The Tamarillo ( tree tomato ) video, what I'm doing to try and encourage my largest ones to flower

[@Coolclimatetropicalfruits]

Brett and the bean stalk 😂 that’s what it looks like lol

[@lyonheart84]

Haha they did get a bit out of hand last year

[@jamestropicals8262]

Holy molly those are SO TALL! 😮

[@lyonheart84]

Haha James they were much taller before Winter, I cut them back to fit my shed. Now I've cut them back hard I think they'll take off again by July

[@EssayonsFG]

Great to get the update on the tamarillos, Brett. We have thought about adding those to our garden at some point in the future.

[@lyonheart84]

Very frost tender so definitely one for the greenhouse in winter Rob, but very simple to grow from seed

[@mr.v3061]

Great to see the progress! I pruned my 3 tamarillo's in the beginning of April. I did keep them a little bit higher than yours, but it's about the same. Mine were already in a bigger pot since last summer. Right now all 3 of them have flower buds! None are open yet. The leaves are still small. Good luck :)

[@lyonheart84]

I've left it late to re-pot them and prune them because I just havent had time to do them plus I was waiting to get the new pots lol. I had so many hardy trees that I has to do first because of the season and also I did most of the other tropicals first. I fear that it might take a long time before the shoots re-grow so I'm really hoping it will trigger flowering this time. I think once they've flowered once they have hormonal flowering 'memory' and will carry on regardless

[@mr.v3061]

@@lyonheart84 lmao, never heard those words before, but it does make sense i guess. Yea, i believe they will flower late this summer + fruit next year. No problem that you fixed other plants first. Would have done the same then.

[@lyonheart84]

Yes plants carry specific hormones once they reach maturity that trigger repeat flowering , that's why you can take a scion from a mature flowering plant, graft it onto a seedling rootstock and the scion will generally flower fairly soon after. Cuttings rooted from flowering trees also tend to flower quickly. Once your tamarillos have flowered the first time, they should consistently flower even if you chop them back. Mine of course have never flowered so the hormones havent kicked in yet, I'm hoping the 'butchery' might trigger it 🤞

[@garycard1456]

The flower buds will open very soon. Have a whiff of them; you'll find that they have a pleasant perfume-like aroma.

[@lyonheart84]

Glad they smell better than the burnt popcorn smell of the bruised leaves 😂😂

[@PeterEntwistle]

Wow, they were huge 😮 Hopefully, they will be a lot more manageable now they’ve been cut back!

[@lyonheart84]

The tallest one got to well over 8 feet by last September but still had no signs of flowers so I'm hoping this will stimulate flower bud protection on the new growth

[@UrbanBounty]

G'day Brett! It's amazing how many times I've been wondering about something in my garden and right on que you've uploaded my answer. Only hours ago I was wondering if I should top prune my tamarillos because they were chasing light and grew too long and thin. I think my climate is warmer than yours but closer to yours than the top end of Australia. I'll take the top of mine in spring, cheers

[@lyonheart84]

Morning ! You're considerably warmer than us in Summer but crucially also warmer than us in winter, these have to go indoors in our winters as they'd be black to the ground after 2 or 3 frosts so I need to trim them anyway. Even in my summerhouse they got some damage. In their native climate where they are grown commercially I've noticed they cut them back to 30cm straight after planting to force side shoots. The plants can take savage pruning so I'd say you can cut yours back as much as you want

[@daviedodds3050]

They seem to be a go large plant. Large leaves, quick thick trunk, & lots of roots in a short space of time. I don't think Jack the Ripper would trouble them. Lol

[@lyonheart84]

Yes quite vigorous growing but fairly shortlived, unfortunately for me also shy flowering so far 🤪🤪

[@daviedodds3050]

Repotting won't help with forced flowering will it?

[@lyonheart84]

It might as tamarillo in particular has a very rigorous root system and hate being pot bound. Some plants like citrus and figs do respond well to being root bound by flowering and fruiting as smaller plants. I think with tamarillo its age / climate related, I think here they need 3 years from seed normally to flower ( because of recovering from cold damage each year )

[@daviedodds3050]

@@lyonheart84 you learn something new every day. Lol

[@ashleythomas9221]

I think it’s because you keep pruning them what sets them back mine is in a big pot full sun wood chip on top about 6f about 2 years old and starting to flower hopefully yours will flower soon

[@lyonheart84]

Lol possibly Ashley but I had to prune them last autumn as they had got to at least 10 feet tall without flowering and had to fit into a 6 foot tall summerhouse for winter , I had no other options open to me 😂😂

[@ashleythomas9221]

@@lyonheart84 I wonder why there growing so tall ? And yes I see your point 10 f is a little big to put inside

[@lyonheart84]

Don't know, just vigorous growers for some reason or other. Might be genetics of this batch of seeds, not keen to flower young, that's life I guess 🤪🤪

[@gideondesouza8809]

LOVELY

[@lyonheart84]

I hope they will grow back well this Summer, I need a very hot July and August

[@gideondesouza8809]

@@lyonheart84 I left my 2 plants outside last year they didn’t manage to survive but I have 1plant maybe it will frower someday ..it’s all about the pleasure exotic growers get when u see the plays flower and fruit ☀️

[@lyonheart84]

Leaving then outside was very risky, they hate temperatures around freezing although I know somebody in London who’s tamarillo survived winter in the ground ! It’s now flowering as well 😱. Mine are always killed by frost but did reasonably ok in my summerhouse

[@gideondesouza8809]

@@lyonheart84 Flowering ???WOW does that person have any pictures or KZbin channel...would be great to have a glimpse:)

[@lyonheart84]

Yes they have a few videos, try searching for Moebius and see if his channel comes up, the plant must be 10 feet tall, but he’s lucky it wasn’t too cold in central London last winter, next year it might be wrecked completely

[@15shafique]

Why why why you need to blow your nose in front of camera ? I was eating something

[@lyonheart84]

Lol you shouldn't be eating when you should be concentrating on my video 😂😂. Sorry just demonstrating that I'm a normal human being that suffers from hayfever, not ideal for a gardening enthusiast 😂😂