Encourage Your Plants to Grow Upwards and Healthy with The Best Garden Stakes

Factors to consider when buying garden stakes

Below, we have mentioned some of the things that you need to keep in mind while buying a garden stake. 

Gauge thickness

You will notice while looking at garden stakes that gauge thickness is often mentioned. This thickness is mentioned in the range of 1 to 40. This number indicates the stake's thickness. The higher the gauge thickness number is, the thinner the stake is and vice versa. 

A thick garden stake is more suitable if you want the garden stake to support heavy plants or materials as a thicker one would stand more firmly and would be more sturdy. For lighter plants, you can use a thin garden stake.

Material

Garden stakes are commonly made of three types of materials;

• Natural Materials: In older days, garden stakes were of natural materials like bamboo, walnut wood, etc. Garden stakes made up of these natural materials used to rot after a few years. These natural material stakes are still available but they are now processed to increase and enhance their quality so that they can be used for a longer time.
• Plastic - Garden Stakes are made up of plastic as well. It is durable, lasts longer, is cheaper, and is available in a variety of designs and styles. If you want to have a garden stake that stays with you for a longer time, then go for a plastic garden stake but remember, plastic garden stakes are not very sturdy and should not be used for heavy support usage.
• Metal - Garden Stakes are made up of metals as well such as aluminum, iron, steel, or galvanized steel. The metal garden stakes cost more than plastic garden stakes but they are more sturdy and provide strong support.

Therefore, if you want to support heavy plants, you should go for a metal garden stake. If you want to support lighter plants, you should go for a plastic garden stake. You can also choose to purchase a natural garden stake if you think it will fulfill your requirements the best. 

Shape

Shapes of stakes play a vital role in holding or supporting different types of materials. Thus, if you want to use a stake for big plants, use a garden stake with square heads. It is so because square head garden stakes reduce the wind tearing and support the material firmly.

However, if you want to use a garden stake for small plants, use a round-headed stake. It will hold up the plant and will let it grow through it. Choosing the right shape for the right usage is very important. Thus, choose a garden stake that fits your requirements and serves the purpose you’re buying it for. 

Galvanized stakes

Galvanized stakes are those whose hoses are covered with a zinc layer for extra protection. This extra layer makes the stake steady, firm, and increases its strength.

It is best to go for galvanized stakes as they do not rust or corrode easily. Moreover, they stay protected by UV rays, are weather-resistant, water-resistant, and are durable.

Design

There are several designs for garden stakes. Although wooden garden stakes do not have a variety of designs, they are still attractive enough. Wooden stakes can also be worn out by water as wood gets destroyed by water. 

If you want your garden to look amazing and also to stay upright, then you can go for designed garden stakes. Plastic and metal garden stakes are available in a number of designs in the market. Choose the design that you like the most or the one that appeals to you and at the same time fulfills your requirements.

Bundle

Buying in bundles will always be beneficial as compared to buying a single stake. Usually, garden stakes come in a pack that contains three or four stakes but there are also single stakes being sold. Thus, if you want to save up some amount, it is recommended to buy in bundles. 

You would also notice that purchasing a single garden stake is expensive as compared to purchasing three or four garden stakes in a bundle.

What are the types of garden stakes?

Below, we have mentioned the four types of garden stake that are available and used for different needs of support. 

Single stake

Single staking is the most commonly used method of plant support. These types of garden stakes are made up of wood, bamboo, plastics, or metals.

Single stakes are hammered around 6 inches in the ground right next to the plant that needs the support and then at about two-thirds of the height of the plant, the plant is tied with a single stake using garden ties or twines. The plant is tied at a few intervals with the stake to make sure that the plant doesn’t fall off due to harsh weather conditions. 

There are some types of plants that require additional support and for them, single stakes are not enough. In such a scenario other types of garden stakes come into use.

Ring-style support

Ring supports are used to support plants like strawberries that have multiple stems. These types of garden stakes allow growth through the grid, through which the plants grow and this supports them as they become sprout fruits. However, the ring-style supporting stakes cannot be removed without damaging the plant but they are still widely used. 

Cage

Another type of garden stake is cages. It can support a variety of plant species such as tomatoes. They are almost like ring-style support but they are taller and have open tops. Cages provide support from all angles. Therefore, these types of stakes are used ideally for young trees or tomato plants.

Trellis

The fourth type of best garden stake is a trellis. Trellis is specifically used for avoiding plants from growing horizontally. This way plants would be encouraged to grow upwards rather than sideways. Pole beans are an example of a plant that grows against Trellis.