Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Self-fertile and primarily self-pollinating — tomato flowers have both male and female parts that mature simultaneously, and ordinary wind or motion (often supplied by passing gardeners) is enough to shake pollen onto the receptive stigma. Buzz pollination by bumblebees noticeably improves fruit set when available, but the plant does not need cross-pollination from another tomato to produce fruit.

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Ripe fruit is the eaten part. The leaves, stems, and unripe (green, non-stem-side) fruit contain solanine and tomatine — glycoalkaloids that are toxic in quantity. The amounts in any one bite of leaf are not life-threatening to an adult, but they are real and worth knowing about when a curious kid pulls leaves off the plant.

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

University extension service

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