I wouldn't prune anything off of those. Given their appearance, they are already heavily stressed and are going to have more than enough problems just surviving transplanting. At that size and age they don't need the additional stress of pruning.

Can I ask why plants this old and this far along are just now going into the garden? Do you have other normal size/age transplants to use if these don't make it?

Dave

Dave, thanks for your advice! They look stressed because the pic was taken at the end of a hot day. I water in the morning. I live in zone 5b, so this is the first week I could put these in the ground. I purchased them this size from the nursery. Should I buy smaller plants next time? I had no idea there was a "normal" size/age for transplant. My thought was to get the biggest plants to they will be closer to producing, given our shorter summer season.

Do you think I should still bury 2/3 of the plant in the ground?

No. Rules that specific shouldn't be that specific. Assume you have harshly root bound tomatoes. When you plant the things, any part of the tom above the roots and below the garden surface will grow new roots. Plant them at the existing pot soil line, at the point where you have the twist tie in the first pic, or anywhere in between. You have more than one plant; try some depth variation to see how little or how big a difference it will make.

Like they said above, don't bother to prune anything; you are going to be growing an insanely bushy vine that will only be set back if you remove food producing parts. Just water deeply, perhaps flood with some weak fish fertilizer or manure tea at transplant time, cage them now if you have the cages, and leave them otherwise be.

Should you buy smaller plants next time? Oh, my yes. Most of us shoot for 6" tall transplants but no more than 8-10" tall max. And preferably with no blooms much less no fruit on them. These plants shouldn't have even been offered for sale IMO as they are well past transplanting age and honestly, if it were me I try to return them and insist on a refund.

If not, how deep a hole can you dig in the garden? It is too big to trench in so it will have to go in deep. Try to make it deep enough to bury all the two bare stems right up to just a couple of inches below the first set of leaves? If not go as deep as you possibly can. Hopefully new roots will develop along all those buried stems and give the plant a chance.

Wishing you luck with them.

Dave

Edited to add that Grubby's post wasn't up yet when I was typing. Sorry but I strongly disagree with planting at the current soil line. All those bare exposed stems serve no useful purpose as is but can possibly contribute to the future health of the plant if buried.

While burying tomatos deeply is generally the rule, what one is generally burying is very young stem that is covered with rooting hair. These tomatoes are so big, I suspect at least the lower stem is solid, mature, and unlikely to root. I guess it can't hurt to bury them deeply, but I wouldn't count on any root formation out of these lower stems. Those bare exposed lower stems indeed serve no useful purpose as is, and probably won't if you bury them as well. Maybe if you bury them deep enough, roots will develop from the upper half? If you're in 5B (how hot can it be getting?), and these tomatoes are looking stressed after being watered the same day, they are in bad shape.

I have to wonder if these plants are ones left over from last year that have been sitting in a greenhouse. Looks to me like newer growth on old stems. Dave is exactly right. You should be buying plants 6-12 inches tall, whether you're going to transplant or keep in a container.

Those plants already have been pruned more than enough.
As far as the question " How Deep tp Plant Them ?" I still say the same thing:: JUST INCH OR SO SHORTER THAN THE BUCKET.
Actually, come to think of it, probably your garden soil does not have good fertile soil much deeper than 15".

Sey

The more I look at those poor plants the more I want to say "don't waste your time and work" on them. Buy some healthy normal transplants now, while they are still available, for your garden.

Dave

One good thing about bare stem, is that it keeps the lower leaves further away from the soil, which can encourage disease. I would however assume those plants are pretty badly rootbound, but also that stem looks very woody and unlikely to readily sprout new roots.