Growing Tomatoes Upside Down: The Stem Makes a U-Turn, the Planter Dries Out Fast, and Cherry Types Do Best
Growing tomatoes upside down: a planter with a large plant can weigh 50 pounds, and two state extensions favor upright. The stem makes a U-turn.
In short
- Growing tomatoes upside down suits cherry and other small-fruited varieties best.
- Colorado State says to hang them only if space or sun rules out upright; South Dakota State expects likely much better production right-side up.
- A planter with damp soil and a large plant can weigh about 50 pounds, and new growth makes a U-turn toward the light.
- Checked against: Colorado State, South Dakota State, Iowa State, RHS.
Growing tomatoes upside down can work, but it is a workaround, not an upgrade. Tomatoes hung from a bucket or bag do set fruit, and cherry types suit the method best. The two state extension services that address it both steer gardeners back to upright plants when there is room. Colorado State University Extension advises hanging tomatoes only when space or sunlight rules out growing them right-side up, and South Dakota State University Extension horticulturist David Graper writes that you will “likely have much better production” right-side up.
This guide covers what happens at the bend where the stem leaves the planter, why the soil dries out so fast, what a filled planter weighs, which tomatoes to hang, and how to set one up. We found no controlled study that weighed fruit from upside-down and upright plants of the same variety. Wherever the evidence is a gardener’s report instead of a measurement, the text says so.
Does Growing Tomatoes Upside Down Work?
It can work, most reliably with small-fruited varieties, and the extension sources we found rank it below growing upright. Colorado State lists it as an option for gardeners who cannot grow tomatoes right-side up because of space or sunlight, and calls upright growing easier. Those are horticulturists’ judgments, not trial results, and the same limit applies to most of the evidence below.
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The key point of the table: no source we found reports a measured yield per plant for upside-down versus upright tomatoes of one variety. What exists is two pieces of expert advice and two backyard tests.
| Source | What it was | What it reported | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State Extension, PlantTalk | Extension advice | Cherry and other small-fruited types work best; a planter with damp soil and a large plant can weigh about 50 pounds | No trial data; no author listed |
| South Dakota State Extension, 2019 | Extension advice | Can work, but likely much better production right-side up; wind is a problem | A horticulturist’s opinion, no data |
| Star Tribune backyard test, 2009 (Karen Youso) | One gardener, Early Girl tomatoes in the ground, a homemade planter and a Topsy Turvy | First tomato came from the Topsy Turvy in July; hanging fruit was smaller than in-ground fruit in August; about a gallon of water a day in drought; in-ground plants died of fusarium blight in September, hanging plants untouched | No plant counts or weights |
| Vegetable Garden Guru four-planter race | One gardener, four hanging planters, one ‘Patio’ tomato in each | Yields “virtually identical” across the four; the Topsy Turvy needed water almost every day | Compares planters with each other, not with upright plants; no weights |
Read together, the reports say fruit is possible, and what you pay shows up in watering, feeding and, in one backyard test, smaller fruit. The disease benefit needs context too. Colorado State agrees that hanging tomatoes avoid cutworms and ground fungus, then adds that container gardens avoid those problems as well, so you do not have to invert a plant to get that advantage.
The Stem Makes a U-Turn: What Gravity Does Above the Planter
A tomato stem grows away from gravity, so a stem that leaves the planter pointing down turns and climbs. Colorado State describes new growth on a hung tomato as making a U-turn upward and credits auxins, hormones in the growing tips. Laboratory work supports the direction, if not the details. Harrison and Pickard tested whether ethylene mediates the bending in tomato seedlings and concluded that it is unlikely to be what drives the “primary, negative gravitropic response of tomato shoots.” Their experiments used seedling hypocotyls, the first stem, so they show the behavior but say nothing about a mature vine.
The behavior has a purpose. A 2015 tomato-seedling protocol from Sharma and colleagues states that the gravitropic process directs upward shoot movement for efficient photosynthesis and gas exchange. An inverted planter works against that instruction for the first stretch of stem, and the plant answers by bending, not by ignoring it.
Three practical things follow from the bend, each reported by the extension services:
- Wind finds the bend. Colorado State reports that stems on hung plants can be pulled or broken off in wind, and South Dakota State says upside-down tomatoes “will not get along with our wind very well.”
