Welcome to Munton's Traditional Plant Supports

When it comes to plant supports, it’s horses for courses. If you want to prevent a plant from flopping or being beaten down by bad weather, then the best answer is a circular structure that ‘lassoes’ them, such as our peony and herbaceous supports. Climbers need a structure up which they can twine themselves or cling to with their tendrils – obelisks, arches and trellises are great for this. A trellis is also excellent for a non-climbing tree or shrub that you wish to train into a two-dimensional shape, such as an espaliered apple. Simple hoops and stakes are immensely versatile additions to the plant support family too.

It is hard to credit how much weight there can be in just leaves and petals – and yet a peony in full bloom or a wonderfully floriferous rose can flatten supporting canes and twine or bendy metal that looked easily up to the job back in the spring. This is what drove us to design sturdy solid steel supports that are not going to be bullied out of shape by flowering heavyweights.

There can be few garden sheds that don’t hold a stash of stakes, often an eclectic mix of bamboo, plastic, metal or wood. They have multiple uses, from marking out rows for veg to staking tomato plants to providing emergency props. But they don’t make satisfactory long-term installations, so in this role, look instead for permanent plant supports that will do sterling work all year, every year and still remain attractive. PS We do do our own range of ball-topped stakes too!

When choosing a support for a tall plant, consider the habit of the plant as well as its potential height. Bushy types, such as large campanulas and many grasses, may just need a suitably sized ring around them to keep them from smothering their neighbours. But stands of vulnerable single stems – I’m thinking particularly of delphiniums and very tall dahlias – may benefit from more tailored support. Sometimes I tie stems to individual stakes, but I find our larger herbaceous supports fitted with the option of a gridded topmost ring, usually provide an ideal and unobtrusive answer.