If you’ve got an unruly jungle growing inside your home and you feel like your plants are taking over your entire house, using a trellis could be your call to salvation! Of course, you can purchase a premade moss pole or wooden trellis planters in a garden center, but why not make one at home?
Creating a DIY plant trellis is not only cost-effective but also environmentally friendly, and it gets the creative juices flowing! You will find lots of options for homemade plant trellis ideas, and I will share my favorite DIY trellis project below! Let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
Why Make A Trellis For Your Potted Plants?
Many tropical houseplants grow under the canopy of large trees in tropical rainforests, so there is little light, as the tree overhead blocks most of the light.
In response, the plants have adapted to crawl onto the trees or other surrounding objects so their leaves can reach above the trees and catch some sunlight!
Climber plants produce aerial roots, which grow in the air as their name suggests! In the wild, these roots allow the plants to attach themselves to surrounding objects to climb upwards.
When we bring these climbers into our homes and gardens, they don’t have access to natural surroundings like trees or rocks to climb onto. When there’s nothing to climb, they vine!
While I love my vining plants, it’s worth noting that climbing plants are naturally designed for climbing!
Plants grow the best when we mimic their natural habitats closely, which is why using plant stakes or trellises can be incredibly beneficial for your climbing plants!
What Houseplants Benefit From A Trellis?
Hoyas
Every Hoya variety will enjoy a plant support trellis of some kind. My favorite Hoya varieties to grow include Hoya pubicalyx, Hoya carnosa, and Hoya krimson queen.
While Hoyas can grow beautifully as a vining plant, I prefer to give them some support, as it keeps them from becoming unruly and makes the plant (and my house!) look a little neater and organized.
My favorite hoya trellis is an infinity hoop. This circle trellis creates a stunning focal point in your home while keeping your Hoya happy by allowing it to climb freely.
Monstera Deliciosa
Monsteras are one of those great plants that should absolutely grow onto some sort of support or trellis! As they grow, their leaves become more prominent and heavier, making it very likely that their stem snaps if you leave them hanging (literally)!
Offering your Monstera a moss pole or wooden plank will also encourage it to put out larger, more mature leaves, which speeds up the development of the plant’s iconic fenestrations.
Syngonium
While Syngonium may not be the first plant that comes to mind when you think of an indoor climbing plant, they are natural climbers! In their native habitat, they grow similarly to Monsteras as they climb onto surrounding trees and objects.
I’ve grown Syngoniums as both vining and climbing plants, and I must say that I much prefer them as climbers! Their leaves grow twice as big when climbing on a moss pole or trellis, and they grow much faster.
Check out this article if you’re interested in making an easy-to-execute DIY moss pole for your Syngoniums!
What Garden Plants Benefit From A Trellis?
Tomato Plants (And Other Vegetables)
If you’ve seen tomato plants grow, you’ll likely have noticed they always grow on a trellis. Tomato plants need a trellis because when they fruit, the tomatoes often become too heavy for the stems to hold them, causing them to collapse or break!
There are distinct tomato plant trellises called tomato cages available. These are specifically made for tomatoes, but you can use a tomato trellis for other plants in your vegetable garden, such as sugar peas, peppers, zucchini, or beans!
Trellises are the perfect way to free up space in a busy salsa garden or your standard potted collection.
Flowering Vines
Using a trellis in your garden is a great way to use vertical space and create a fuller-looking plant! You can play around with garden trellis designs and ideas.
Try growing your outdoor vines on trellis-topped fences or a large garden arch with flowering plants, such as the Black-Eyed Susan Vine or Passion Flower Vine!
You can also use a bamboo trellis to stake flowers in a planter box, in plant pots, or on your patio or create a wall trellis above your seating area! There are endless garden trellis ideas to create attractive outdoor spaces with your vining plants!
My favorite flowering garden vines include Wisteria, Clematis, Sweet Pea, and Trumpet Vines.
Benefits of Using a Trellis for Potted Plants
Giving your climbing plants a trellis has many benefits for you and your plants! It encourages your plants to put out healthy, vigorous growth and has many ecological uses in your garden, as well as adding a modern flair to your landscape design.
Long story short, trellises are indispensable in a plant lover’s collection!
Saves Space
Using a trellis for your indoor and garden plants allows you to use otherwise empty vertical space. Even a small trellis is a great way to save room if you have a small apartment or limited space to grow your veggies for people with small gardens.
It can also help to prevent your garden or home from looking like a hot mess if you keep fast-growing plants like the Star Jasmine, which can grow up to 35 inches during its growing season!
Helps Prevent Diseases
A climbing trellis can help prevent plant diseases like fungal infections and pests. It allows for more airflow and reduces damp and moist environments as it keeps your plants off the ground and prevents tangled, crowded environments, which fungi and insects like root aphids love!
Encourages Leaf Maturing
For climbing indoor plants, like Monsteras and Philodendrons, using a trellis or a moss pole will encourage the plant to put out more robust and larger foliage.
