Supporting Flowers in the Home Garden
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When I started gardening, I quickly learned the importance of supporting the many flowers and vegetables I was growing. Early in the season, all my plants looked great. As the season progressed, flowers started falling over, vines took over walkways, and the gardens began to look a mess.
The fix is simple: put supports in early, while plants are small, and let them grow into them. A stake pushed in after a dahlia has flopped is harder to place, risks spearing the tuber, and never looks as natural.
Flowers that usually need support
| Flower | Why it flops | Best support |
|---|---|---|
| Peonies | Heavy double blooms bend stems to the ground, especially after rain | Peony ring or grow-through grid, set over the shoots in early spring |
| Delphiniums | Flower spikes 4 to 6 feet tall snap in wind | A stake for each spike, tied in several places |
| Dahlias | Big blooms on hollow stems, plants up to 4 or 5 feet | A sturdy stake or cage set at planting time |
| Tall sunflowers | Heavy heads on tall stalks; exposed sites | A stout stake for giant types in windy spots; most others stand alone |
| Gladiolus | Tall, narrow spikes tip over in full bloom | Plant corms 6 inches deep, or use a grid or stakes |
| Hollyhocks | 5- to 8-foot spires catch the wind | Plant against a fence or wall, or stake |
| Climbing roses | Long canes have no way to climb on their own | Trellis, arbor or fence, with canes tied in |
| Tall snapdragons | Top-heavy spikes lean after rain | Horizontal netting or a grid |
| Asters, mums, tall sedum | Fall bloomers open up and splay by late summer | Grow-through grid, or pinch back early (see below) |
Shorter varieties of most of these, such as single and Itoh peonies or border dahlias, often need no support at all. If you'd rather not stake, choose compact varieties.
Support methods
Stakes
Bamboo, wood or metal stakes hold single stems or spikes upright. Set the stake close to the plant, on the side away from the prevailing wind, and push it deep enough to stay firm. It should end up a little shorter than the mature flower so it's hidden. Tie stems loosely in several places as they grow. For dahlias, drive the stake in when you plant the tuber so you don't damage it later.
Rings, hoops and cages
Metal or plastic rings on legs encircle a plant and hold all its stems at once. Peony rings are the classic example; set them over the plant when shoots are a few inches tall, and the foliage grows through and hides them. Taller cages suit dahlias and other bushy plants.
Grids
A grow-through grid is a flat panel of wire or plastic mesh on legs. Set it over a clump in spring at about a third of the plant's final height, and the stems grow up through the openings. Grids work well for peonies, asters, phlox, and gladiolus planted in blocks.
Horizontal netting
Cut-flower growers stretch plastic or string netting horizontally over whole beds of snapdragons, lisianthus, and other tall annuals, held taut by stakes at the corners and along the sides. Install the first layer about a foot above the soil while plants are young, and add a second layer higher up for very tall crops. See why netting quality matters.
Pea brush
Twiggy branches pruned from shrubs, such as birch or hazel, pushed into the soil around a clump in spring make an inexpensive support that disappears as plants grow through it.
Trellises, arbors and obelisks
Climbers such as clematis, morning glories and climbing roses need vertical support. Twining vines and tendril climbers find their own way up once they reach the structure. Climbing roses don't: tie their canes in with soft ties. Training rose canes closer to horizontal leads to more flowering side shoots along their length. Obelisks give a vertical accent in the middle of a bed.
Ties
Use soft, flexible ties: garden twine, strips of cloth, or stretchy plant tape. Loop the tie in a figure eight, crossed between the stem and the stake, so the stem doesn't rub. Check ties during the season and loosen any that start to cut in.
Grow sturdier plants so they need less support
- Pinch back fall bloomers. Cutting asters, mums, tall sedum, and similar late perennials back by about a third to a half in late spring gives shorter, bushier, sturdier plants that bloom a bit later. Many gardeners call this the "Chelsea chop."
- Go easy on nitrogen. Heavy fertilizing produces soft, fast growth that flops. Many prairie plants, like coneflowers, stand up best in average soil.
- Give plants enough sun. Plants reaching for light in partial shade grow tall and weak.
- Plant in groups. Neighboring stems lean on each other, and a dense planting holds itself up better than scattered single plants.
Keep an eye on things
Check supports every week or two through the growing season. Tie in new growth, add a second tier of netting or a taller stake if needed, and repair anything a storm has knocked loose. In fall, pull and clean stakes, rings and grids so they last for years.
For vegetables, see Supporting Plants in the Garden and Supporting Tomato Plants. If you grow dahlias, the dahlia tuber digging video covers what to do with them in fall.