Tomato plant growing too tall - can I prune to limit height? (zone 5 window plant)

[amyamanda]

I have a cherry tomato growing in a south-facing window. The top of the plant is now crushed against the ceiling and insists on trying to grow upward even though I've encouraged it to droop to the side. Can I prune the vertical tip off the branch and hope the horizontal shoots will become more primary to the plant's growth? I don't want to stunt the plant...but neither do I want it crushed against the ceiling, YK?

This is an experiment; I want to see if I can grow cherry tomatoes indoors and keep the plant thriving all winter. I'd love some input. Thanks.

[Sundance_11]

I can't see why not...but I'm not a pro!!
Are you "suckering" it (pruning everything that grows out of a crotch)? That should help encourage it not to grow so tall....

Melanie

P.S. please keep us updated with what you do and the progress!

[lunita1]

Hmmm. Well, in a greenhouse tomatoes are typically pruned and trained to one leader, and as they get tall they are led back down to the grown and up and again. I think we did this in horticulture class by tying them to strings hanging from the ceiling.

I think that no matter what you do it is going to outgrow the space. Cherry tomatoes tend to get taller than 8 feet in a single season, and plants grown in low light conditions (which an indoor plant is -- the light through a window is always less intense than direct sunlight, so it ends up being a lot like growing it in the shade) get lankier than the same plants grown in full sun. Topping it is just going to make it bushier, and the secondary leaders would eventually get too tall as well. Pruning it and making it "behave" might be more successful?

Good luck, whatever you decide.