How to stake your plants

How to stake your plants

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How to stake your plants

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Project Overview

Staking plants helps your trees, flowers and vegetables by giving them support and protection. It also helps train them to grow in the right direction. Find out where and how deep to put the stake, plus how to choose the right ties for your plants. 
Continue to step-by-step instructions

Step by Step Instructions

1 Choose the right sort of ties
2 Choose a position for your stake
3 Hammer in the stake
4 Tie the plant to the stake
5 Attach more ties to the tree

  • Step 1. Choose the right sort of ties

    Before you start staking your plants, it’s important to choose the right kind of ties. Soft ties are ideal for gentler plants. Chain ties are suitable for small trees on a stake, like roses because they grow fast and can be easily adjusted as the branches grow and expand. Fabric ties are ideal for most plants. We’re using fabric ties for our lemon tree because they give it the right amount of support but also the flexibility to move and grow.

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    Woman choosing the right ties

  • Step 2. Choose a position for your stake

    To decide where the stake will go, have a look at the plant to see which way it is leaning. This is especially important in windy areas. If the plant is leaning to the left or the wind is blowing to the left, put the stake on the right side of the plant to help it grow straight. It’s best to put your stake in when you’re planting the tree, while the soil is soft, so that you don’t damage the roots.

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    Choose the position of the stake

  • Step 3. Hammer in the stake

    Use the hammer to drive the stake into the ground so that it’s 30 to 40 centimetres deep. Give it a good hit so that it’s nice and firm. If the stake has splinters, wear gloves when hammering it in. 

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    Person hammering in stake

  • Step 4. Tie the plant to the stake

    Cut the fabric tie with scissors. It’s better to be too long than too short. Secure the first tie near the bottom of the tree, where the tree starts to fork out into branches. This will help to straighten up the branches on the tree. Wrap the fabric tie around the tree and the stake twice, and tie it off using a bow. This way you can easily untie and attach it somewhere else on the tree.
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    Person tying plant to the stake

  • Step 5. Attach more ties to the tree

    If your tree is tall, it may need more than one tie to secure it to the stake and to keep it growing straight. Repeat the above step to secure the ties. Check on your plants regularly, and add additional ties when they grow. Add the ties about 15-20 centimetres apart. Make sure you secure the tie to the stake and not the plant.

    Previous Step Next Step
    Check on your plants regurlarly

Tools and Materials

Tools

  • Hammer
  • Scissors

Materials

  • Stakes
  • Ties

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