Building a Support for a Container Trellis
Providing the proper support for a large climbing plant growing in a large pot can be a challenge. That big climbing plant is going to need a big trellis to accommodate its growth, but its pot won’t support a big trellis. Try to stick a beefy trellis structure in that pot, and the whole thing’ll tip over. So, this one’s all about building a support for a container trellis. And, if you’re partial to wrought iron trellises, then this article is one you’ll want to read.
Table of Contents
Introduction
This one’s about building something that will help you stick a big trellis structure – particularly a big, store-bought, wrought iron trellis structure – into a big climbing plant’s big flower pot without the whole big thing toppling over. It’s that simple.
I had a situation on my hands that forced me to make a plan for building a support structure for a container trellis: my English climbing rose, which had pretty serious growth potential, was growing in a pot and needed a sizeable trellis to climb. I bought a big, heavy wrought iron trellis product that accommodated the rose’s support requirements, and had anchoring legs that allowed it to fit perfectly into the soil of the pot. The problem was that this trellis was way too big and heavy to be supported by the big flower pot alone. Hence, my need for a plan. I thought that what I came up with was pretty good – it worked out great for me and my climbing rose, and I’m sure it’ll work out great for you and your climbers, too. So, if you’re up for building a support for a container trellis of your own, keep reading.
My plan incorporates 1/2″ inside diameter (i.d.) black iron gas pipe, and heavy, pressure-treated lumber (but, as you’ll read, anything that’ll let you fasten the black iron gas pipe material to it that’s also heavy and weatherproof will work) as the support structure’s materials, and what I think is a pretty cool design. In this article, you’re going to get:
- The key steps to coming up with the simple but effective construction drawing that you’re going to want to make.
- An overview of the base I designed for my structure (along with a few alternatives), and lists of the tools and materials I used to build it.
- An overview of the the actual black iron pipe support structure I designed and built, and lists of the tools and materials I used to do it.
- A whole mess of pictures.
- Two awesome product recs.
Here you go…
Building a Support for a Container Trellis: Start with a Drawing
In my article, “Building a Garden Arbor: A Look at My Structure,” and in various other construction-related articles in Garden Construction and Hardscape here in The RGG, I talk about the importance of having a plan in place before any construction of any kind starts. For me, that plan ultimately takes the form of a drawing that features actual dimensions, measurement details, and an approximation of what I’m planning to build will look like. The drawing doesn’t have to be perfect – it just needs to clearly show accurate dimensions and measurements, and it needs to look sort of like what I’m planning to build so I know what dimension goes with what part. This is critical, sports fans – I’m telling you right now that correctly building a support structure for a container trellis is going to be impossible without a reasonably accurate drawing to guide your process.
Below are the basic steps to follow for coming up with a decent working drawing of your own.
- Envision. Know how you’d like your trellis support structure to look. And know how and where you’re going to anchor it and how and where you’re going to attach it to the trellis you’ll be using for your climbing plant
- Measure the flower pot. If you’ll be building a base structure to which you’ll be anchoring your trellis support (utilizing a moveable base structure will ensure that you can move the entire structure around), you’ll want to know the pot’s inside and outside diameters at both its base and its opening at its top. Even if your support structure will not have a base, knowing the outside diameter of the pot at its top is critical for figuring the setback distance of your future support structure, as well as the length of the stand-offs you’ll be incorporating into its construction.
- Measure the trellis structure itself. If you’ve gotten to this point in the article, it means that you’ve either planned to purchase, or have already purchased a beefy wrought iron trellis (or some other kind of big and beefy trellis that needs to be stabilized and supported) for that potted climbing plant you’ve got your heart set on growing. Knowing the trellis’ dimensions will tell you a number of things, including whether or not its anchoring members (its pointy “legs” that get inserted into the soil) will actually fit properly down into the pot you’re planning to use, and the actual measurement/dimensional details of your support structure itself. The wrought iron trellis you’re planning to use will inform not only the size of your support structure, but the locations of that structure’s stand-offs, which will ultimately “grip” the trellis and hold it firmly in place. The measurements and dimensions of the trellis will give you the measurements and dimensions of the support structure.
- Draw, baby, draw! It ain’t gotta be perfect. Unless you’re an architect, a CAD draftsperson, or a serious anal retentive type, your drawing is not going to be perfect. Mine never are. I never draw them to scale (N.T.S.), and in the case of this particular structure’s drawings, they were drawn freehand. They should, however, clearly (at least to you) represent each relevant component of your structure, and they should contain accurate corresponding measurements and dimensions. If you followed the first three steps, by this point you should know the wheres and how longs of your structure well enough to record your measurements and dimensions in your drawing, and then build your structure according to those measurements and dimensions.
