Adding a trellis to a potted plant provides support for climbing vines and trailing varieties to grow upwards. Mini trellises are perfect for houseplants or smaller outdoor containers. With just a few simple materials, you can create cute DIY trellises to display potted plants in style.
Benefits of Using Mini Trellises
Mini trellises offer both form and function for container plants:
- Provides support for thin vines to climb upward
- Keeps top-heavy plants from toppling over
- Elevates low-growing trailers to showcase them better
- Creates an anchor for plants to latch aerial roots onto
- Adds decorative interest to plain pots
Suitable plants include ivy, philodendrons, pothos, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, and more. Match the scale of the trellis to the size of your pot and plant.
Easy DIY Materials for Mini Trellises
Many household items can be repurposed into small trellises
- Twigs, branches, bamboo – Cut into short stakes
- Floral wire, pipe cleaners – Twist into shapes
- Popsicle sticks, craft sticks – Glue into lattice shapes
- Twine, jute, raffia – Wrap around stakes
- Old utensils, cutlery – Bend into shapes
- Egg cartons, berry baskets – Cut apart to make lattice
For outdoor use, choose weather-resistant materials like bamboo, metal, and woods like birch or redwood. Indoors, anything goes – have fun getting creative!
Creative Ways to Make Mini Trellises
Here are some fun ideas for DIY mini trellises for potted plants:
Simple Bamboo Tripod
Gather 3 bamboo sticks or wooden dowels of equal length Arrange them into a teepee shape. Use jute twine to bind the tops together Push the ends directly into the potting mix.
Metal Wire Coil
Wrap flexible wire, like florist wire, around a cylinder like a jar to create a coil shape. Make the coils loose enough for vines to thread through. Poke the wire ends into the soil to secure.
Chopstick Ladder
Hot glue or wire chopsticks, skewers, or popsicle sticks horizontally across short bamboo posts. The rungs create a ladder effect perfect for delicate vines.
Twisted Wire Arch
Bend and twist flexible wire into a freestanding arch shape. Place the ends into the potting mix or affix to the container sides with floral putty.
Fork Trellis Panel
Hot glue the tines of plastic forks back-to-back to form a lattice panel. Prop up against a stake in the pot or lean against the pot’s rim.
Picture Frame Grid
Reuse mini picture frames by removing the glass and backing. Hot glue them together into a geometric grid that provides vines with square openings to climb through.
Garden Staple Loops
Hammer u-shaped garden staples into wooden chopsticks positioned vertically around the inside of pots. The metal loops make perfect anchors for tendrils to grip.
Twig Obelisk
Tie three twigs or branches together at the top using twine to create a tall obelisk shape. Place the base ends a few inches apart in the potting mix.
Paddle Pop Sticks
Weave craft sticks or Paddle Pop sticks into a diamond pattern. Lean the lattice piece against a short dowel stuck in the potting mix.
Get creative with materials you already have to make inexpensive mini trellises that perfectly suit your potted plants!
Different types of Trellises
It’s easy to become overwhelmed when trying to figure out how to create a potted plant trellis. There are so many trellis options.
- Bamboo Trellis
- Metal Trellis
- Tomato Cage
- Wall Trellis
- Indoor Plant Trellis (for indoor climbing plant)
- Arch trellis
- Tree Branch Teepee Trellis (every year I make these for our bean plants)
The options seem endless!
Today, we’ll take a few stakes and arrange them in a teepee shape to make a trellis for a potted plant that looks good and works well. You may choose to use it indoors or outdoors.
Materials Needed to Make a Trellis
- I used 18-gauge metal wire to help keep the climbing plants in place as they grow.
- Five Poles (I used 36-inch poles for a 12-inch pot) You’ll want longer poles for a larger pot). This could be bamboo stakes, wood or metal poles. You could also find things like moss poles for plant supports.
- A pencil
- A ruler or measuring tape.
- A Wire Cutter
- A potted plant ( I hope this one’s obvious.)
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FAQ
What can I use for a mini trellis?
What can I use instead of a trellis?