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Pruning tomato plants #937050

Asked June 28, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

How do you prune an overgrown tomato plant

Montgomery County Maryland

Expert Response

Here are 2 links on tomatoes from the UnMD https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-tomatoes-home-garden/ https://extension.umd.edu/resource/key-common-problems-tomatoes/ For pruning tomatoes, please see: https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/pruning-tomatoes-home-garden I watched the video from this site and it looks good. The only addition I would make is to prune all leaves and suckers from ground level to about 1ft and any higher leaves touching the ground. This will also help prevent soil diseases from splashing onto the plant. Also, adding some mulch under the plant will also reduce splashing. There are also many videos on pruning tomatoes on YouTube. Trust the ones from .edu, .gov or .org sites which are all vetted. Good luck Len

Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied June 29, 2026, 11:32 AM EDT

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This work is supported in part by New Technologies for Ag Extension grant no. 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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