How to Make a Trellis for Potted Plants

Measure the pot’s height and note it. Cut four lengths of bamboo canes to twice the pot’s height to form a tepee trellis that matches the size of the pot and keeps it from falling over due to excess weight. Cut the canes down to your desired length using a sharp knife.

Place the pot on a worktable and fill it with potting soil until 2 inches below its rim. Tamp the soil with your hand so it is firm. The weight of the soil supports the pot as you insert the canes into it.

Form four equally spaced points along the rim of the pot using chalk. Insert a cane into the pot, directly against a chalk mark along the rim. Angle the cane inward and push it all the way through so it rests over the base of the pot and its tip falls over the center.

Insert the remaining canes into the potting soil corresponding to the chalk marks along the edge of the pot. The upper ends of the bamboo canes should meet over the center of the pot; however, reposition a cane if necessary.

Grasp the canes where they meet each other, which is typically a few inches from their tips. Wind garden string or rope over the point several times until it is secure. Cut excess length off with scissors.

Knot the end of a roll of garden string to a cane along its middle and weave it over and under the canes at the same point, forming a horizontal joint that anchors growing tendrils during their ascent. Do not let the string sag, but pull it taut before weaving it around adjacent poles. Knot the string to the cane before cutting it off.

Knot the end of a roll of garden string to a cane to form another joint, several inches above the lower ends of the canes. Repeat the process of weaving the string all the way around the tepee trellis.

Slide your hand through the gap between the two horizontal binds in the trellis and plant the climbing plant variety in the soil. Twirl growing tendrils to the string and bamboos canes, or secure them with elastic ties, until the plant climbs the trellis on its own.