- The planter shades the start of the stem. Colorado State notes the planter itself can shade a young plant. The stem begins directly under the bag.
- Trees, roofed decks and nearby houses cast shade. Colorado State lists them as a reason a hung plant may not get the full sun tomatoes need.
Does the bend itself cost flowers or fruit? We can’t say, because none of the sources measured it. What the backyard tests show is that bent plants fruited: the 2009 gardener had a first tomato from a hanging planter in July.
Roots and Water: Why Hanging Planters Dry Out
Plan on checking a hanging tomato every day in summer, because the sources that cover hanging containers report fast drying. Iowa State’s Aaron Steil writes in the university’s container-tomato guide that container plants “dry out quickly from sun and wind” and that some need daily watering. It adds that the soil should never dry out completely between waterings. The Royal Horticultural Society says hanging baskets “tend to dry out more quickly than other types of container” and advises checking them every day in summer. That advice is written for baskets, not upside-down tomato planters, but both hang in the air and are open to sun and wind on every side.
Soil volume sets the pace. Iowa State’s minimums are 2 gallons per cherry tomato plant and 4 gallons for standard types, and those figures are for upright pots. Colorado State found that one brand of planter holds only about two pounds of soil, too little for a large plant in a hot, windy climate. It preferred buckets over thin, breathable plastic planters, which dried out so fast that even daily watering sometimes wasn’t enough.
The takeaway of the table below: small bag-type planters needed water almost every day in summer, and a built-in reservoir stretched that to two or three days.
| Setup | Reported watering | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Upright container, any tomato | Frequent; some plants daily | Iowa State |
| Hanging basket of summer annuals | Check daily in summer; sometimes daily watering in hot, sunny weather | RHS |
| Thin, breathable plastic planter | Daily watering sometimes not enough | Colorado State |
| Topsy Turvy bag, ‘Patio’ tomato | Almost every day, because of its small size | Vegetable Garden Guru |
| Revolution planter with a water reservoir | Reservoir filled every two to three days | Vegetable Garden Guru |
| Homemade and commercial hanging planters, Early Girl, drought | About a gallon a day | Star Tribune |
What happens to the roots inside the bag is the least documented part of the method. We found no study that dug up the root ball of an upside-down tomato, and none that measured how fast moisture leaves the soil near the opening compared with an upright pot. It is reasonable to expect drying to start where the soil meets open air at the opening and along thin planter walls, but that is our inference, not a finding. The fixes do not depend on it: more soil, a solid-walled container and a daily check.
Small soil volume limits nutrients as well as water. Iowa State notes that container plants need fertilizer more often than garden plants because they have less soil to draw on, and it recommends a soluble 15-30-15 or 20-20-20 fertilizer every week or two. The 2009 backyard gardener fed the hanging planters at least once a week. Our guide to growing tomatoes in containers covers the soil, watering and feeding schedule in detail.
Weight, Wind and Light: Check the Hook First
A planter with damp soil and a large tomato plant can weigh about 50 pounds, Colorado State warns, so the hook, bracket or beam matters as much as the plant. A lighter potting mix helps. Iowa State notes that soilless potting mixes are lightweight and hold moisture and nutrients well, and that the mix should drain well yet not dry out too fast.
Wind is the second load. Hang the planter where a wall, fence or building breaks the prevailing wind, and skip hanging altogether if the site is open and gusty. Light is the third constraint. Iowa State says tomatoes need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day, so a hook under a roof overhang or beside a tree is the wrong spot however convenient it looks.
Which Tomatoes Suit an Upside-Down Planter?
Cherry and other small-fruited varieties are the best fit. Colorado State says not every tomato thrives upside down and names small-fruited types as the ones that do. Iowa State’s container advice points the same way: any tomato can potentially grow in a container, but determinate and dwarf types tend to perform better because they are less likely to grow too large for it.
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→ Find the Right PotThe reports are not strict about it. The backyard tests used Early Girl and a variety named ‘Patio’, and both fruited, so treat the cherry rule as a recommendation, not a limit. Growth habit decides how much plant the bag has to carry, and our guide to determinate vs indeterminate tomatoes lays out the difference between the two. ‘Dwarf’ and ‘determinate’ are not the same thing either, and our list of patio tomato varieties for 5-gallon containers explains why. For care beyond the planter, see the full tomato growing guide.