Base or No Base?
The container trellis support structure I designed and built consists of two primary components: the actual black iron pipe structure (which fastens to, and supports, the separate, store-bought wrought iron trellis), and a heavy, pressure-treated wood base to which the black iron structure is anchored. When you decide that building a support for a container trellis is how you’ll be spending your own time, you’ll want to decide whether or not to incorporate a base in its design and construction. There are a few things to consider when making this decision.
Appearance. Do you think it will look cooler with a base, or without one? I really like the chunky, solid wooden base I designed and built for my trellis support structure. The big flower pot fits down into it and the whole ensemble – pot, trellis, support structure, and base – looks like it’s been built as a set, I think.
Moveability. If you think you might, at some point, need to move everything to a different location, a moveable base is what you want to build. Anchoring your support structure directly into a wall, a deck, or a patio would effectively make its location there a permanent one. If you opt for a moveable base, it’ll definitely be heavy (it needs to be in order to provide solid, non-toppling anchoring for your trellis’ support structure), but at least you’ll be able to move it without tearing up your deck, patio, or wall.
Materials for your base? Your choice. There’s no one correct answer here. You’ll read below that as long as what you use is weatherproof and heavy enough to stabilize the black iron pipe support structure (that’s in turn supporting the trellis you’re planning to stick in the pot to support your climbing plant), but still relatively easy to move (in case you want to change the whole thing’s location, a 400-pound concrete block is a bad choice), AND you like the way it looks when it’s finished, you’ll be good to go.
Building a Support for a Container Trellis: The Base
Once more, the style and design of your base, and the materials you use to build it, are entirely up to you. And again, the four critical requirements you’ll need to satisfy are 1) it’s got to be heavy enough and stable enough to support the structure that will support the trellis, 2) it needs to be weather-resistant, 3) it needs to be comparatively easy to move (assuming you’ll want the option of re-positioning your new creation), and 4) it needs to be attractive to you. Obviously, water-resistant pressure-treated lumber is an excellent material from which to craft your base. A virtually limitless number of designs and corresponding lumber sizes and dimensions are possible. I built mine by laminating, then square-butting and lag-screwing lengths of 4×4 and 4×6 pressure-treated lumber together to form a square base with an outer dimension of 35″x35″, and an inside opening of 17″x17″. It was a ridiculous amount of work but A) I love its appearance and functionality, and B) I’m an idiot.
Alternatives to My Base’s Design
But, if pressure treated-lumber is indeed the stuff you want to work with, there are definitely oodles of different ways you can go with your design that are probably a hell of a lot easier to build than my monstrosity. For example, laminating pressure-treated 2x10s (stacked 3-high for an actual thickness of 4.5″ and an actual width of 9.5″) with complementary dadoed ends, then fitting and lag-screwing the whole thing together at the four resultant finger-jointed corners, would work perfectly. This is just one possible alternative to my design that’s quicker and more simple to build, albeit with a substantially greater mass and weight. An even simpler design and easier build might incorporate a heavy single length of 6×6 pressure-treated lumber fitted with comparatively short outrigger “feet” fastened at either end to provide additional front-to-back stabilization. Bingo bango easy peasy. Sketches of these alternatives are below.
My Base: Tools, Equipment, Materials, and Pics
Again, what you use for your base in terms of material, and how you design and build it, is really up to you. For those of you insisting on subjecting yourselves to an undue amount of work and re-creating my support structure’s base, I’m giving you a list of the tools and materials you’ll need, plus some in-process construction pics and some finished product shots, as well. I’m not going to go through a whole blow-by-blow of the construction process. If you want a full-on, step-by-step explanation of how I built this thing, feel free to submit a “Contact Me” form, or reply with your question(s) in the “Leave a Comment” section at the end of the article, and I’ll gladly do my best to oblige. In the meantime, the pics below (right after the tool and material lists) should be fairly illustrative.
Tools and Equipment Needed to Build a Base like Mine
- Cordless driver/drill
- Chop (miter) saw
- Speed square
- Tape measure
- Handful of carpentry pencils
- Caulk gun
- 3/16″ x 12″ wood drill bit (for pilot holes)
- 1/4″x 12″ wood drill bit (for pilot holes)
- 1″ spade bit (for countersinking)
- Pipe clamps (on 48″ pipe length)
- 9/16″ socket wrench
- 9/16″ hex drive
- 1/2″ socket wrench
- 1/2″ hex drive
- Claw hammer
Building Materials Needed to Build a Base like Mine
- 4×4 pressure-treated lumber
- 4×6 pressure-treated lumber
- Exterior grade construction adhesive
- 3/8″ x 8″ galvanized hex-head lag screws
- 5/16″ x 8″ galvanized hex-head lag screws
- 3/8″ galvanized flat washers
- 5/16″ galvanized flat washers
- Waterproof plastic wood filler
Building a Support for a Container Trellis: The Support Structure Is a Pipe Dream!!!
