Bountiful overflowing baskets of petunias and calibrachoa grace summer porches and patios, but wouldn’t you like a hanging snack, too? Some tomato varieties can grow in hanging baskets, yielding gorgeous trusses of ornamental, edible fruits. These cascades of sweet snacks are willing to thrive right outside your doorstep, adding flavor and productivity to even the smallest garden area.
Let’s dig into the 10 best tomatoes for dangling planters.
What Tomatoes are Best for a Hanging Planter?
Use a large container with excellent drainage for growing tomatoes in hanging baskets.
Compact determinate cherry tomatoes are the best varieties for large hanging planters. These types don’t require trellis support, yet grow attractive vines with abundant fruit clusters. Some cultivars, like ‘Cherry Falls’ or ‘Tumbling Tom,’ are bred specifically to cascade over the side of a basket. Others, like ‘Patio Choice’ or ‘Tiny Tim,’ are developed specifically for containers and can be adapted to suspended planters. Avoid indeterminate (vining) varieties with large fruits; tiny tomatoes are always best for baskets!
It is important to choose the largest basket that your patio or porch can support, ideally at least 5 gallons with a drainage hole or coco coir liner. Tomatoes have deep root systems. Securely fasten a hook or ceiling anchor to a stud or rafter.
Fill the planter with a well-drained soil blend rich in compost. Plant tomato seedlings after the risk of frost has passed and hang the basket in the brightest area possible, ensuring at least 8 hours of direct sunshine per day.
10 Tomato Varieties for Hanging Baskets
Choose compact tomato varieties for pendant containers to minimize splattering risks.
A hanging planter has several benefits to counteract its drawbacks. While these suspended pots are limited in root space, they make up for it with superior drainage. Although you need a strong anchor point in a ceiling stud or rafter, hanging baskets save space in a small garden. Dangling tomatoes also require pruning and maintenance, but they cascade over the edges of the basket, ensuring easy-access harvests and clean fruit without the need for a trellis.
Be sure to choose the smallest varieties possible. Large-fruited tomatoes are less likely to thrive in a pendant container. Moreover, small fruits can safely hang without as much risk of splattering on your porch.
Here are our top picks for suspended tomato gardens:
‘Cherry Falls’
This tomato produces abundant clusters of sweet, classic red fruits.
This tomato is the cream of the crop for hanging baskets. ‘Cherry Falls’ grows exactly how it sounds: a cascading waterfall of bright red cherry tomatoes. Plant breeders developed this vigorous variety for a combination of beauty, functionality, and flavor.
The plants maintain compact root systems and limit their vine growth to 18” long. You can also prune the vines to keep them shorter. The bushy determinate growth ensures a full, attractive basket with elegant foliage draping down the sides.
About 60 days after transplanting, gorgeous trusses of 1-1.5 inch rounded fruits develop in clusters. These cherry tomatoes are a classic red with a sweet flavor, perfect for plucking as you walk in or out of the door. Hopefully, you are hungry this summer, because ‘Cherry Falls’ produces outrageous amounts of fruit! You will have plenty of cherries to enjoy and share from this basket.
‘Patio Choice Yellow’
The ‘Patio Choice Yellow’ tomatoes resist diseases like Verticillium wilt.
Known for its container-friendly growth, ‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is an eye-catching variety for small spaces. The half-ounce cherry tomatoes ripen to a dazzling golden-yellow hue. They are sweet enough for fresh eating yet also suitable for roasting and sun-drying. If you love yellow floral baskets, ‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is a lovely ornamental addition to any patio, porch, or pergola.
These container plants are as attractive as they are resilient. This variety won the 2017 All-America Selections award for its superior disease resistance, including Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, and tobacco mosaic virus. The plants don’t mind heat and humidity, making them perfect for dangling planters in the South.
