Sterile Mr. Stripey?

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

Hi everyone, I'm quite new to growing tomatoes and this is my second year. I purchased a Mr. stripey among ten other tomato plants from Home Depot three weeks ago and I noticed that the flowers on the Mr. stripey are different than those on other tomato plants. The flowers are much larger in size and there are only two of them (see attached pic). After doing some research on the forum, I found that Mr. stripey is notorious for low production and there are many instances of "bull" plants. Could my Mr. stripey be one of the bull plants? What should I do with it? Should I replace it with another plant if there is no possibility of producing any tomatoes?

Thank you so much for your help. Happy gardening!

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Comments (5)

digdirt2
11 years ago
Can't tell from your photo but if those are terminal blooms (at the end of the branch) then yeah, I'd replace it. Mr. Stripey is well known for producing so-called "bull" plants as well as reverting to low-production determinate growth.

Dave
runwayred thanked digdirt2
runwayred
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you Dave! Yeah they are at the very top of the branch. I will replace them then. Will definitely do my homework before buying more tomatoes in the future.
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Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
11 years ago
But isn't Mr. Stripy indet ?

Sey
digdirt2
11 years ago
It is supposed to be but it is known for sometimes reverting to parent stock and or sterile plants.

Dave
aegis1000
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Touch an operating electric toothbrush to the back of the flowers to get them to release their pollen.

I used this trick last year and spurred a couple non-fruitful vines into producing 50 or so pound-size tomatoes.