Support Your Roses: Creative Trellis Ideas

Roses need strong support, such as a pole, stake, or metal frame.

1. Select an appropriate prop for the plant. Choose supports made of materials that suit your home and landscape style. A wood arbor or fence with loose plantings lends a relaxed feel, while wrought-iron structures and tidy patterns create a formal look. Paint an obelisk electric blue for an artful look with a yellow rose, or white with a white picket fence and pink roses for a cottage garden.

2. Let a rose meander up a spring-flowering shrub or fruit tree. Plant the rose on the windward side of its host, at least 3 feet from the trunk, so it climbs toward sun. Excellent tree climbers include 'Paul's Himalayan Musk Rambler,' 'Mermaid,' and 'Blaze.'

For a cascading eye-catcher, use a spoked wheel to create an umbrella.

3. Be imaginative when considering supports. Find ready-made structures in steel, aluminum, plastic, or bamboo at garden centers and mail-order catalogs. Or repurpose items like iron railing, a rattan headboard, or an old ladder.

4. Twist and coax long canes to intermingle and form natural arches with little support. Plant them on opposite sides of a path or stairway with a tall upright for each rose and a wire stretched between the poles.