How to stake my houseplants

First things first, what is staking? In the gardening world, staking means to hold up or support. And a 'stake' could be anything from a bamboo cane or skewer, to some chicken wire or birch branches woven into a framework that your plants can grow through. Staking prevents your plants from flopping under the weight of their leaves or flowers, and generally keeps them growing upright.

As your houseplants grow taller and wider, you may well find they become top heavy under the weight of their leafy growth or start growing at a 45 degree angle towards the nearest light source (regardless of staking it’s a good idea to regularly turn your plants so that all sides get an even amount of light).

Dracaenas, or Corn plants, are often the worst culprits for a tipsy lean. This is because they have such long thin stems topped with a leafy head, and because too much movement creates a hollow in the compost at the base of the stem. As well as staking these stems, it’s worth holding them straight and backfilling the hollow with some of the existing compost in your pot, firming down around the base of each stem for stability.

While the ultimate aim of staking is to provide your plant with support so that the stems don’t snap and to keep them from sprawling beyond the space you have available, canes aren’t the prettiest things, and you don’t really want to see them. The aim of staking is to make it as discreet or as invisible as possible. In this article we’ll provide you with some handy tips on how to get the best of both worlds.

• Bamboo canes - sturdy and affordable, available at different lengths
• Cane toppers - to stop you, or anyone else, from poking their eyes out
• String, jute or flexi-tie - choose a neutral colour that will blend in with your plant
• Sharp secateurs and scissors - secateurs to cut the cane, scissors to cut the string

First things first, if you’re reusing old bamboo canes and cane toppers, then it’s a good idea to disinfect them to make sure they’re free of pests and diseases. The last thing you want to do is harm your plant when you’re trying to help it!

Next, choose the side of your plant that you want to face forward - we all have our best angles, after all - and slip a cane snugly behind the stem. On plants like a Ficus, you may need multiple canes to support multiple stems, or, one central cane you can tie multiple branches to if they’re thinner and a bit more spindly.  If you feel some resistance from the root ball, don’t worry, just push on through. It may seem cruel but breaking some roots encourages new root growth and won’t do your plant any harm. 

Cutting a decent length of string, tie the stem/s of your plant to the cane at one or two points. Tie it in securely but be careful not to strangle the stem and allow it some room to grow in width over time. Hide the knot of your string around the back of your cane and snip off the ends.

Last but not least, if your cane is taller than the top of your plant, cut this back to just below the foliage, so that it’s not sticking out and is hidden among the leaves. Pop on a cane topper so that if you’re moving the plant in the future, you don’t accidentally poke yourself - you’d be surprised how often this happens, even to the best of us.

Step back and admire your handiwork.