Dozens of tomato types exist, and pole varieties are some of the best kinds! These climbing tomatoes reach epic heights while they grow in the summer garden. Give them the care they need, and they’ll reward you with bushels of ripe red fruits. Many of the most recognizable tomatoes are pole varieties. ‘Brandywine,’ ‘Cherokee Purple,’ and ‘Sun Gold’ are all pole types! These climbers may extend over six feet long when given support. They’ll clamber up trellises and arbors to produce a pillar of green leaves, yellow flowers, and bulging fruit. Pole tomatoes are often indeterminate, meaning they produce fruit as long as the weather remains warm and sunny. With proper watering, fertilizing, and care, you can enjoy endless harvests from spring through fall. Some lucky growers, like those in Florida and Southern California, can grow tomatoes year-round! No matter where you live and what pole types you’re growing, these care tips will guide you through the process. Grab some seedlings from the store or find seeds online, and get ready to cultivate gorgeous tomatoes for canning, snacking, and slicing. What Are Pole Tomatoes? Tomatoes are fruits of the tomato vine, a perennial plant that originated in South America. They’re an old favorite with hundreds of varieties to choose from! Plant breeders, enthusiastic gardeners, and farmers created many types with various growing habits, sizes, and structures. With the wealth of options, there’s sure to be a perfect type for your garden. Two main types of pole varieties exist: cherry and slicer. Cherry tomatoes are small, sweet, and perfect for snacking, while slicers are large, juicy, and full of flesh and flavor. Native Area Pole tomatoes originated in Peru and parts of South America. Growers and farmers of the Inca Empire cultivated the plants we know today from wild ancestors. They helped give rise to the ripe red fruit we know and love today. Nowadays, tomato plants grow all over the world! Cultivated varieties are popular wherever growing seasons are long, warm, and sunny. Pole types work best in warm climates with long summers, as they need time to mature and fruit. Determinate and bushy tomatoes are better for cold climates with short springs and summers. Characteristics Pole tomato plants have long, flexible stems with green skin. The stems, leaves, and flowers have a dense coating of white fuzz. You’ll see the hairs when you look at the plants up close. Off the stems sprout yellow blossoms that mature into tomatoes. They form in clusters on short stems that attach to the main ones. When bumblebees or other pollinators visit these flowers, they shake them and cause pollination to occur. Tomatoes have perfect, or bisexual, blossoms. This means they have both male and female parts, and they can fertilize themselves when bumblebees are in short supply. Simply shake the blossoms to help pollinate them. Pole tomatoes are often indeterminate or endlessly growing. They thrive when the weather is warm and sunny and can reach up to ten feet tall when supported. Give them cages, stakes, or similar support, and they’ll clamber upwards until the first frost arrives in autumn. Planting There are multiple ways to get tomatoes in your garden. Find potted seedlings available in garden centers, nurseries, and plant shops in late spring and early summer. If you have a short growing season, it’s a good idea to plant seeds indoors for easy transplanting after the last frost date. How to Grow These nutrient-hungry crops need plenty of water, sunlight, and nutrients to thrive. Though they require more time and maintenance than other fruits and vegetables, their incredible flavor is well worth the effort! Homegrown tomatoes taste nothing like store-bought ones—they’re more flavorful, juicy, and sweet than their counterparts. Maintenance Tomatoes are high-maintenance! Don’t be fooled by their deliciousness and juiciness. It’s important to stake them when you plant them to provide support for their climbing stems. Continuously attach the stems to the supports to keep them upright and vertical. Aside from staking, adding compost is a beneficial maintenance task that protects and feeds tomato roots throughout the season. Add more after it sinks and dwindles to a thin layer, keeping it between two and three inches thick.

