massive reproductive panic (generative growth).<\/p>\n<p>While his methods can produce record-breaking yields in specific climates, this thread highlights the danger of blindly following &#8220;guru&#8221; advice without reading your own plants.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Science: Generative vs. Vegetative Growth<\/strong><br \/>\nTomato plants are constantly balancing two modes of growth:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udf3f <strong>Vegetative Growth:<\/strong> Focusing energy on building thick stems, large leaves, and deep roots.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf45 <strong>Generative Growth:<\/strong> Focusing energy on reproduction (pushing out flowers and ripening fruit).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Growers can &#8220;steer&#8221; the plant into generative mode by introducing stress (like withholding water, dropping temperatures, or restricting root space). The stressed plant thinks it might die, so it panics and produces a massive amount of flowers to pass on its genes!<\/p>\n<p>However, as Valery perfectly noted, if you push a plant too hard into generative growth during a heatwave, it won&#8217;t have enough leaves (vegetative structure) to shade the fruit or photosynthesize enough energy to actually size up the tomatoes. The result? A spindly, weak plant that drops its blossoms. <em>Balance is key!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udccc Quick Summary: The &#8220;Drought&#8221; Experiment &amp; Generative Steering \ud83c\udfdc\ufe0f The &#8220;No Water&#8221; Myth: A popular piece of internet gardening advice claims you shouldn&#8217;t water tomatoes after transplanting until the 3rd flower truss blooms to encourage deep roots. Growers discuss why trying this during a heatwave is a surefire way to get weak, spindly plants. &#8230; <a title=\"Drought Stress in Tomatoes: More Flowers but Weak Plants?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/more-flowers-and-weak-plants\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Drought Stress in Tomatoes: More Flowers but Weak Plants?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[529],"tags":[1243],"class_list":["post-5016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-tomatoes","tag-drought-stress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5016"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5025,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5016\/revisions\/5025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}