Choosing and
Mounting a Garden Trellis
The humble trellis is a simple garden design
element that can just as easily adorn a vacant
outside wall as a perennial border.
Trellises are typically made from wood, PVC
(White Polyvinyl), or metal such as wrought iron or
galvanized steel, and should be finished or sealed
as appropriate. At it’s simplest, the word trellis
just means some type of latticework to support
climbing plants. Trellises can be either
free-standing or attached to a wall, or they can
form the side panels in a garden arbor or pergola.
Styles range from the simple lattice, or strips
of wood or metal mounted horizontally and
vertically, to more complex geometric forms, ornate
metal work, and rustic bent wood frames. As long as
there is ample room for determined climbers to grab
hold and grow up, through, and around, you can call
it a trellis.
Materials and Finishing:
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Hardwoods (such as cedar, redwood, pine, teak),
willow, bamboo can be stained or painted. Rot
resistant pressure-treated wood is also an
option |
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Iron, aluminum, or steel can be primed and
painted. First use a wire brush to remove rust
or loose paint. Clean the surface thoroughly
using TSP and hot water. Use a primer and then
paint. If the metal is powder coated steel, you
can paint with standard household gloss paint or
exterior enamel. |
|
PVC vinyl requires no waterproofing treatment
but may be painted if you like. Before painting,
make sure you clean the PVC and then lightly
sand it. The sanding will help the paint stick
to the PVC. |
Designs:
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Fan-style rose trellis (narrow at the bottom,
wide at the top) |
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Ladder-style |
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Fence style |
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Ornamental |
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Pyramid |
Construction and Installation:
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Pre-made trellises just require mounting |
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Do it yourself kits require some assembly |
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Base and mounting method and fasteners (anchor
stakes or brackets for example) |
Trellis
Tips and advice:
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Always consider the sun light your plants
require when placing them on a trellis or
garden arbor.
Different vines and flowers have different light
requirements. |
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Make sure your trellis is sufficiently secured
to the ground and surrounding structures to
support both its weight and the weight of the
plant. As the plant grows it will get heavier
and put more load on your trellis or arbor. |
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Roses are always a favorite climber for
trellises, but other vines can be used as well,
including hyacinth bean, clematis,
winter-creeper euonymus, sweet peas, wisteria,
blackberries, honeysuckle, chocolate vine, grape
vines, English ivy, passion flowers and Virginia
creepers. |
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Indoors can be a great place for trellises also!
You can create dramatic effects with these
‘living walls’. Some great candidates are Pothos,
Philodendendron, Mandevilla and Ivies. |
Trellis
Installation Tips:
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Use a large cedar planter as a base for your
trellis. |
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Extend the supports of the trellis into the
ground. If it is a large trellis or the plant
climbing on it will be heavy when it matures you
should make the hole at least 24” deep and use
concrete. |
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You can mix the concrete right in the hole with
the post. Just insert and line up the post, pour
in the bag(s) of concrete, add water and stir.
I’ve used this for fences and it works very
well. Just make sure the structure is plumb
before you pour in the concrete. |
For
more information on garden structures, please read
this article on
Choosing Pergola Plans.
[more articles] |
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