Friday, September 4, 2009

Stakes for the future

It's been windy this week, which has reminded me that I need to upgrade the staking on the standard roses before one of them blows loose. It's happened before, and we've been lucky that no standards' stems (trunks?) have broken. Yet.

Part of the issue is that they are supported with wooden stakes, which decay. I suspect the roses are less than 5 years old (maybe as young as 3 years?) and in that time stakes have gone from the new condition on the left to the decayed on the right:

The loss of a sharp point means that the stakes can't be pushed firmly into the pretty solid rose beds; they still can serve out a few more years in the more friable vegie beds.

In the hopes of finding a more long-lived support, I'm comparing some recycled plastic stakes from Bunnings with new wooden ones.

The black plastic isn't particularly attractive, but is probably just as subtle as the yellowy wood when supporting the standard roses. I'll report back on the outcome.... in several years, I hope!


No comments:

Related Posts with Thumbnails