If your perennial or pollinator garden is missing ‘Storm Cloud,’ this is the year to add it to the display. The native perennials shine with sky-blue flowers, narrow leaves, dark stems, and an adaptable nature. Explore the merits of this top performer with gardening expert Katherine Rowe. There’s a lot to love about Amsonia ‘Storm Cloud.’ First are its tufts of starry periwinkle blue flowers that hover above foliage in late spring. Next are willowy leaves and a bushy habit that bring contrast and texture to the display. There’s also the advantage of carefree growing with little maintenance needed. Perhaps most significant is that all this ornamental and ecological value comes from a U.S. native selection. The species is native to the Southeastern part of the country. The flowers and foliage host pollinators, and there’s little demand for excess resources regarding water and fertilizers. Designated as the 2024 Landscape Perennial of the Year by Proven Winners, ‘Storm Cloud’ also tops plant trials. The heat-tolerant, deer-resistant selection is a valuable perennial addition. What is ‘Storm Cloud’ Amsonia? ‘Storm Cloud’ is an herbaceous perennial plant with unique blue-hued flowers. It is an exciting discovery among a native species. Amsonia is a small genus mostly native to the United States, with some occurring in Asia and the Mediterranean. A. tabernaemontana, or bluestar, is highly ornamental and the most popular of the group. ‘Storm Cloud’ shines in late spring with loose, whole clusters of periwinkle blue flowers. Attractive, willowy foliage in deep olive green with golden-yellow fall color brings multiseason appeal. Even when the bushy perennials aren’t in flower, they provide a handsome backdrop to summer and fall bloomers. This native selection grows two to three feet tall and three to four feet wide. Its size makes it ideal for the middle of the perennial border or as a shrub replacement. With their highly decorative flower heads, they’re exceptional in groups and as stand-alone specimens. Companion Plants Bluestar embellishes naturalized garden schemes among looser plantings. Contrasting foliage like yarrow, nepeta, heuchera, and hosta anchor the display. Use them to accent the perennial border, native planting arrangement, pollinator, rain, and rock gardens, and woodland edges. They complement spring-flowering plants like bulbs, lilies, and phlox. Echinacea, hardy hibiscus, salvia, and ornamental grasses add color and movement throughout the warm season. Awards This exceptional native is famous for its low maintenance and easy care. The plants are durable and have few landscape problems. Their unique forms enliven the planting arrangement with abundant baby blue florets and rich foliage. Butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators flock to the large, nectar-rich flower clusters. In addition to the Landscape Perennial of the Year designation, ‘Storm Cloud’ tops plant trials at Michigan (2022) and Mississippi (2021) State Universities. Characteristics Sparkling starry blooms are the standout feature of ‘Storm Cloud,’ but the intrigue doesn’t end there. As temperatures warm in the spring, new stems emerge nearly black. They hold their dark color through flowering, lightening as summer progresses. Willow-shaped leaves densely whorl around the smooth stems. They emerge dark olive green with silver veins. As summer moves to fall, they become lighter green and yellow before turning gold in cool autumn temperatures. They then become brown and dry with winter dormancy. The plants produce multiple stems that rise two to three feet tall. In late spring and early summer, flowers appear in panicles on the tips of stems, with the potential for reblooming. The flowers are lovely on the stem and in fresh arrangements. Each ¾-inch tubular floret flares to a pointed star shape. After flowering, elongated bean-like seed pods develop. The fruits dry and split open when ripe. When cut or damaged, stems produce a milky sap to seal the wound and deter predation. If ingested, the sap is toxic to people and pets and can cause contact skin irritation. On the plus side, deer seldom damage the native bloomers. Bluestar has few pests or disease problems. It is drought-tolerant and withstands heat and humidity. In optimal growing conditions, it’s a long-lived garden performer. Native Area The species tabernaemontana occurs naturally in the Southeast, Eastern, and Central United States. It grows in open woods, thickets, plains, and wet, sandy sites. It spans a range of conditions and climates. Renowned plantsmen Hans Hansen (Walters Gardens) and Tony Avent (Plant Delights Nursery) discovered the native selection among an Amsonia colony in Bibb County, Alabama. The plants grew wildly in wet, deep shade along a woodland stream. After trials in Michigan and North Carolina, they selected ‘Storm Cloud’ for its robust growth, compact habit, and prolific blooms. Planting Fall and spring are the best times to plant perennials. However, if there is adequate moisture for strong root systems to develop, plant them anytime. Avoid planting during stressful conditions like high heat, drought, or freezing soils. Plan for maturity so bluestar can grow in a permanent garden location. They develop long tap roots and spread 38-42 inches wide. Dig a hole two to three times as deep and wide as the size of the root ball. Loosen any tightly wound, pot-bound roots so they can grow outward. Water plants deeply to settle the roots and soil. ‘Storm Cloud’ is sturdy and withstands winds and coastal exposures. If exposures are drying, supplemental irrigation helps maintain vigor. The bloomers also grow well as singular container specimens. Ensure pots are large enough to house their robust roots. Provide consistent water, a quality potting mixture, and good drainage. How to Grow This adaptable cultivar is carefree and reliable. With a sunny location and moisture during intense dry spells, it needs little else to flourish. While ‘Storm Cloud’ is mostly self-sufficient, optimal cultural conditions promote the best growth and flowering. Maintenance Amsonia needs little ongoing maintenance. Cut back dry stems at the end of the season or leave them in place for added winter protection and overwintering insects. Remove them before or just after new spring growth emerges. Cut plants back to six to eight inches after flowering to tidy up the plant’s appearance and encourage a new flush of growth. The early summer cut promotes a fresh, rounded form for the remainder of the growing season. It also helps keep stems upright in shadier conditions. Pruning isn’t essential to the plant’s health. Mulch around plants with a three-inch layer, avoiding the stems. Mulch regulates soil temperatures and improves moisture retention.

