mutated tomato flowers

Last post 29-05-2012 9:03 AM by Phot's-Moll. 4 replies.

• 28/05/2012 11:28 AM
  unsettled-soul Location: London Joined on: 24 May 2012 Posts: 11	Reply | Contact Two of my tomato plants have developed rather weird 'mutated' flowers, much larger than normal ones and they look as a few regular ones cramped together. Here is a picture: https://www.sugarsync.com/piv/D7571237_758_969329047 Any idea what causes this? Also I guess I should remove them as they will not be pollinated and become fruit?

• 28/05/2012 01:50 PM	In reply to
  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 9,470	Reply | Contact  I've had this quite a few times in the past with beefsteak varieties of tomato.  It's caused when the plants come into flower when the temperatures are rather low.  It's nothing to worry about, you'll get some odd shapes on the tomatoes (like two fused togehter) but they are perfectly edible. Now the temperatures have increased somewhat of late, future ones should be ok. sue1002

• 28/05/2012 02:40 PM	In reply to
  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 4,072	Reply | Contact I've seen this a lot too - you might get some weirdly shaped tomatoes, like the ones you see sometimes in the papers. The same happens with peppers and chillies when the temperature is low at pollination time; you get oddly shaped extra growths at the base of the fruit, but no harm is done to the plant.

• 29/05/2012 08:17 AM	In reply to
  Jeraldine Location: Joined on: 23 May 2012 Posts: 13	Reply | Contact  I've seen this also but your tomatoes should still be very tasty, just look funny

• 29/05/2012 09:03 AM	In reply to
  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 4,547	Reply | Contact  I've had it too - on beefsteak varieties. Like Sue and Miranda, I got tasty but odd looking fruit. Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.