Staking Flowers

Guide to When and Why to Stake Perennials and Other Flowers

Mar 14, 2007 Barbara M. Martin

Many perennial flowers should be staked. Learn the best techniques and methods to use in your flower garden and when and why to stake your flowers.

Flower gardeners know that certain perennials require staking every year, as do some specialty flowers such as gladiolus. It is so disheartening to see a perfect lily stem snap in a wind storm or discover a large peony plant in full bloom flattened by rain. Don’t let this happen to your flowers! Planning ahead and being prepared with the right equipment can help make staking less of a chore and also yield better results. Check out the different staking methods for perennials and other flowers and follow these general guidelines for the right way to stake flowers in the flower garden.

Install Stakes and Supports in Early Spring

As a general rule, install supports early in the season so the plant grows up around it or through it and hides it. If you wait too late and the plant has grown fairly tall then you may break or crush the plant when you install the support. Installing the supports early also helps the overall effect look more natural, with the supports soon hidden by the foliage.

Exception: When staking dahlias or gladiolus for example, install the stake at planting time. If you wait until later, you risk piercing the underground portion of the plant and damaging it.

Use Staking Method Appropriate to Your Garden Style

In an informal or cottage style garden, staking is often omitted so the plants take on their natural look and mingle together. (An exception might be peonies and plants in danger of breaking when they bloom.) Pea sticks, mismatched stakes and string, or improvised tomato cages and so on are fine to use in an informal setting.

In a formal garden, uniform staking is important to maintaining an overall symmetrical, ordered look. For a formal flower garden, use unobtrusive but attractive staking materials and install them in a neat, orderly way so the perennial plants and other flowers look tidy and well groomed at all times. Nothing looks messier than a bunch of floppy flowers in need of staking or a row of flowers staked all crooked.

Are You Staking Too Much?

Most perennials should be self supporting for the most part, with a few exceptions such as peonies, asters, delphiniums, lilies and dahlias. When you stake flowers, allow some looseness for some natural movement and sway. They should not be stiffly bound like evil prisoners tied to a stake.

If you find you need to stake most types of flowers in your garden, including those perennials that typically do not need staking, there may be a problem. For example, you are likely to find that your plants are growing in too much shade and/or have been over fertilized. (If you have a shady or partly shaded garden, see my Shade Garden Design Tips.)

Last but not least, if you hate staking flowers in the garden be sure to avoid planting those perennials and other flowers that are reputed to usually need staking. And if you have planted perennials that do need staking, make sure you stake them correctly for best results -- and a healthy, tidy flower garden.

MORE FLOWER GARDENS ARTICLES and FLOWER GARDENS BLOGS Copyright March 14, 2007 Barbara Martin All Rights Reserved

The copyright of the article Staking Flowers in Flower Gardens is owned by Barbara M. Martin. Permission to republish Staking Flowers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.