I found cut lengths of 14 gauge copper wire coated with green plastic....2 feet long. Bought a big bundle. They make wonderful hoops for the smaller plants...and the smaller leafed plants - the hoop winds up being about 10" tall. Next I am trying out some wire coated clothesline.... :>) Here is a photo with a young H. aldrichii and H. brevialata.
I was just given 2 Hoyas, one has very long hanging vines, is it a good idea to train them around a trellis?
For me it is a matter of preference. I have limited space and if I let them run on their merry way, everyone is in everyone else's tray....so I do my best to contain them. I also happen to like a full bushy look at the pot.....
:>)
Thanks Carol I will try that with mine.
Carol, thanks for the suggestion. I just went and bought some 12 g myself. They had all different colors to chose from. I went with a pink colored wire. Bought a bakers dozen, 13 feet, cost me $1.26. Will buy more when necessary. Excellent idea!
-Heather
I tried wire. Seems like it always wanted to tip to the front or the back. Is there a secret I don't know about?
Hoya Mom strikes again! Such a smarty pants!
;) Donna
I find that when the heavy guage wire is cut, then bent, it has a lot of 'memory'...i.e. it wants to be straight again...and if put from corner to corner in a 2.5" to 3/25" pot, it stays really straight.
Donna...you mean smarty 'PLants', don't you?
I am on the search for a clothesline that is plastic coated and really rigid...to make larger hoops. I could buy 3' lengths of the same wire I bought...but I have to buy another 1000 pieces.!!!
Gorilla Glue anyone? No joking...I am going to try some 'structures; with Gorilla Glue....
LOL
Where did you find the wire, we don't have any home and garden stores here, we have a Topps but they didn't have any.
I picked up some copper tubing at Lowes and shaped it around a wash tub. It is flexible and can be bent to fit into a clay pot. I have posted a picture of the wash tub and the resulting trellis.
I have H. Australis and I have tried to put it on a hoop but I broke off two leaves with the softest handling. What is the best way to train H.Australis? It is getting so tall and it has baby leaves popping out all the way up. They are so cute and fuzzy!
Carol, I have used gorilla glue. I used it on a antique stool I found. It works good, but be sure and wipe up the excess glue, as it is very hard to get off once it drys. Haven't used it on any thing else but wood. It seems expensive to me, I think just elmers wood glue would have given me the same results. JMO
Tami, you can go to a hardware store and they should have some wire. I think the stuff I got was electrical wire, plastic coated.
-Heather
Meltn, that is a great job of bending! My first attempt with it was...well....BENT! Freehand just doesn't work as well as bending around a mold, does it? LOL
Carol -- Check your clothes-line wiring closely....most are stranded wires that are twisted and will not be nearly as "stiff" as the single 14-gauge copper wire you're using.
Cool hoop, Mel! Necessity IS the mother of invention....
Lynn....thanks for the warning...:>)
Tami, I've had the same problem you mentioned with the hoop falling either to the front or the back, but then I'm using a round pot and the H. cv 'Jennifer' has large leaves on it. First chance I have, I'm going to see if I can find some heavy gauge but slightly flexible wire and see if I can build a modified tomato cage small enough to not overbalance the smaller pots but sufficient to hold a good bit of growth.
Carol, I'm really curious as to whether the Gorilla Glue works. I've seen it but never used it.
Barb
I did an experiment once with two bamboo hoops, and right angles to eachother. They needed to be wired together at the top....and it worked really well.
Ok Hoya Smarty plants Mom.....lol!! Meltn, you just gave me an idea with my washtubs for next year.
:) Donna
Yep, I'm with Donna, I have one of these wash tubs too. I'm gonna have to go to the recycle yard and see what kind of wire, tubbing, copper, etc. I can find. I like this place, so thanks for giving me an excuse to go!!!
Tami
