Growing up is more than aging from Hello Kitty to margaritas. In gardens, growing up is vertical gardening. It’s functional and decorative and has been around, in some form, longer than “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
Instead of allowing plant sprawl that gobbles up valuable space, guide plants skyward. Use trellising, staking and training. Hang plants in pots and planters.
Space can be limited in urban neighborhoods. Too much shade from mature trees, small yards, swimming pools, patios and decks shrink growing areas. Apartment decks and balconies are well suited to vertical gardening.
Suburban areas are prone to lot shrinkage. Colossal homes and wee lots don’t accommodate ample garden beds and borders. Vertical gardening allows more plants in a smaller footprint.
Going vertically benefits edibles and ornamentals. It allows better air circulation and exposes plants to more sunlight. Harvesting and maintenance become easier when gardeners can stand instead of bending or kneeling.
A strategically placed wall of foliage can shelter tender plants from late afternoon summer heat. It can hide waste bins and heating and air units. A leafy wall acts as a sound barrier and privacy screen.
Growing up discourages diseases and some pests. Spotting both is easier at eye level.
Sweet peas, bougainvillea, climbing roses, wisteria, trumpet vine, clematis, nasturtium, morning glory and jasmine are popular flowering plants to train upward on supports.
Pole beans, cucumbers, squash, small pumpkins, melons, peas, grapes and tomatoes all benefit from trellising. A tomato cage is nothing more than a round or square trellis. I train cucumbers up a 6-foot tomato cage.
Fruit and citrus trees, pyracantha, bougainvillea, cotoneaster and camellias are among plants that can be espaliered or trained on a structure to hug a wall or fence. Espalier plants are extremely attractive additions.
Vertical gardening happens in several ways. Try wall- and fence-mounted containers, stacked containers, trellises and other imaginative, artistic structures.
Plants can rise up on any number of structural materials. Heavy twine, wire, PVC irrigation pipes, wood, steel and decorative arbors are common materials. To support heavy, maturing melons, winter squash and gourds grown on a trellis, make slings using old T-shirts, pantyhose or fabric facemasks. Resting in their mini hammocks, they are secure and happy until maturity.
Repurposing is often called upon to encourage upward growth. Old wooden ladders work for vining plants. Paint the ladder a shocking blue or red or leave it weathered to blend into a rustic look. Baby gates, crib sides and iron headboards make unique trellises.
Decorative arbors can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. Or drop $20 for three 6-foot bamboo poles and twine for a traditional teepee trellis. The teepee serves another useful purpose as a playhouse for children and grandkids.
Concrete reinforcement wire and galvanized cattle fence panels are often used for caging and arbors. Find them at home improvement box stores and feed and supply shops that sell farm and pet products.
At the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, UC Master Gardeners have repurposed the wooden frames of outdoor umbrellas, metal bicycle rims, ladders, even long-handled tools to display vertical gardening. These structures always attract attention and how-to questions.
“We use lots of bamboo to construct all sorts of things,” says UC Master Gardener Gail Pothour. “We have used bicycle wheel rims in a bunch of ways. We made a trellis using bamboo that supports three old gardening tools, a rake, flat-head shovel and a garden shovel. We also made a trellis for peas using an old surveyor’s sight pole, topped with a large bicycle wheel.”
Pothour loves reusing items otherwise headed for a landfill. “It is fun to think of ways to build unusual structures and supports using what I already have. Plus, it provides a bit of garden whimsy.”
Dan Vierria is a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener for Sacramento County. He can be reached at masterg29@gmail.com. For answers to gardening questions, contact UCCE Master Gardeners at (916) 876-5338, email mgsacramento@ucanr.edu or visit sacmg.ucanr.edu. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
