How to Build an Arched Trellis for Roses

Gather two branches long enough to reach the desired height of your trellis. Gather a surplus of shorter branches and sticks. Avoid rotting or damaged wood. Remove the bark.

Soak one of the more pliable branches in water for several hours to make it even more pliable. Gently bend the branch into an arch shape. Secure the arch shape by placing weights on top of the branch ends or by tying a piece of twine between them. Make sure the distance between the ends is a few inches wider than the desired width of the trellis. Leave all of the branches in the sun to dry.

Lay the long branches on the ground parallel to one another. Space them to the desired width of the trellis.

Soak several 12- to 24-inch lengths of twine in a bucket of water.

Cut a branch a few inches longer than the width of the trellis. Place the branch perpendicular to, toward the bottom of and with the ends extending past the two long branches. Place the arched branch across and just down from the tops of the long branches, with the arch facing up.

Secure the points where the top and bottom branches intersect the side branches with 24-inch lengths of twine. Wrap twine repeatedly and snugly around all four corners of an intersection, securing the ends with a tight knot. As the twine dries, it will shrink and the ties will become tighter and stronger.

Lay out the remaining sticks within the frame and create a desired trellis pattern of crisscrossing branches, allowing the ends of branches to extend just past the framing branches. Cut any extra long ends so they overlap the framing branches by just a few inches. Options for trellis patterns include a grid with horizontal and vertical branches, a grid with diagonal branches or an invented design. Secure each intersection between two branches with twine. Use the long pieces of twine for thicker branches and the short pieces for smaller branches.

Paint the trellis with fungicidal wood sealant.