Upside Down vs Upright at a Glance
Hanging helps where space is limited and loses on watering, wind and, according to South Dakota State, production.
| Factor | Upside-down planter | Upright container | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Space | An option where space is limited; advertisements suggest a deck or balcony | Needs a pot or bed with floor or ground space | Colorado State |
| Watering | Small bags almost daily; reservoir types every 2–3 days | Frequent; some plants daily | Vegetable Garden Guru, Iowa State |
| Wind | Stems can be pulled or broken off | Standard types held by a stake or cage | Colorado State, Iowa State |
| Cutworms and ground fungus | Avoided | Also avoided in a container | Colorado State |
| Production | Likely much lower | Likely much better | South Dakota State |
Which Setup Should You Choose?
- Only a sunny rail or hook, no floor space: hang a cherry or compact type in a solid bucket and plan on a daily check.
- Room for a 4-gallon pot (2 gallons for a cherry type): grow upright. Those are Iowa State’s container minimums, and Colorado State calls upright growing easier.
- A windy site: skip hanging. Both Colorado State and South Dakota State name wind as a problem.
- The biggest harvest you can get: grow upright. South Dakota State expects likely much better production.
- Cutworms or soil fungus are your reason for hanging: any container fixes that, according to Colorado State.
How to Set Up an Upside-Down Tomato Planter
- Pick the plant. Choose a cherry or compact determinate or dwarf type.
- Pick the container. Use a solid-walled bucket where you can; Colorado State preferred buckets over thin, breathable plastic planters.
- Fill it. Use a soilless potting mix, which Iowa State describes as lightweight and good at holding moisture and nutrients.
- Plant it. Follow the planter maker’s instructions for passing the seedling through the opening.
- Hang it. Use a support rated well above 50 pounds, in at least 6 hours of direct sun and out of the wind.
- Water and feed it. Check the mix every day in summer and never let it dry out completely, as Iowa State advises. Feed with a soluble fertilizer every week or two.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do tomatoes grow better upside down?
No source we found shows that they do. South Dakota State expects likely much better production right-side up, and Colorado State calls upright growing easier. One 2009 backyard test had a first tomato from a hanging planter in July but smaller fruit.
Why does the stem curve upward?
Tomato shoots grow away from gravity. Colorado State says new growth on a hung plant makes a U-turn upward, and a 1986 Plant Physiology study describes the “negative gravitropic response of tomato shoots.”
How often should you water an upside-down tomato?
Check it every day in summer. Small bag-type planters needed water almost daily in one home trial, a reservoir planter every two to three days, and one drought-season test used about a gallon a day.
What is the best tomato for an upside-down planter?
Colorado State recommends cherry and other small-fruited varieties. Iowa State adds that determinate and dwarf types tend to perform better in containers generally.
How much does an upside-down tomato planter weigh?
About 50 pounds with damp soil and a large plant, according to Colorado State, so hang it from a support built for that load.
Sources
- Colorado State University Extension, PlantTalk Colorado. Upside Down Tomatoes – Do They Work? Article 1846 (linked in text)
- Graper D. Container Gardens and CSAs. South Dakota State University Extension, updated August 28, 2019 (linked in text)
- Steil A. Growing Tomatoes in Containers. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Yard and Garden, last reviewed April 2024 (linked in text)
- Royal Horticultural Society. Hanging baskets. RHS Advice (linked in text)
- Harrison MA, Pickard BG. Evaluation of Ethylene as a Mediator of Gravitropism by Tomato Hypocotyls. Plant Physiology 1986;80(2):592–595 (linked in text)
- Sharma S, Tyagi K, Sreelakshmi Y, Sharma R. Gravitropic Analysis of Tomato Seedlings using Time Lapse Video Imaging. Bio-protocol 2015;5(7):e1443 (linked in text)
- Youso K. The verdict on upside-down tomatoes. Star Tribune/McClatchy-Tribune, via The Christian Science Monitor, October 22, 2009 (linked in text)
- Vegetable Garden Guru. Upside Down Tomato Planters (linked in text)
