What Is a Trellis?
Support your plants.
What is a trellis and how can it benefit your garden? Keep reading to find out why you need a trellis and how it can help you enhance your outdoor space.
What Is a Trellis & What Does a Trellis Do?
A trellis is a simple garden structure where climbing plants and vines can grow vertically. Trellises come in different shapes and sizes and can serve a range of functional or decorative purposes. The general design of a trellis is an open framework, similar to a ladder with multiple vertical slats, that allows plants to easily grow upward. A trellis can be used to grow fruits, flowers, and vegetables, as an accent piece in your garden, or to add more privacy to your yard.
What Are the Benefits of a Trellis?
Adding a trellis to your garden can help your plants thrive. Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy by adding this structure to your space.
- Increased Sun Exposure: Since a trellis allows plants to climb vertically they are able to soak up more sun in a crowded garden. This can be very helpful for climbing plants that require full or partial sunlight.
- Encourages Pollination: Trellises elevate nectar- and pollen-rich climbing plants, which allows pollinators to find and reach them more easily. This is great not only for your own yard and fruit production of your plants but also for the surrounding area and your neighbors.
- Reduces Fungal Diseases: By lifting plants off the ground, a trellis can help reduce exposure to soil-born fungal pathogens such as powdery mildew, blight, and mold. Allowing the plant to spread out over the trellis also improves air circulation and reduces moisture that can contribute to fungal growth.
- Deters Harmful Pests: Keeping plants elevated can produce them from hungry pests such as bunnies. Since plants are more visible to you on a trellis, it will be easier to monitor them for signs of an insect infestation, making maintenance simpler.
- Creates More Space: Trellises increase the amount of vertical space you have for plants so you can have even more of them without taking up too much ground space. This leaves space for walkways, making it easier to get around with accidentally trampling any of your precious plants.
Types of Trellises
Depending on how you plan to use your trellis, there are different shapes and sizes to choose from. Here are some common types of trellises and what you might use them for.
- Lattice Pannel: This trellis consists of a single panel with a lattice design. Vines and climbing flowers can easily travel up the lattice design. These lattices typically have stakes that are driven into the ground to keep them standing. With more permanent anchoring techniques, these lattices can support some lighter fruits and vegetables as well.
- Arched: Arched trellises can refer to a single-panel lattice with an arch-shaped top or an arbor-style trellis that can be placed over a walkway. Arched trellises are typically used for decorative purposes and can be used to make beautiful floral arches in your garden.
- Obelisk: An obelisk trellis is a conical or teepee-shaped tower-like structure. Their stable structure makes them great for supporting fruits or vegetables in the garden or used inside a planter to create a unique floral design.
- Wall Mounted: These trellises can be mounted to the outside of your house for a sturdy decorative display of vines or flowers. These trellises can handle more substantial vines like grapes or wisteria.
- Folding & Expanding: These trellises can expand and contract to save space when being stored over the winter. You can easily expand them if you need more space for your plants to climb. Their wide design makes these trellises great for providing more privacy or shade on your patio.
- Fan: These trellises have a fan shape design at the top, which is both visually interesting and beneficial to plant growth. This shape encourages horizontal and vertical growth of plants while keeping them spread out enough to keep leaves healthy and dry.
Certain plants thrive when they have a trellis to climb. Some benefits that a trellis can offer your climbing plants are better access to sunlight, keeping their fruits or vegetables dry, and providing more vertical space to grow. Here are some examples of plants commonly grown with trellises.
- Fruits & Vegetables: Many fruits and vegetables can be grown on a trellis, including peas, cucumbers, squash, melons, and grapes. Make sure the trellis you choose is large enough to support the weight of the fruit or vegetables you’re growing. For example, growing cucumbers can result in large and heavy vines, so you will need a strong trellis. Melons grow best on a wider trellis because increased airflow allows the leaves to stay dry, preventing rot and mildew.
- Flowers & Vines: An array of beautiful flowering and non-flowering plants can be grown on a trellis. Some decorative plants that thrive on a trellis include climbing roses, clematis, morning glory, and honeysuckle. Giving them a trellis to climb allows them to access sunlight in your garden, keeps them dry, and elevates them in your garden so they can be seen and enjoyed.
Choosing a location for your trellis can determine your success in the garden or can affect your patio aesthetic. When deciding where to place your trellis, make sure it is within reach of your garden hose or sprinkler system so you don’t have to lug a watering can over to it each time you need to water your plants. Find a location that’s sheltered from excessive wind and weather that can damage your plants or knock your trellis over. Lastly, consider your other plants and surroundings – ensure your trellis isn’t blocking other plants from the sun and rain.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What Is the Purpose of a Trellis?
A trellis supports climbing plants by guiding them to grow vertically instead of along the ground. This improves sunlight exposure, airflow, and overall garden organization.
2. Do Vegetables Grow Better on a Trellis?
Yes, many vegetables like cucumbers, peas, and pole beans grow better on a trellis because vertical growth improves air circulation, reduces rot, and saves space.
3. What is the Difference Between a Trellis and an Arbor?
A trellis is a flat or freestanding structure that supports climbing plants, while an arbor is a larger archway structure that creates a decorative garden entrance or walkway.
