The plant needs time to transition from a shady cool location to a bright sunny one, you have to expose it little by little to the sun, so it can get used to the heat of the sun or else it will go into shock and dry up

The plant needs time to transition from a shady cool location to a bright sunny one, you have to expose it little by little to the sun, so it can get used to the heat of the sun or else it will go into shock and dry up

It needs a bigger pot ( I'd pot it up into at least a 3 gallon pot for now). And put it in a semi-shady spot. How long was it in the warehouse? It is stressful to put it out in direct sun after being inside. You have to introduce it to full sun a little at a time. They are fussy about watering. Too much or too little or too often bothers them. I still haven't gotten it down pat. Especially after it rains.

Agreed on it needing to be transitioned slowly into sunlight. But the thing that struck me was that it was a big plant for such a little pot. If you have a place in the ground that you plan to put it, you might be able to limp it along for a week while you're getting it used to the sun, but if you plan to keep it in a pot on your patio, you'll need to get at minimum a 5-gallon paint bucket (drill holes in the bottom), but ideally a container at least twice that size.

It's probably really root-bound at this point, so potting it up to a bigger pot should be your first priority if you want to save it. Buy some Miracle Grow (or other brand) Potting MIX (not "potting soil" or "garden soil" -- read the bag because neither of those will work well in a pot) and get it into a bigger pot (gently break up the roots a little so they don't keep growing in a little circle), then put the plant into dappled sun or part-shade. Or go slowly with full sun if you're home to move it around -- an hour or two of sun, then back into shade, an hour or two of sun, etc. Increase the sun time a little each day until it doesn't wilt in the sun anymore.

I think you can definitely save it, though! I doesn't look too far gone from the photo you posted.

Did it have any tags on it that say what variety it it? If you tell us that, we can give you even more details about what to expect from it.

Good luck!

Kathy

YEAH ! Just as already mentioned:

-- harden it off more
-- Repot it into a bigger container (if you intend to raise it in container)

Then follow up with normal watering and fertilizing.
Thats all there is to it.

thanks for the messages guys, i have no idea how long it was in the warehouse my husband does not even know, and i thought it might be going through shock, but the problem here is that right now i am living in an apartment and so my only option is to put it in a pot, what size pot is ideal for this plant? i will be moving to a house in a few months, but for now i would like my plant to be comfortable. how often do you guys water your tomatoes? and if it helps any to know i do live in aa area that gets really hot in the summer.

what size pot is ideal for this plant? how often do you guys water your tomatoes?

Since you don't know what the variety is there is no way to know how big it will get or what size pot is "ideal" so a lot of this will be guess work.

The minimum recommended size container is a 5 gallon bucket. Bigger is much better for the plant and less work caring for it. So get the biggest container you can afford to buy and fill with a good quality soil-less potting mix (no soil). Then transplant it. If it survives that, buy a big tomato cage and a 5' stake for the pot.

Watering is "as-the-plant-needs-it" which can mean every 3-4 days some places or often means daily in some hot climates, less often in other climates. Take that wood dowel in the pot and stick it in the new pot 6-8" deep and use it to check the moisture level at the root level to know when to water.

Buy some water-soluble fertilizer and feed it a 1/2 strength dose once every 7-10 days.

Good luck.

Dave

I have extras here in Vacaville. You are welcome to them!