diff --git a/pkg/operator/vttablet/mysqlctld.go b/pkg/operator/vttablet/mysqlctld.go
index 34bdc597..fe39053f 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/vttablet/mysqlctld.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/vttablet/mysqlctld.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package vttablet
 
 import (
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource"
 	"k8s.io/utils/pointer"
 
 	planetscalev2 "planetscale.dev/vitess-operator/pkg/apis/planetscale/v2"
@@ -47,6 +48,10 @@ for mycnf in $(find . -mindepth 2 -maxdepth 2 -path './vt_*/my.cnf'); do
   sed -i -e 's,^socket[ \t]*=.*$,socket = ` + mysqlSocketPath + `,' "${mycnf}"
 done
 `
+
+	defaultInitCPURequestMillis   = 100
+	defaultInitMemoryRequestBytes = 32 * (1 << 20)  // 32 MiB
+	defaultInitMemoryLimitBytes   = 128 * (1 << 20) // 128 MiB
 )
 
 func init() {
@@ -86,6 +91,15 @@ func init() {
 				},
 				Command: []string{"bash", "-c"},
 				Args:    []string{vtRootInitScript},
+				Resources: corev1.ResourceRequirements{
+					Requests: corev1.ResourceList{
+						corev1.ResourceCPU:    *resource.NewMilliQuantity(defaultInitCPURequestMillis, resource.DecimalSI),
+						corev1.ResourceMemory: *resource.NewQuantity(defaultInitMemoryRequestBytes, resource.BinarySI),
+					},
+					Limits: corev1.ResourceList{
+						corev1.ResourceMemory: *resource.NewQuantity(defaultInitMemoryLimitBytes, resource.BinarySI),
+					},
+				},
 			},
 		}
 
@@ -108,6 +122,15 @@ func init() {
 				},
 				Command: []string{"bash", "-c"},
 				Args:    []string{mysqlSocketInitScript},
+				Resources: corev1.ResourceRequirements{
+					Requests: corev1.ResourceList{
+						corev1.ResourceCPU:    *resource.NewMilliQuantity(defaultInitCPURequestMillis, resource.DecimalSI),
+						corev1.ResourceMemory: *resource.NewQuantity(defaultInitMemoryRequestBytes, resource.BinarySI),
+					},
+					Limits: corev1.ResourceList{
+						corev1.ResourceMemory: *resource.NewQuantity(defaultInitMemoryLimitBytes, resource.BinarySI),
+					},
+				},
 			})
 		}
 
diff --git a/pkg/operator/vttablet/pod.go b/pkg/operator/vttablet/pod.go
index f993d78d..d3aeb576 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/vttablet/pod.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/vttablet/pod.go
@@ -233,9 +233,18 @@ func UpdatePod(obj *corev1.Pod, spec *Spec) {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Set the resource requirements on each of the default vttablet init
+	// containers to the same values as the vttablet container itself in
+	// case the cluster requires them.
+	defaultTabletInitContainers := tabletInitContainers.Get(spec)
+	for i := range defaultTabletInitContainers {
+		c := &defaultTabletInitContainers[i]
+		update.ResourceRequirements(&c.Resources, &spec.Vttablet.Resources)
+	}
+
 	// Make the final list of desired containers and init containers.
 	initContainers := []corev1.Container{}
-	initContainers = append(initContainers, tabletInitContainers.Get(spec)...)
+	initContainers = append(initContainers, defaultTabletInitContainers...)
 	initContainers = append(initContainers, spec.InitContainers...)
 
 	sidecarContainers := []corev1.Container{}