Tomato Plant Types

There are hundreds of different varieties of tomato plants that bare fruit of many shapes, sizes and colours. But there are basically just two types - the tall type and the bush type ... not forgetting the type in between!

The terminology can be confusing when talking about indeterminate, cordon, determinate, semi-determinate, bush and tall varieties, so here's a guide that I hope will make things clear.

1. Tall: indeterminate and cordon - plants that will keep on growing taller until they are stopped.
2. In between: semi-determinate - can be grown either as a tall or bush variety.
3. Bush: determinate - a bush variety - knows how tall to grow!

Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages for example, tall varieties are great to grow up against a wall, whereas bush varieties excel in large pots on the patio.