‘Patio Choice Yellow’ reliably yields all summer and only takes 45 days to produce fruit—one of the fastest-growing tomatoes you will ever grow! Plants average 15-18 inches tall and 18-20 inches wide, but you can prune them to fit your container. The determinate growth habit ensures minimum sucker production and stout vines ideal for a hanging planter.
‘Tiny Tim’
These are ideal for small garden spaces or indoor containers.
There are many reasons to grow ‘Tiny Tim’ tomatoes! These miniature plants are ridiculously cute, productive, and perfect for containers! ‘Tiny Tim’ is a determinate cherry tomato with superb flavor and good disease resistance.
The cherry-sized fruits average just one inch in diameter yet burst with juiciness in your mouth. While the flavor is not as sweet as other varieties, it is subtly tart and “tomatoey” for the perfect summer snack or salad. Fruits grow from attractive clusters and ripen a classic bright red. It’s important to harvest regularly so the heavy dangling clusters don’t weigh down the vines.
True dwarf tomatoes, ‘Tiny Tim’ plants grow to a maximum of 18 inches tall. You can even prune them to stay just 12 inches tall. In spite of this limited growth, they are wildly productive. First released in 1945, this cultivar was developed specifically for windowsill planters, indoor pots, and tiny garden spaces. The timeless popularity of ‘Tiny Tim’ proves that staying small can be very advantageous in the garden.
‘Tumbling Tom’
Encourage more fruit clusters by pruning vine tips when they reach about 12 inches long.
The perfect alliteration, ‘Tumbling Tom’ tomatoes roll off the tongue as effortlessly as they roll out of a hanging basket. This bright red cherry tomato was made specially for patios. The fruits average one to two inches in diameter and ripen 50-65 days after transplanting. This hybrid variety is renowned for its easygoing yet vigorous growth habit. As long as the plants have water and sunshine, they are sure to yield.
‘Tumbling Tom’ plants remain small at maturity. They can stay impressively stout at just 6-12 inches tall, with vines that trail over the sides of your hanging basket. The vines create a gorgeously lush display without requiring any pruning. This determinate variety is perfect for beginners because it doesn’t produce suckers (side shoots).
Ideally, ‘Tumbling Tom’ can grow in a basket at least 10 inches in diameter. Like most potted tomatoes, larger pots are better whenever possible. This variety is naturally self-branching but it benefits from pinching. Once they reach about 12 inches long, remove the growing tips of vines to promote more cascading fruit clusters.
‘Tumbler’
The ‘Tumbler’ cherry tomatoes are prized for their ornamental foliage.
Though its name sounds similar to ‘Tumbling Tom,’ ‘Tumbler’ is a unique variety with separate advantages. This hybrid tomato yields larger fruit in a shorter time frame. Requiring just 55 days to mature, ‘Tumbler’ is eager to grace your early summer patio or porch. This variety was hybridized specifically for compact growth and 12-18 inch vines that cascade from hanging baskets. The determinate habit eliminates the need for staking or pruning.
One of the coolest things about ‘Tumbler’ is its ornamental value. The bushy foliage is pliable and verdant green, making it a gorgeous addition to mixed plantings with hanging lobelia or ivy. The lush vines gracefully droop downward for a full decorative effect. The fruits look like dense clusters of red cherries that grow close to the top of the container, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally knocking them off when you walk by.
You can expect ripe fruits about 7 weeks after transplanting. These ultra-early cherry tomatoes taste sweet for fresh eating. They require full sunlight and well-drained soil.
‘Donna Red’
Pinch above the third leaf of new vines to encourage branching.
This unique F1 hybrid is ridiculously tiny yet still produces normal-sized cherry tomato fruits. Some container varieties swap aesthetics for flavor, but ‘Donna Red’ has superior ultra-sweet fruit. The 8% Brix value means there is a high percentage of sucrose in each tomato. The fruits top out at one and a quarter inches and ripen bright red.
