Give Your (Rare) Plants the Support they Deserve!

Ian Whinfield, from Snapestakes, on the important subject of providing the right support for your plants - 05 June 2015

Plants that have flopped do not enhance a garden! Gardeners often spend a great deal of money, love and time on the plants they choose for their gardens, but one of the kindest things you can give them is the correct support!

We are gardeners ourselves (our specialist plantsman's garden at Snape Cottage in north Dorset has been open to the public since 1987) so we know exactly what is needed to give your plants the right support.  Our unpainted half hoop Snape Stakes are made of solid steel which will not buckle, bend or split.  They are unobtrusive (and much safer and easier than bamboo canes) and will maintain an informal, natural look to your borders.  They are available in 6 sizes - suitable for every type of herbaceous plant or bulb in cultivation!

In our garden, we find that the Mini and Small sizes are ideal for clumps of bulbs, dianthus, plants in containers, and aquilegias, whereas the Medium and Squat are the general all-purpose herbaceous ones - good for hardy geraniums, alchemilla, paeonies, asters, etc.

Sometimes it is necessary to use different sizes on one very large clump.  For example, insert a Squat and/or Medium as the plant is growing and then add in a Tall or Large one as it grows taller.  Alternatively, the arc of the stake can be pulled wider and several Stakes used around very large clumps - I have used 5 mediums around a hefty Nepeta parnassica this year.  I am now going to use a Crown Obelisk instead!

Snape Stakes can be pushed into the ground (or hammered into stony soils) to a depth of 3" - 6" depending on soil and plant type.  You will be relieved to hear that no linking is necessary.

We have developed our range of Steel Obelisks over many years to accommodate all the different types of plants in our own garden.  They now come in a variety of shapes and sizes (towers, pyramids, crowns and lobster pots) and are wonderful for shrub roses, all manner of climbing plants (such as sweet peas and clematis) and vegetables, as well as for larger clumps of herbaceous plants.  They also provide interesting structural shapes to the winter garden.

Further information (including dates of their Garden Open Days) is available on Ian and Angela's website, along with mail order or collection details.

Website www.snapestakes.com