Found Trellis For Pots: DIY Trellis Ideas For Containers

Red Flowered Vines Growing Around A Trellis
trellis
(Image credit: obscura99)

If you’re discouraged by lack of growing room, a container trellis will allow you to put those small areas to good use. A container trellis also helps prevent diseases by keeping plants above the damp soil. Spend some time in your local thrift shop, unleash your imagination, and you may find the perfect thing for a potted DIY trellis. 

Trellis Ideas for Containers

Here are a few suggestions to get you started on using an upcycled trellis for pots:

  • Tomato cage container trellises: Old, rusty tomato cages are ideal for relatively small patio containers. You can insert them into the potting mix with the wide end up or you can wire the “legs” of the cages together and use it with the round part down. Feel free to paint potted DIY trellises with rust-resistant paint. 
  • Wheels: A bike wheel makes a unique upcycled trellis for pots. A regular sized wheel is fine for a whisky barrel or other large container, while wheels from a small bike, tricycle, or cart can be a potted DIY trellis for smaller containers. Use a single wheel or make a taller trellis by attaching two or three wheels, one above the other, to a wooden post. Train vines to wind around the spokes. 
  • Recycled ladders: Old wooden or metal ladders make a simple, quick, and easy container trellis. Simply prop the ladder to a fence or wall behind the container and let the vine climb around the steps.
  • Old garden tools: An upcycled trellis for pots from old garden tools might be the answer if you’re looking for something super-simple and unique for sweet peas or beans. Just poke the handle of an old shovel, rake, or pitchfork into the pot and train the vine to climb up the handle with soft garden ties. Shorten the handle if the old garden tool is too long for the container. 
  • A “found” trellis for pots: Create a natural, rustic, teepee trellis with branches or dried plant stalks (such as sunflowers). Use garden twine or jute to lash three branches or stalks together where they meet at the top and then spread the branches to form a teepee shape.
Mary H. Dyer
Writer

A Credentialed Garden Writer, Mary H. Dyer was with Gardening Know How in the very beginning, publishing articles as early as 2007.