Yes pruning isn't ever necessary, Glad you learned that and I assume all pruning has ceased?. ;) Pruning of any part of the plant is only an option for some situations. So called "suckers" do not suck energy from plants and are often the primary source of fruit production.

By pruning off the leaves you have removed the plant's primary source of photosynthesis, it's method of producing the energy it needs to grow and reproduce. It also exposes the fruit to sun scald.

So we need to see pics of the plants as already mentioned to determine how bad the situation is. Hopefully some leaves remain to tide it over until some new growth can develop.

Dave

I'll post some pictures soon. Thank you both for your responses. Yes, all pruning has ceased. This is my 2nd year gardening, it's a learning process that is so rewarding. One skill I haven't mastered yet...patience! I think that's why I pruned in the first place.

Well, for container plants, pruning might be wise, to keep the plant sized well for the container. We often see HUGE plants sprouting out of tiny pots, which you just know isn't going to end well. Pruning will inevitably reduce productivity, IF the containers can support that productivity in the first place. But if they can't support that productivity, then you're doing your plants a favor by pruning them.

Even in that case it wouldn't be the leaf branches that would be the focus of the pruning Dan as it is in this case. And rather than keeping "the plant sized well for the container" one should instead focus on insuring the container is properly sized for the plant. ;-)

Dave

True enough, Dave. But often container growers seriously underestimate the size of mature plants. It gets HOW big??? We routinely hear about people planting cherry tomatoes in one-gallon pots. I mean, they're just little tomatoes, so they're little plants, right?

Very true. Always pays to do at least some minimum research before planting.

Dave

Well they are a little bare ;-) but if you can provide them with some shade to keep the fruit from getting sunburned and rotting they may be ok once some new growth develops. You could drape some light weight row cover or shade cloth over them for protection. I'd also pick them as soon as they begin to turn color and let them finish inside out of the direct sun.

The tomato in the first pic looks like it might have BER though. Can't see the bottom well enough to be sure.

Don't know what size those pots are but next year I'd put the tomatoes in the ground and the flowers in the pots instead. Flowers do fine in pots, tomatoes not so much.

Dave

Where are you growing?

Thank you for the responses. The pots are 2 gallons. I live in Northeast Ohio within 2 miles of Lake Erie. My soil isn't very good so I decided to try containers which are doing better than the in ground.

Few things I going to do next year:

- Improve my soil quality

- No pruning

- Larger pots

I'll have to look into what BER is.

Add containers that are 4x as big as those 2 gallons ones too. 5 gallons is the minimum size and then only for the small or dwarf varieties. 10 gallons for the indeterminates. But it would be cheaper to just improve your soil so you could plant them in ground.

Dave

digdirt2: But it would be cheaper to just improve your soil so you could plant them in ground.

I agree. Unless your soil is diseased, has some crazy pH, or is ALL clay with zero drainage, plants will be more resilient in the ground in your area, even in unimproved soil. You would just need to be more generous with the fertilizer than someone with more fertile soil until you do improve your soil more. But container tomatoes require constant fertilizing anyway, so its not as though growing in containers is an automatic improvement over poor soil. A lot of people who are beginners are under the mistaken impression that they shouldn't need to fertilize in-ground plants. That's false. It depends on the fertility of your soil, and most people who grow in ground fertilize regularly, especially with fruiting vegetables. Those who don't expend a lot of effort constantly adding organic matter to their soil over a long period of time.

Still better than mine! I was checking for a similar thread and came across this.. I don't know how to revive the foliage here. Just looks sad and I feel so guilty!