Not sure you can effectively "tame" a cherry tomato :-)) Most types are indeterminate and can get huge!! Because of limited space and sun, I grow mine in containers and they still reach 7-8' tall and quite wide. You will need a large container to accommodate a big root system for such a big plant - I use a 20G size pot - and a sturdy suppport. I use the largest tomato cages I can find that will fit that size container (about 6' tall) and the plants still manage to outgrow it!

You need to be careful about pruning. Most of the flowers are produced at the lateral branch ends so you can't really shorten much.

Most cherry varieties are not suited for "small planting spaces". How bout choosing something more suitable to your limited garden space. I suggest growing Husky Cherry Red. No taming required. Can easily be grown in a container. Mine get to be 3-4' tall in the raised beds. You could probably grow several in the same space required for one of the more vigorous habit varieties.

Shell

There are determinate cherry varieties to choose from. Choose one of those and you should not have as much of an issue.

I prefer indeterminate cherry varieties in my high tunnels for long season (May-Nov) harvesting. Tomorrow may be my last harvest for the season since last farmers’ market is this Friday (Nov. 17). Most of mine are lowered 3 times during the season by lowering stringlines, often 3 feet at each lowering. So 15-18 ft. cherry plants is normal.

" but my cherry tomato became literally out of control. I need to tame it somehow. I suppose pruning it is another way, but I always miss the proper timing for pruning."

Agree with all of the above. But you don't name the cherry variety and that is the real issue. Most are by nature huge plants and growing out of control is their norm. They aren't intended for limited space and will often simply die if overly confined. So if size control is your predominate goal then find a different variety. Check out Sprite and Elfin for starters.

But few determinate cherry varieties are sold as plants so you will likely have to grow them from seed. And while browsing seeds you'll also discover many much better determinate varieties than Celebrity. For starters:

https://store.tomatofest.com/Determinate_Tomatoes_s/53.htm

Dave

You can prune cherries anytime. When it gets too big, hack it off. The plant will tend to bush out a bit. Agree that containers aren't the best strategy for maximum production, but then, you aren't asking for maximum production.

Thank you, all. I will try to contain my cherry tomato plant by planting in a large container and pruning it often.

I get more than enough tomatoes from two plants since my husband and I are empty nesters now. I need to figure out what to do with extra, instead of letting them rot on the kitchen counter or the vines. I do give a lot of them away at work, but taking the time to harvest all the veggies every morning before work can be rather time consuming. I wish I can donate them to some worthy causes.

There used to be a great organization in town that went around planting a patch for elderly people and collecting extra for places like a food bank or a soup kitchen. They don't seem to be active any more...