Nothing goes with black wrought iron like half-inch threaded black iron gas pipe. Seriously. At the point that I knew a big, black wrought iron trellis was my potted climbing rose’s ticket to the stars, it only took me a split second to realize that a cool and funky black iron gas pipe structure was what I was gonna use to hold it in place. There are a bunch of compelling reasons for building a support for a container trellis out of threaded black iron pipe. Here are just a few:
- Convenience and applicability. Threaded black iron pipe is available – already cut and threaded – in a virtually limitless range of lengths, so making your support structure dimensionally compatible with the trellis it will be supporting, as well as the pot into which that trellis is inserted, is a snap. (And, if you own a mule* and a heavy-wall pipe cuting tool**, it’s even easier.)
- All the right connections. Just as with the pipe lengths, there’s virtually a fitting for every conceivable angle, twist, and turn of your trellis support’s design. You’ll be able to shape it by joining each length of pipe together in exactly the way you’ve envisioned it and planned it in your drawing.
- It’s paintable. Prime your black iron pipe structure and paint it any color you’d like. (Mine’s painted black. To match the wrought iron trellis it supports.)
- It’s just like making art. I loved coming up with the design of my structure, and the black iron pipe framework that resulted lent it a really great artsy overall look and feel. Mucho sculptural, mis amigas and amigos. Mucho.
*A mule is a motorized pipe threader. It’s a machine that accommodates varying sizes of pipe-threading dies, and allows for the threading of cut pipe of any length and any standard diameter. I owned one that, unfortunately, was lost in a flood several years ago.
**A heavy-wall pipe cutting tool uses at least one cutting wheel, rollers, and a threaded adjustment shank to make perfectly even pipe cuts exactly perpendicular to each particular pipe’s length. A portable metal cutting band saw is also capable of cutting heavy-wall pipe, but with less precision than the pipe cutting tool.
Note: The effective use of a mule and pipe cutting tool typically requires the use of a pipe-cutting/threading stand unit to effectively hold the pipe in place during cutting/threading.
My Black Iron Pipe Support Structure: Tools, Equipment, Materials, and Pics
Just as in the case of the wood base I built for this structure, I’m not going to give you step-by-step instructions for my black iron support structure – there are just too many potential variables involved vis-a-vis the size and nature of the structure you yourself may end up designing and building. Instead, I’m going to give you a list of the tools and equipment I used in the construction of my black iron structure, and a list of the materials that went it to it, as well. And, of course, you’re going to get a number of photos which should be fairly illustrative of the structure’s construction and function, and should make for a fairly decent intuitive roadmap for the designing and building of your own structure. As always, feel free to reach out via an RGG “Contact Me” form with specific questions regarding the designing and building of my structure. Or, again, reply with your question(s) in the “Leave a Comment” section at the end of the article. I’ll get back to you with answers ASAP. In the meantime, what follows are the goods and the pics.
Tools and Equipment Needed to Build a Black Iron Pipe Structure like Mine
- Tape measure
- Torpedo level
- Pipe wrenches and/or tongue and groove pliers (ChannelLocks)
- Cordless driver/drill
- Wood drill bit (for pilot hole)
- Metal drill bit (for enlarging the diameter of floor flange holes if necessary)
- Phillips screw driver
- Slotted screwdriver
- Socket wrench set
- Small adjustable wrench, or box wrench set
Building Materials Needed to Build a Black Iron Pipe Structure like Mine
- 1/2″ inside diameter (i.d.) threaded black iron pipe nipples (straight pipe sections) of varying lengths
- 1/2″ i.d. black iron tees (“T” fittings) – quantity 6
- 1/2″ i.d. black iron els (“L” fittings) – quantity 2 (I used decorative els that featured a square outside dimensional profile, rather than the standard round profile)
- 1/2″ i.d. black iron couplings (fittings) – quantity 2
- 1/2″ i.d. black iron unions (connecting fittings) – quantity 2
- 1/2″ i.d. square profile black iron floor flanges – quantity 10
- 1/2″ i.d. black iron caps (decorative square outside profile) – quantity 4
- 1/4″ x 3″ galvanized hex-head lag screws (for anchoring the support structure to its wood base)
- #12-24 phillips head machine screws
- #12-24 hex nuts
- #12 lock washers
- #12 flat washers
- Gray rusty metal primer (spray cans)
- Black (flat) rust inhibiting paint (spray cans)
- Exterior grade silicone caulk
Product Recommendations That Make Building a Support for a Container Trellis Easy as Pie
The process of building a support for a container trellis is going to involve some drilling, boring, and screwing. Plain and simple. Make this part of the job the least of your worries with the bad boy I’m recommending below. And, of course, you’re going to want an awesome store-bought trellis to support in the first place. The one that I purchased is the second product rec below.
