Staking garden plants is an important technique for keeping plants healthy and looking their best. There may be a number of different methods to staking plants, but there are really only two rules: stake plants early and try to be discreet.
Plants can grow surprisingly fast. If you don't stake them early, it can be difficult to get supports in place when your plants really start to take off. Not only that, but once the dreaded flop-over happens, it can be nearly impossible to stake plants in a way that looks natural.
Stake plants before they reach half of their mature height. This provides support before the plant is likely to need it and allows the plant to grow over its support and hide it from view.
Choose supports that are as inconspicuous as possible. Insert stakes behind or as close as possible to the stems so that as the plant grows, the foliage will hide the supports. Choose stake colors and ties that will blend in with the foliage of the plants.
When it comes to staking your vegetables, practicality always trumps appearances. Staking heavy bearers like tomatoes, peppers, and beans will make your job easier when it's time to harvest. Staking maximizes space, increases yields, and keeps produce off the ground where it is less like to fall prey to soil borne diseases. Use the tallest, sturdiest stakes and cages you can find and fasten plants to supports using bands from old pantyhose or strips torn from fabric.
Twiggy Brush: Push twig-sized branches into the ground next to your plants. The tops of the twigs can then be bent over and interlaced or tied together to form a lattice through which the plants will grow. As the plants grow through the tops and sides of the framework, they will eventually hide the twigs. This method works well for plants like coreopsis, and baby's-breath.
Cat's Cradle: Another effective means of supporting clumps of plants is to form a cat's cradle made from canes and string. Push the canes into the soil in-between and around the clumps of plants that need to be supported, and then weave the string in a random pattern between the canes to create a "cradle" of support. Trim off the tops of the canes to a height which hides them below the growing plants.
Individual plants can be staked using single canes made from rot-resistant wood or metal. If possible, place the cane behind the stem to make it less obvious. In most cases, the cane doesn't need to be as tall as the entire plant (with the exception of delphiniums). Supporting the lower half or two-thirds of the stem provides ample support while still allowing the top of the plant to move naturally. Sink the stake firmly near the stem when plant is 6 to 8 inches high. As the plant grows, add loose ties every 8 to 10 inches as needed.
Note: It's can be easy to poke yourself in the eye with a garden stake, especially one you've tried to camouflage, while bending over to admire your lovely plants. A good way to avoid this is to cover the tops with pieces of sponge or cork, old tennis balls, or small pieces of modeling clay. Better safe than sorry!
Ideally, plant ties need to be sturdy and weatherproof, yet soft enough so to prevent injury to the plant. Good materials for ties include bands cut from nylon stocking, strips of cloth from old bath towels or t-shirts, or flexible, foam covered wire.
Many garden stores also sell rolls of green Velcro made specifically for staking plants. The Velcro works great because it holds the stems firmly in place, it can be adjusted as plants grow, and the green color blends in easily with plant foliage.
When tying stems to supports, but sure not to tie them too tightly. Allow for some movement caused by the wind. This not only looks more natural, but it also helps the plants develop thicker, stronger stems.
How do you stake your garden plants?
This page contains the following solutions.
Recently I saw some discarded campaign signs with the metal stakes that look like the capital H shape and picked them up and brought them home to use in my garden to let my climbing plants, like snap peas and climbing green beans....
I grew up using strips of worn out bed sheets as ties for tomato plants, peppers or whatever plants are staked in your vegetable garden. The best is 100% cotton as it has to be able to "tear" into strips easily.
I've always had a problem with critters eating my sunflowers (and other young flowers) after I plant the seedlings out into the garden. This year I'm protecting them with paper towel tubes or even wrapping paper tubes for taller seedlings and TP tubes for smaller ones.
I use the browned leaves on yucca plants to tie up things in the yard such as staking up iris plants or fastening together yard furniture to keep it from blowing away. They are very sturdy and freely available if you have yucca plants.
Save the velcro wrap that comes on loose leaf lettuce, Swiss chard, boo choy, and other supermarket vegetables. Use them for tying up your vines or tomato plants. They won't harm the plant and they can be cut smaller.
The long stemmed flowers were all on the ground. There was a need to tie them up a bit, but I didn't have enough of the end of a cord roll to do both. So, I unraveled the tri-cord and then had three separate cords.
Zip ties can be a good temporary method of supporting plants that you are trying to train or that have heavy blooms. This is a page about use zip ties to support plants.
Slender bamboo sticks can be used in your garden or containers to stake plants such as tomatoes and flowers. They also work for young trees.
Cut up your old panty hose into strips and use them to tie up your veggie and garden plants. This is a page about use old panty hose to tie up plants.
Do you have some old telephones in your basement or garage waiting until you can find a use for them? Well this page will help with the cords. This is a page about using telephone receiver cord to tie up plants.
This is a page about supporting tomato plants. Tomato plants generally need to be trellised or supported in some way.
