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Garden Support Obelisk Suggestions

VoyagerxpVoyagerxp Posts: 646
in Plants
I've just brought a David Austin Shropshire Lad climbing rose & clematis Sugar Sweet Blue that was on the Chelsea Flower Show this year. I've been looking for 2 metal Obelisks to grow them up but many look flimsy and don't have many good reviews, anyone got Obelisks and can recommend any good ones.




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  • pansyfacepansyface Posts: 21,914
    An excellent company:-

    https://www.harrodhorticultural.com/search.html?q=obelisk
    Apophthegm -  a big word for a small thought.
    If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,324
    Agreed...have three of the Harrod obelisks and they are worth every penny. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,507
    Wow they are very expensive!
    Crocus do a classic obelisk which gets good reviews

  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,324
    Unfortunately good quality doesn't come cheap. You have to make the call if you'd rather replace them every five years or buy one that will last thirty. Maybe see if any local garden centre stocks any Harrod ones and you will see first hand why they are priced like they are. There are discount codes for 20% if you look around. Another option is to get a wooden one which will be cheaper.

    On the first year I made two out of three bamboo hoops each to see if I liked them in my main border...they could have lasted for 3-4 seasons giving time to save up. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • pansyfacepansyface Posts: 21,914
    You have to ask yourself how if, after several years a cheap obelisk begins to rot and collapse, you are going to remove and replace it with another, given that you will be wrestling with a mature rose and clematis.
    Apophthegm -  a big word for a small thought.
    If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 7,898
    I also have 2 of the Harrod Horticultural metal obelisks.

    Expensive? - yes - but they will see me out and they look dead classy as well as offering excellent strong support for roses and clematis. Great believer in buy once, buy right. I did the same as George using large bamboo wigwams to work out exactly the right positions for the obelisks / make sure I liked the effect before purchase.

    Mine were a birthday present from OH which helped justify the cost. 
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 886
    Agriframes are also good but probably similar prices to Harrodhorticultural.

    Agree with OP comments re quality. Clematis, if regularly pruned, are fairly light but roses can get quite heavy over time.

    Nothing worse than having to cut down a beautiful mature climbing rose because its support has collapsed and damaged all the main stems in the process - we had that experience earlier this year 😞

    it it was one we inherited when we moved in, we knew it was going to happen but couldn’t work out how to untangle it from the support - it had threaded its way in and out of all the legs.
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,053
    These look quite good and more affordable:

    https://www.gapgardenproducts.com/obelisks.html
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,324
    Thanks for the link @Nollie will keep them in mind for any future bits and bobs. They seem to use 8mm metal instead of 10mm and the finish is not powder coated as the Harrod ones, but they do look very nice. Nice to have extra options. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,053
    I came across the above and many other suppliers when looking for half hoop perennial supports - just typed in ‘plant supports’... various options including some much more expensive than Harrod Horticultural!

    I bought the hoops from plantsupports.co.uk but their obelisks were only 6mm metal, which I thought was rather too flimsy, so good point re metal thickness @amancalledgeorge

    I made obelisks from very sturdy hazel sticks...
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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