Would you like to grow your own fig tree but don’t know where to start? ‘Brown Turkey’ figs are easy to grow and incredibly prolific. Within a few years after planting a young edible fig tree, you’ll be harvesting a tantalizingly tasty crop of sweet, delicious fruits. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces the ‘Brown Turkey’ fig and how to grow your own. The ‘Brown Turkey’ fig (Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’) is a member of the mulberry family (Moraceae). There are hundreds of different edible fig cultivars and ‘Brown Turkey’ is one of the most readily available for gardeners. As long as you can provide the right growing conditions, these are remarkably easy fruit trees to grow! Figs are fast-growing deciduous trees originating in the Mediterranean region. Edible fig trees prefer warmer climates and are well-adapted to survive mild winter weather. If you live in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6-9, you should have no problem growing fig trees! They will, however, require some extra winter protection in cooler zones. Perhaps the best reason to grow a fig tree is because you like to eat figs, although there are many other benefits to growing edible figs. Fig trees are beautiful and make a very appealing addition to your landscape. They have a compact, rounded form, and the thick, smooth, bare branches remain attractive in the winter months. These trees also provide food and shelter for wildlife, making them a good choice for a bird-friendly garden. Let’s dig right in so you’ll know what a ‘Brown Turkey’ fig tree needs to thrive and how you can start growing your own harvest of tasty fruits. Plant Natural History Edible figs (Ficus carica), also known as common figs, are members of the mulberry family (Moraceae). This family has over one thousand different, naturally occurring species from around the world. The genus Ficus encompasses a very diverse group of fig trees, including a wide assortment of vines, trees, and shrubs, most of which grow in tropical and temperate climates. Edible figs are known for their sweet, tender, juicy fruits. Edible figs are native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and parts of Asia. In their natural habitat, edible figs live in mild and warm climates. They enjoy fully exposed, sunny locations with well-drained soil. They grow in open grasslands and rugged, rocky exposures. These plants have a fascinating history. Ancient civilizations cultivated and enjoyed them as a staple food source. The fruits are tasty, easy to grow, and prolific, making them quite desirable for cultivation. Breeders have introduced hundreds of different edible fig cultivars for commercial, private, and ornamental uses. The ‘Brown Turkey’ fig is one of the most popular cultivars. Wild figs evolved a special relationship with the fig wasp, a uniquely adapted pollinator. Fortunately for fig-growing enthusiasts, most commercially available fig varieties are self-fertile and will produce plenty of fruits without a need for cross-pollination or any specific pollinator. Characteristics The ‘Brown Turkey’ fig is a woody, deciduous shrub or small tree. It has smooth, light gray bark, a thick main trunk, and many smaller branches. These fast-growing trees can reach a total of 10-30 feet tall. ‘Brown Turkey’ figs have large, broad, palmate leaves that typically measure around six inches across. Each leaf has three to five large lobes with tiny, rough hairs. These leaf hairs can cause minor skin irritation for some people. The leaves and stems contain a milky white sap, which can cause contact dermatitis in some people. Wear long sleeves and garden gloves when working with these trees, especially when harvesting fruits and pruning. Wash your hands after harvesting your figs to rinse any remaining residues from your skin. Edible fig flowers are very unusual. They are inverted and form inside a hollow fruit-like form. So don’t be surprised if you never see your fig tree in bloom. The flowers simply look like tiny firm green fruits. The fruits start small, dark green, and very hard. As they mature, they grow larger but stay green and firm. Just before maturity, they suddenly grow a little larger and blush into their mature skin coloration. Ripe ‘Brown Turkey’ figs turn dark maroon-brown on the outside. The skin of a mature fig is extremely soft and doesn’t need peeling before eating. The inner flesh is amber-maroon in color with a soft, juicy texture. The sweet flavor is sugary or berry-like. ‘Brown Turkey’ fig trees produce two crops of fruits each year. The early crop is known as the breba crop and is typically less prolific than the later main crop. The early breba crop ripens in late spring or early summer, and the main crop ripens in late summer. Propagation Many trees are a bit tricky to propagate but you can easily propagate a fig tree with a stem cutting. There are other methods to propagate figs, such as grafting and root suckers, but cuttings are the quickest and easiest, especially if you already have a mature fig tree.