I'm a bit of a ditz..... what do you call those plant support things?

they are just called plant supports, some are y/j links/stakes. check your local blind institute and local council units that offer educational support for adults, they often make this sort of item.
i use the ring ones for most of my plants that need more than pea sticks. i have them for poppies, michelmas daisy, dahlies, echinops, centaura, lychnis etc.

Hi, i usually push those thin green canes into the ground before i sow annuals that need supporting, as the plants grow they use the canes for support and because they are green you can hardly see them, i kow this doesnt answer your original `q` but it might give you an alternative !

Paul

I use pea sticks, those ring things that slide up a cane, Link stakes (to go round large clumps of such plants as Japanes Anemones) plus stakes for tall plants like Delphiniums. I think the bought ones came from the Ferndale catalogue.

Thanks for all your help! I've realised that I don't know what sizes to get now! Eeeeek! I wanted to buy some before they all get sold out. Maybe I'll have to chance it, see what size my plants get, then buy them?!

i have 12 ", 15" and 18" diameter ones. the 'legs' are about 30" tall and they push in quite easily. the nice thing is i can move them from year to year as and where needed.

No Craftnutter - you need to get your plant supports ASAP so that you can get them in place as the plants grow. Take a trip to your nearest GC and have a look at what they have, then think of which plants need the support before you buy them. The internet is probably cheaper once you know what you want.

Ok, Yup, I think a trip to the local GC is needed after all!! I think I'll pop in today or tomorrow. Thanks folks!

Always buy longer ones than you think you need as they 'shrink' when you push them in the soil!

Thanks again Volunteer! I've decided to buy a pack of 3 x 10 inch grow ring things, that you can use cane's as sticks. Some of these rings and sticks seem to turn out quite expensive, as some are made from metal, rather than plastic. I don't want to buy the expensive ones, as I don't really know if they'll do the job or not. So, I'll use the cheaper ones and see how I get on with them first.

The rings I bought were from ebay and only use 1 cane in the middle. There are 4 sections where you can ease apart the plastic and push the plant thro' the side. I like this method as it means you can push the ring up as the plant grows, rather than having to keep buying another ring and more legs. Which has got to help the finances!!