How to Make an Indoor Wooden Plant Trellis

Calculate the height of the pot for which you want to make the tepee trellis, and add to it the desired height of the trellis to determine the length of the wood strips. Ideally, the wood strips should equal twice the pot’s height to keep it from toppling over due to the weight.

Cut four lengths of 1-by-1-inch wood strips to length using a handsaw. Smooth out sharp ends or splinters along the panels using medium-grit sandpaper.

Fill the pot with quality potting soil if you haven’t added it already. Mark four equidistant marks along the edge of the pot with chalk.

Insert a wood strip into the soil next to the chalk mark. Push it down until its lower end rests on the base of the pot and angle it inward so its upper edge falls directly above the pot’s center. If required, firm the soil around the strip so it stands on its own. Continue the process of inserting the remaining wood strips into the soil, ensuring their upper ends join over the middle of the plant container, resembling a tepee.

Hold the upper ends of the wood strips where they meet each other, 3 to 4 inches downward from the tips. Wind garden wire or rope around the strips at the selected point several times to secure them together. Tuck the end of the wire or rope underneath the loop to keep it from unraveling and cut excess off using wire cutters or scissors.

Loop the end of garden wire or rope around a wood strip, 4 to 6 inches below the previous joint, and knot it firmly to keep it from unraveling. Weave the wire over and under the remaining strips, pulling it taut to keep it from sagging, until you reach the strip from which you started. Knot the wire to the strip and cut the excess to form a horizontal bind that supports the plant’s tendrils. Repeat the process of weaving a horizontal support along the middle of the tepee trellis and one several inches from the base.

Secure the growing tendrils of the plant to the wood strips and lowest horizontal wire or rope with soft cord to train it during its ascent. Once trained, the plant climbs and spreads over the middle and upper horizontal supports.