Can You Plant Tomato Plants in a Flowerbed?

Determinate vs. Indeterminate

• The flower garden may contain tall flowers, but an indeterminate tomato plant will tower over all but the tallest flowers. Indeterminate tomato plants don't have a set growth pattern; they continue to grow until you pull them up or the cold finally kills them. Determinate tomatoes, or bush tomatoes, stop growing at a predetermined size and start producing tomatoes. The determinate tomato plants do better in the flowerbed because they remain slightly shorter than indeterminate varieties. Most heirlooms are indeterminate. The determinate varieties respond well to pruning, so you can control how tall the plant gets.

Sunlight Exposure

• Tomatoes need plenty of sunlight -- and taller flowers, such as sunflowers, echinacea and globe thistle, may block the sun. Locate the tomato plants in flowerbeds with short variety plants or plants that grow to the same height as your tomato variety. If you see the tomato plant growing tall and spindly, the plant may not be getting enough sunlight. Either transplant the tomato plant immediately or move the plant causing the problem.

Watering Requirements

• When you plant tomatoes in the flowerbed, choose flowers that need the same watering requirements. Tomatoes need plenty of water, but some plants may die from too much. A soaker hose directly next to the tomato plant may alleviate wet roots in the other flowers in the garden. You may also choose to water the tomato plant separately from the rest of the garden, if the flowers prefer a more dry atmosphere.

Necessary Nutrients

• Companion plants grow well together because they both don't need all of the same nutrients to survive. Tomatoes need plenty of nitrogen for proper fruit development. Flowering plants need nitrogen to produce blooms and dark green foliage. For this particular nutrient, add it as necessary to the soil when you plant the garden. You may choose to grow your tomato plants in containers, and place the containers around the flowerbed. With container growing, the flowers gain the soil nutrients, and the tomato feeds off the nutrients in the container's soil.