For fenestrated plants, like Monstera, it promotes the development of fenestrations, too! This allows you to enjoy the plant’s natural beauty in your home or garden.
Plants Get More Sun
If your garden is crowded, your plants may fight one another to reach for the sun! This can lead to plants choking each other or completely blocking the access to light for another plant.
Using a tall trellis can help prevent this by allowing each plant to grow its way and access all the light it needs!
Helps Pollinators
Using a trellis helps pollinators to have better access to the blooms on your flowering plants. Without a trellis, the vines of your plants would likely be twisted up and tangled, which makes it hard for birds and insects to find the flowers.
Using a trellis is the perfect choice for those who want to give back to the wildlife of our beautiful earth!
How to Make a Trellis for Potted Plants (Step-by-Step Tutorial)
Making a DIY trellis for your indoor plants is easy, and it can be done using simple materials that you likely have lying around your home without using any fancy power tools.
This DIY trellis idea can be used for indoor potted plants and vining outdoor plants alike, so let’s get to it!
Materials
- Bamboo stakes
- Rope, fishing line, a strand of wire, or zip ties (or something else to tie your stakes together!)
- Pliers or strong scissors
- Your plant
- A plant pot
Building Instructions
- Begin by cutting your bamboo stakes to size using your scissors or pliers. Ensure your tools are strong enough to cut through the bamboo sticks! You’ll need four 15” pieces, one 12” and one 9”.
- Depending on the size of your plant and pot, you may need to adjust the sizes of your bamboo stakes. If you stick to the abovementioned ratios, your trellis will work for any size plant!
- Be careful not to create a too-small trellis, as your plant will quickly outgrow the support! Ensure that your plant has plenty of room to grow abundantly for at least a year or two!
- Lay three of the equal-sized bamboo sticks out in a fan-like shape. Then lay the others horizontally across to size. Place the smallest piece of bamboo at the bottom.
- Take your rope or twist tie, and securely connect all the joints (where the bamboo sticks meet). Instead of rope, you can also use metal wire hanger or craft clips to connect the joints.
- Ensure the trellis is secure, and you’re ready to pot it up with your plant!
- Grab your favorite trailing houseplant, and remove it from its original pot. You don’t need to detangle the roots much if the plant is not root bound.
- Place the plant and your newly made trellis in your pot, and fill the pot with soil. Make sure that the bottom of the trellis is secure in the pot!
- And you’re done! You’ve made your very own DIY trellis from scratch. Your outdoor or indoor vine plants will surely continue growing healthy and lush vines.
Other Beautiful DIY Plant Trellis Ideas
Use Tree Branches As a Trellis
If you have an indoor plant like a Hoya, Monstera Adansonii, or Tradescantia, consider wrapping your favorite houseplants’ vines around a large tree branch!
This type of plant trellis is made from natural materials, is completely cost-free, and adds some rustic charm to your home.
Wall Trellis Using Hooks
If you have an indoor plant but lack the space for a trellis, consider simply letting the plant climb your wall! This method is often used for plants like Philodendrons and Pothos, which can outgrow their trellises rapidly.
Simply attach some command hooks or pins to attach the vines to your wall, and your plant will happily climb through your home!
Ladder Trellis
Making a tall indoor DIY ladder trellis is one of the easiest ways to get your plants to climb without the extra legwork of buiilding something from scratch.
You can also paint or style the ladder to fit your indoor or outdoor space, providing you with creative versatility for an aesthetically pleasing design.
Metal Trellis
This is a wonderful option if you have an industrial aesthetic in your home! Instead of using wooden materials, this unique trellis idea uses copper pipes to create a stunning garden or indoor plant trellis!
Ensure to use copper (or other weatherproof metals) for this project to prevent water damage to the metal!
Upcycled Window Trellis
This is my favorite DIY garden trellis idea! It proves you can make a beautiful DIY trellis from almost everything. Using an old window or doorframe from a junkyard, you can create a stunning plant trellis for your outdoor garden!
Zig-Zag Rope Trellis
For this project, you need wooden wall pegs and a lot of twine or rope. Twist the twine around the pegs to create a zig-zag pattern in the right direction. You can make this DIY as big or small as you like, depending on the size of your vines.
The final product? A beautiful design trellis for your indoor plants!
How to Make a Trellis for Potted Plants FAQ
How Do You Make a Cheap Trellis?
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to create a trellis for your plants is by using sturdy materials you already have lying around the house! Using simple designs and minimal effort, you can take bamboo poles and garden twine to make easy and effective support stakes!
What Can I Use Instead Instead of a Trellis?
You can use pretty much anything to stake your plants! Old privacy screens or poles can be made into fully functioning plant trellis supports! You can also thrift-flip old furniture or a ladder to create a trellis for your plants!
What is the Easiest Trellis to Build?
The A-Frame trellis is one of the easiest DIY garden trellis ideas to build. It is often used for growing vegetables like tomatoes and beans! All you need is three tall bamboo stakes or wooden poles and rope. Tie the stakes together at the top and place the tripod trellis above your plant.
Credits:
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