A trellis is an excellent way to draw the eye up and accentuate your garden beds. It can also help you maximize your roses’ potential for blooming by encouraging lateral canes to grow.
Prune long canes to inhibit self-pegging and encourage lateral growth. This helps the plant focus its energy on producing blooms and prevents fungus by optimizing airflow.
Arch Trellis
A trellis offers structural support to climbing plants and creates visual appeal in the garden. It also guides the growth of roses, preventing them from sprawling over the ground. It also helps improve air circulation, reducing the risk of fungal diseases. When choosing a trellis, consider its size and design as well as its material and durability. Look for an arch trellis that complements your garden’s style and fits your space.
For example, a wrought iron arch trellis makes a striking statement in a traditional garden. The trellis can be covered with vines to bring out the garden’s beauty and charm. It can also highlight a walkway or frame a scenic view.
An arch trellis is ideal for growing vegetables because it allows you to triple your growing space by keeping leaves and fruits off the ground. This helps prevent disease and pests from spreading to the rest of the plant. The structure also encourages vines to spread out over the trellis, rather than crowding together at the top.
An arch trellis can be used to train climbing roses, a popular choice for flower gardens. It’s easy to train a rose to climb a trellis using one of two methods: self-pegging or trellis training. Both techniques are effective and can produce a beautiful, blooming rose specimen in your yard.
Wall-Mounted Trellis
Whether mounted on the side of a home, a fence or another exterior wall, a simple trellis is a cost-effective way to grow vines and flowers up and around your outdoor living spaces. A series of wall-mount trellises dress up this blank stretch of stucco siding and create an architectural design element.
The trellis frame here is built from copper piping and wood for a modern, rustic look that complements the home’s natural wood features. The trellis stands up to strong winds while still offering plenty of space for climbing plants to weave their way across and between the rungs. Painting the trellis with a garden-safe paint or varnish enhances its looks, protects the wood from moisture and helps preserve the structure for longer.
To fit a trellis to your home, you’ll need to drill clearance holes into the wall where the top of the trellis mount will be secured. Make sure the holes are slightly smaller than the screw diameter to prevent a loose fit later on. For best results, use a wood preservative on the holes to reduce the risk of rot in damp conditions.
An old window frame fitted with a cedar grid becomes a charming garden trellis for morning glories or clematis. The trellis is easy to build and gives the plants twice as much room as a conventional lattice fence to cling to.
Metal Trellis
Trellises made of wrought iron, cast iron, copper piping or rustic willow twigs add an artistic touch to the garden. They are durable and sturdy enough to support clinging plants such as roses and clematis. Some are designed to be free-standing, while others are anchored in the ground with stakes. If you have limited garden space, try a free-standing trellis planted with fragrant climbers such as roses and jasmine to create an impressive focal point.
If you want to get more flowers from your climbing roses, consider trellis training. This technique helps the plant grow more canes that will produce a cascading bloom. You can use this technique in combination with self-pegging to get the best results.
Keep in mind that metal trellises can heat up on hot summer days, especially when the sun is shining directly down on them. So, it is best to avoid a southern exposure location for your trellis or place the structure in a position where it receives shade during the hottest part of the day.
Before you install a trellis, make sure that the site is free of any underground utilities and provides enough space for growth. Dig holes for the trellis’ legs and secure them by backfilling and tamping down. If the trellis is heavy, you may need to anchor it with concrete.
Wooden Trellis
A traditional wooden trellis is an attractive addition to any garden and can help support your favorite plants. You can also use them to add structure to beds and borders while showcasing a variety of flowering vines. They’re available in various styles, such as closeboard, waney lap and picket designs, to fit your style and gardening needs.
If you’re planning on building your trellis out of wood, choose a durable material such as cedar, which can withstand the elements and last for many years. Sketch out your trellis design on paper and tally the number of and lengths of planks you’ll need. Once you’ve cut your pieces, assemble them on a flat surface to “dry fit” them and ensure proper spacing. Then, secure the joints with exterior wood glue and 1 1/4″ brad nails. Sand if desired and paint or finish to protect the trellis from weathering.
Metal trellises are ideal for heavy climbers like roses and wisteria because of their sturdy frames, while wood trellises are well-suited for lighter vining plants such as clematis and morning glory. Often, repurposed antique items are used as garden trellises, such as old headboards, doors, window frames or ladders. Whether you’re using a new trellis or one that you’ve had for a while, make sure to inspect it regularly for signs of damage such as water stains and rotting. Keeping your trellis in good shape will help it provide a lifetime of enjoyment and support for your garden’s plants.
