How to Grow Vines on a Lattice

Many vines need structural support, such as a lattice panel, to maintain their natural shape, avoid unsightly tangles and promote vigorous growth. Whether your vine produces tendrils or canes, you can train it to climb a lattice while promoting lush growth at the bottom and middle as well as at the top, where most vines race to reach. Begin training early in the season for established vines, or soon after planting vines you've transplanted or brought home from a nursery. Once trained and established, your lattice-growing vines should give you years of enjoyment with a minimum of annual maintenance.

Shovel
Well-rotted manure or compost
Watering can or garden hose
Garden gloves
Twine or twist ties
Clippers or pruners

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare a planting hole about 6 inches in front of the lattice. Dig the hole to twice the size of your vine's root ball.
- 2
  Mix a shovelful of well-rotted manure or compost into the soil removed from the hole. Moisten the mixture well. Shovel a 2- to 3-inch base of the mixture into the planting hole.
- 3
  Place your vine into the planting hole. Fill the hole with the soil mixture. Tamp down gently with your hands to be sure the roots are secure.
- 4
  Select the longest vine stems, one at a time. Weave each stem through the lattice sideways, or horizontally, beginning at the lattice base. Secure each end gently with twine or a twist-tie.
- 5
  Continue winding new growth into the lattice panel until your vine begins leafing out horizontally and vertically. As some strands reach the lattice top, bend them downward and weave them into the lattice.
- 6
  Clip off vine heads when you have achieved the degree of lushness you desire or when every hole in the lattice is filled with leafy vine. For fuller vines, reweave tendrils or canes back into the plant.

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