Makita 18-Volt 2-Amp Lithium Ion Brushless Cordless Driver/Drill/Impact Driver Set. I use this awesome Makita driver/drill/impact driver set for everything, including the construction of my container trellis support structure. The driver/drill has multiple speed and torque settings, plus a hammer setting for concussive boring into masonry and concrete. This kit also comes with a powerful impact driver, which is helpful when dealing with tightly threaded nuts and bolts, and tough threaded fastener penetration situations. This is a great rugged combo by a matchless manufacturer of cordless drills and drivers. I’ve used Makita cordless drills/drivers my whole adult life. If you’re planning on building a support for a container trellis that features a wooden base, you’ll want to use this drill. To learn more, or to order this great set here, directly from Amazon, please click the #advertisement link.
Makita 18-Volt 2-Amp Lithium Ion Brushless Cordless Driver/Drill/Impact Driver Set
Click here to learn more or to order
#advertisement
H Potter Garden Trellis for Climbing Plants Model 525. This is the trellis I selected for my English climbing rose ‘Bathsheba’, from David Austin Roses. It’s an excellent product that, at 35 lbs, is incredibly well-built and sturdy. It’s weather resistant, with a black powder coated finish. It’s 24″ wide with an above-grade height of 80.75″. Plus, it’s got 13.75″ anchoring ground spikes for inserting into the ground in your garden, or, now that you know how to support it, into the dirt in a big container. It comes in three parts and assembles in seconds. To learn more, or to order this beautiful, rugged trellis here, directly from Amazon, please click the #advertisement link.
H Potter Garden Trellis for Climbing Plants Model 525
Click here to learn more or to order
#advertisement
And That’s It
Alrighty, sports fans, the end is here. I’ll wrap this up by telling you that, if you’ve got your eye on a big ass climbing plant, and you don’t have a place in the ground for it, go ahead and get it anyway. Why? Because now, you can stick it in a gigantic pot with a gigantic trellis product that you’ll order from Amazon (hint), and you’ll not need to worry about the whole kit and caboodle tipping over. And why won’t it tip over? Because you can build something really effective at holding it all up that also happens to be extremely cool looking. Capiche? Yep. Definitely. Because now, you’ve got the whole plan. You know that before you ever lift a finger (or a pipe wrench), you’re going to make a really simple construction drawing, and you’ve got all of the simple steps that’ll help you do it. You know what both components of my own structure – the base and the black iron pipe structure – are all about, and you know what kind of tools and materials went into building them. You’ve got a whole bunch of photos that hopefully give you at least a little idea of how my structure was built and what it does. And, you’ve got two awesome product recs. The only thing you’ve got to do at this point is get started on building your own container trellis support.
I know that what you come up with is going to be great.
Cheers, and Happy Gardening!
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That looks awesome!
Another amazing article filled with so much knowledge.
Thank you so much for reading it, Roxxy. I’m really glad you enjoyed it. I was actually pretty happy with the sculptural feel I thought the structure ended up having, and it does what it was designed to do very well. It was a successful project, and I really enjoyed writing about it and providing the information and photos to RGG readers. Again, I’m glad you enjoyed the article, and I truly appreciate your very kind words. Thanks once more, Roxxy!
Your structure looks like an art installation! The rose bush is gorgeous. I can’t believe that you just planted it this year. What a fabulous addition to your garden.
Thank you so much, Kevin – I really appreciate that. I do agree – I think that the combination of the materials I used definitely lent a sculptural feel to the structure. Best of all, it’s amazingly functional. I also agree with you about the ‘Bathsheba’ climbing rose. It’s a real beauty. I’m very happy with its first year performance. David Austin Roses does it again! Thanks once again, Kevin. I’m glad you like the rose and its new setup.
Excellent and thoughtful ideas. Important information for a trellis, pot, and climbing plants.
Thank you, Rick, for reading the article and for your kind thoughts. I do think the system I outlined here serves as an attractive and effective application. If it’s helpful to readers, I’m doubly glad. Thanks once again, Rick.