The trailing habit reaches a maximum of 18 inch spread. This special hanging basket variety can grow in a container as small as 8-10 inches in diameter. However, the plants are still indeterminate, so pinching is encouraged for higher yields and more branching. When the first three leaves of a new vine develop, pinch just above the growing tip.
‘Husky Red’
Regularly harvesting large slicer-style fruits throughout summer prevents vine damage.
If you want to grow a non-cherry variety in a hanging planter, ‘Husky Red’ is an awesome pick. These plants are ideal for containers, but they require a larger basket than others on this list. The sturdy growth doesn’t require caging or staking, and the leaves are uniquely potato-leaf-like as they dangle down. This variety has three to four foot vines that would work well in an upside-down tomato planter.
You don’t need to prune these plants, but you do need to ensure they have lots of sunlight. The large slicer-style fruit ripens throughout the summer and must be harvested regularly to prevent broken vines. The flavor is moderate and suitable for salads or roasting.
‘Peardrops’
This is an F1 hybrid with early maturity and abundant yields.
Add an outstanding grape-style tomato to your hanging garden! ‘Peardrops’ produces yellowish-gold mini tomatoes with an elongated ovular shape reminiscent of a miniature pear. The fruits are more acidic than other types, with excellent flavor. A 12-15 inch diameter basket is perfect for this compact cascading variety.
‘Peardrops’ is an F1 hybrid bred for early maturity and abundant yields on small plants. The semi-trailing foliage is very ornamental as it droops over the sides of a basket. The fruits are also high in Vitamin C and lycopene. Technically an indeterminate, ‘Peardrops’ doesn’t need pruning, but some pinching can encourage shorter, bushier growth.
This is the ideal variety to grow right near the entrance of your home, offering scrumptious complex-flavored snacks throughout the summer.
‘Red and Yellow Pear Blend’
The ‘Red and Yellow Pear Blend’ is a sweet, low-acid, compact tomato variety.
Upgrade your patio display with the striking juxtaposition of red and yellowish-orange fruits in unique pear-shape. This blend of indeterminate cherry tomatoes naturally grows up to six feet long, but can be pruned to grow in a large hanging container. Pinch back the tips when they are about six inches long.
This ‘Red and Yellow Pear Blend’ reliably yields all summer in full sunlight with moderate moisture. The one to two inch long tomatoes have a mild, sweet, low-acid flavor perfect for salads and snacking. Grow only one plant per container and hang next to each other for a colorful combo.
‘Torenzo F1’
This variety needs minimal maintenance beyond basic care.
This 2011 All-America Selections winner is a prolific cherry tomato with extra sweet fruit. The plants average just 16-20 inches tall and stay compact in a basket. Known for its beginner-friendly growth habit, ‘Torenzo F1’ is an easygoing determinate bush variety. It requires little to no maintenance yet yields bountifully.
‘Torenzo F1’ yields about 98 days after seeding or 56 days after transplanting. This pot-friendly variety grows in virtually any container and offers the classic tomato vibe with less sprawl. It holds up very well in heat, making it ideal for southern regions with sweltering summers.
The fruits are resistant to cracking and extra sweet. They have a measured Brix sugar content of 6%, ensuring they are snack-worthy as you meander by the basket. If you feel intimidated by pinching or pruning, ‘Torenzo’ is the variety for you. The hybridized plant truly takes care of itself as long as you provide sunlight, well-drained soil, and regular moisture. The vines also have a pleasant ornamental appeal.
Final Thoughts
Hanging baskets are not only for flowers and herbs! Tomatoes add an unexpected flair of attractive foliage and edible snacks that don’t require much effort. If you are short on space or you’d like some cherry tomatoes closer to your porch, be sure to pick a compact variety developed for container growth.
Choose the largest basket that your patio can support, and fill it with quality well-drained soil. Like all tomatoes, hanging planters require six to eight hours of direct sunlight and don’t grow well in the shade. Keep the baskets oriented toward the outer portions of awnings and let the vines cascade into the sunlight.
