Your Tomato Plants Flowering But Not Fruiting – 6 Reasons Why and What to Do
Most people enjoy tomatoes in one form or another, which makes it the perfect fruit for both beginner and seasoned gardeners to want to grow in their vegetable gardens or as a one off edible plant. However, it can be frustrating when your tomato plant flowers, but fails to produce fruit.
Understanding why your tomato plant is flowering, but no fruit is forming can help you to be more successful with your next crop of tomatoes or even correct the problem with your current crop in time to grow healthy produce.
So, why do tomato plants bloom but no fruit forms?
There are several reasons why your tomato plant may be flowering but not setting fruits, and these include pollination problem, improper nutrition, improper watering and lack of adequate sunlight. Furthermore, things such as pest infestation or disease can prevent fruit from forming on your tomato plant.
Keep reading for more detailed explanations and what you can do about the problem.
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A Bit of Basic Information About Tomato Plants
Tomato plants are self-pollinating plants, which means that the flowers of these plants contain both male and female parts with the male part of the flower releasing pollen to pollinate the female part of the plant.
However, the male part of the flower does need a little help from birds, bees or a gentle breeze to release its pollen.
In addition, tomato plants like all plants need proper food and water to grow healthy and produce fruit.
My Tomato Plants Have Flowers But No Fruit – The Reasons Why and What to Do
Here is a look at some of the reasons why a tomato plant may flower, but produce no fruit and what can be done about the problem.
#1. Lack of Pollination
The number one reason why tomato plants may flower without producing fruit is due to lack of pollination. There can be several reasons why your plant may not be pollinated and here are some of the reasons.
A Decline in Bee Population
When bees travel from flower to flower to gather pollen to make honey the vibration of their wings causes the male part of the flower to release pollen that falls on the female part of the plant.
A lack of bees in your area due to pesticides or lack of flowering plants may affect your tomato plant’s ability to self-pollinate.
What You Can Do
You can increase your bee population by reducing the use of pesticides and planting flowers that will attract birds and bees to your garden. You can also hand pollinate your plants.
Extreme Temperatures
Another reason why your tomato plant may not be getting pollinated is due to extreme temperatures.
If your daytime temperatures tend to stay 86 degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period of time or if the nighttime temperatures are below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, then pollination will not occur.
What You Can Do
Hand pollinating your plants can help, but in order for hand pollinating to work during a heat wave, you will want to pollinate during the coolest part of the day (usually early morning.) During cooler temperatures you should hand pollinate during the warmest part of the day.
Humidity Levels
Another reason for lack of pollination is due to humidity levels. If humidity levels are too high, the male part of the plant can’t release its pollen.
If humidity levels are too low, the male part of the plant will release pollen, but the pollen won’t stick to the female part of the plant.
What You Can Do
You may be able to change the humidity levels for your plant by making sure that your plant has the right amount of water.
How to Hand Pollinate Your Tomato Plants
To hand pollinate your tomato plant, you need to make the flower vibrate. You can use an electric toothbrush or a tuning fork to cause a vibration much like bees’ wings in order to vibrate the flower.
You can also use a stick to gently vibrate or move the flower to help release the pollen.
Other Reasons Why Your Tomato Plant May Not Bear Fruit
There are several other reasons why your tomato plant may flower, but not bear fruit.
#2. Improper Nutrients
If your tomato plant lacks proper nutrients or have a nutrient imbalance, your plant is not likely to bear fruit and may even fail to flower.
A nutrient imbalance such as too much nitrogen in your soil can cause a lack of fruit. This is because nitrogen is a nutrient that helps your plant to grow green and when there is too much nitrogen the plant may continue to grow instead of bearing fruit.
In addition, the lack of nutrients overall can prevent the plant from growing properly or bearing fruit.
What You Can Do
To correct this problem, you need to test and correct the PH balance of your soil.
#3. Lack of Sunlight
If your tomato plants are in a portion of your garden that does not get adequate sunlight, your tomato plant is less likely to bear fruit.
What You Can Do
There is little you can do to correct the amount of sunlight in the area where your tomato plants are growing except to wait until next year and plant your new tomato plants in a sunnier place.
However, if you are growing your tomato in pots, you can move them to a location where your plants can get enough sunlight.
#4. Improper Watering
Another reason why your tomato plants may not be forming and growing fruit is due to the plants being watered improperly.
If you water your plants too much, then the roots of the plant will rot and eventually the plant will die. If the plants don’t get enough water, then the plant will become stressed and won’t be able to grow fruit.
What You Can Do
The best way to make sure your plants get the right amount of water is to check by hand your soil several inches down to see if the soil is too wet or too dry. You also want to make sure that you watch the weather and don’t want to water when rain is due.
#5. Pests
Tomato plants that are subjected to pests such as Aphids or tomato worms can become too stressed to produce fruit or even to live.
What You Can Do
Keeping pests away from your plants by removing tomato worms and destroying Aphid infected plants to prevent further infestation may help the remaining plants to grow healthy.
#6. Disease
Tomato plants can be stricken by a number of diseases.
What You Can Do
The best way to protect your plants from disease is to purchase disease resistant tomatoes and rotate your garden crops each season so that your plants are not growing in the same area year after year.
Final Thoughts on Tomato Plants Flowering But No Fruits
One way of helping to ensure that your tomato plants both flower and bear fruit is to make sure that you purchase the right variety of tomato for the growing conditions of where you live.
Growing healthy fruit bearing tomato plants is matter of taking care of your plants and learning how to recognize what your plant needs and making the necessary corrections.
