The Alien: A Cherry Tomato Plant

8/2/06: Big tomato plant, nicknamed The Alien, has been dying slowly but steadily for the past month. The leaves turn yellow from the tips inward and then wilt. Eventually, the entire branch wilts. The first sign that a particular branch is going to wilt is that the stems start curving in unnatural ways. At the end the whole branch is a sickly yellowish brown. This morning I found powdery mildew on one of the newer bottom leaves that was resting in the soil and probably exposed to too much moisture. I removed the leaf, but past experience shows that other parts of my plant are probably already infected with powdery mildew and just aren't showing it yet. In spite of all the branches that have been dying off, surprisingly, new branches and leaves have been growing from the base of the plant and they're bright green and quite healthy looking. Lately they've been turning a darker green though, perhaps too green. This plant has flowered extensively but every single cluster of flowers has a) shriveled up and fallen off in a clump or b) the flowers have fallen off individually. I haven't gotten a single tomato from this plant, which is sad. Currently, the upper branches and leaves and flowers still look healthy, but I know that nothing is likely to come of it. I'm going to do some research on blossom drop. I also did some research in my gardening books on what's wrong with the plant but I couldn't figure it out. It doesn't seem to be an insect problem. I believe it is a bacterial infection. But how did it get sick?

Update: As it become apparent that the new growth at the bottom was also doomed to die, I decided to spare myself the continued misery and end this plant's life.


Earlier stages of The Alien's life