Types of Plant Support: Best Support for Garden Plants

Top-heavy flowers and plants grown outdoors in windy locations need some plant support. So, deciding what is the best type of plant support for specimen plants, borders, or ornamental settings need to fit in with the appearance of the surroundings.

For a vegetable garden, you can easily use some wooden poles with twine strung between them but will this work for your other plants? The answer depends on your plant type and where you plan to use the support.

Today, Plantly will help you to decide what type of plant support you need for your indoor and outdoor plants.

Best Types of Plant Supports

When it comes to top-heavy plants indoors and outside, it helps to support your plant specimens. You want to protect tall plants and vines from toppling over in strong winds.

Neither do you want your peonies pounded with heavy rains, as fixing it afterward is impossible?

So, to give your climbing plants, bushy plants, to pole beans the support they need, check out the best types of plant supports here.

Obelisks and Trellis For Climbing Plants

trellis

Both these plant supports work well with climbing vines like your Bougainvillea and Clematis. The best part is that the structure helps support climbing plants while looking aesthetically appealing indoors and in the garden.

You find the support structures made from wood, metal, and plastic. You can find trellises and the obelisk of different types in design and shape. So, you can find a simple to elaborate one. Alternatively, you can use it in your vegetable garden for vine plants like melons and cucumbers.

Furthermore, the support system works perfectly in a small garden or if you do enjoy container gardens. The sturdy support will allow your type of plant to grow vertically and not along the ground.

When choosing the different types of trellises or obelisks, it is essential to consider whether they will serve as a decorative garden feature or only for their function. Also, assess the height and weight of your plant once fully grown.

Doing this ensures the structure will support the plant.

Cages For Vining Plant Support

cage trellis

We are sure you have seen the standard tomato cage, right. Still, you can find cages with square and triangular designs. Some great gardening tips are using the square pens interlocked with triangular ones to form shapes.

Still, you can open up the cage to extend them to form a trellis design. For us, the enclosure offers the best plant support as it presents you the versatility to use with vegetables like pole beans to your climbing roses and other plants.

When the cage opens up, you can use it for your bushy plants giving them one-sided support.

Stakes For Tall Plants

stakes for tall plants

The best thing about stakes is that you find them fashioned from hardwood, metal, and bamboo. The heights of the stakes can vary from two feet to six feet. You can use these types of support for most tall plants to keep the stem tied and upright.

You have two options for your young plants: placing a stake beside seedlings when planted. So, your plant develops a growing habit of growing alongside the stake. Alternatively, you can wait for your plant to mature and use a stake for added support.

If you decide to use the supports later with your plants, the best is to plant the stake further away from the roots to prevent damage. Another helpful garden tip is not to tie the stem to the stake until it needs the support, as it saves you time in retying the twine as your plant grows.

Still, when choosing a stake, the best is to pick one with a sturdy design that can handle the plant’s weight. If needed, use extra support with more stakes. For your trees, we recommend investing in a tree stake that can hold the growth of your tree.

Hoops

hoops structure

You can find hoop structures in full-circle to semi-circle shapes. You can find the full circle hoop with added single, double, or rings designed with grids. The variety you pick will depend on the types of plants you have and the support it needs.

If you decide on a full-circle hoop, it helps to place the support when your plant is young. By doing this, your perennial or annual climbers can climb through the ring. When using half circle hoops, you can use a few to combine them to create a whole hoop.

Alternatively, you can use them to hold up one side of your plant. The hoop structure is perfect for bushy plants and heavy flowers. While the semi-circle support structures work well when linked in a row to prevent plants from flopping onto the walkway.

Arches For Flair

Arches For Flair

With an arch plant support, it adds flair to any garden. Yet, the design and the placement are essential. We recommend deciding what style will suit your landscaping and the scale of structure needed. You can find them made of wood to paint or stain as needed. Alternatively, you can choose a plastic or steel one to suit your garden design.

Fencing and Porches

fence structure for climbing plants

When it comes to fencing, you can find chain-link fences available to support your rose or a morning glory that drapes over it. With some help using string or plastic netting, even your sweet peas will look gorgeous against your picket fence.

Choose porch railings or banisters wrapped with plastic netting for your climbers. The fantastic thing is you can hide that rusty-looking fence with some sweet pea flowers or edible peas.

Walls

wall support for climbing plants

Yes, not all of us have a designer wall standing ten feet tall made of bricks. So, it would be best if you improvised by letting plants grow up the house walls or even one on an outbuilding. You have a couple of options available by investing in clinging plants like the Boston Ivy that attaches itself to anything. 

Using Twiggy Branches

In many parts of the world, the twiggy branch is known as pea sticks, as gardeners use them to support your sweet pea.

You can browse through your garden to collect three to five feet lengths and push them into the soil.

The tinier the twigs, the better they work. We recommend using shrub branches instead of tree branches. The best part is they are free and found in the surroundings and fast to install.

Final Thoughts

If you do not want to invest in any of the above structures and think it is one of the most frustrating things to have, you have another choice. You can try growing your type of plant through a tree or a shrub. A suitable type of plant to achieve this is the Clematis.

You may need to help your plant with some strings, but it will find its way quickly into the branches. The plant is even happy to climb through lilacs and shrub roses. Another exceptional plant that grows through a hedge is the Canary Creeper, but the climate and temperature need to be ideal.

The same applies to passion vines as they are excellent weavers. So, enjoy providing your plants with the support they need to reach new heights in the home and garden.

Whether you want to buy, sell or simply reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!

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