Tomato cages can be used to support other plants, such as cucumbers, beans, peas, and heavier eggplants, as well as flowering vines.

If you're interested in a bit of DIY, head to our piece on how to make your own plant supports, but if you don't have the time, and you like the trend for metal rusty peony supports, then below is our list of our favourite peony supports. Peony blooms do best when they are supported, so it is important to make sure they have some sort of structure or support around them. Some people like to use wire tomato cages, but I prefer to use peony cages to support my peonies. Using Peony Cages Buy a single cage or a pair — Create a single centrepiece or bookmark your garden with a choice of one or two peony cages.One of the most difficult garden activities to do is grow tomatoes in tomato cages. If you want to make changes to the way you approach the tomato cage, I recommend doing so completely. You’ll be having a literal feast of tomatoes as you grow them vertically and prune them on a regular basis, and then plant tomato companion plants. To support and grow my tomatoes vertically, I use simple and inexpensive methods. The materials used here are very low-cost and can be stored vertically next to the garden throughout the off-season. A trellis provides excellent support for tomato plants and their fruit, as well as for the plants’ growing process. Tomatoes can grow in tomato cages, but they can also be grown in other containers with less space than those used for tomatoes. You can help tomato plants grow by using stakes, tripods, ladders, and fences as part of the garden. If we were just supporting the peony bush then the ring would be sufficient but supporting the big blousy flowers takes a little more added to the top ring of the cage. Remove the spent peony flowers as the petals start to turn brown. This will encourage the small buds to open, extending the bloom time. I would’ve staked the one at the very end (right side of the photo), but it’s too big for the supports I used. It may be time to divide that peony bush.

Trim your peonies after they’re done blooming to remove the dead flowers, and give the plants a nice shape for the summer. Supports may not always be essential, and you may be able to get away without them if you are growing shorter cultivars or are growing them in a particularly sheltered spot.Cut your peony down to the ground in late fall or after frost has killed the leaves (don’t cut it down in the spring or summer or it may not bloom next spring)! The key with plant supports is to ensure that they do not distract from the flowers themselves,” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly. However, using supports of some kind for herbaceous peonies can potentially help you avoid disappointment later in the growing season, and prolong the duration for which you can enjoy the beautiful peony blooms. Support Options To Consider Another factor is because the peony rootball isn’t buried very deep. So stems don’t have a lot of underground support. How to Keep Peonies Upright

Don’t cut peony foliage down to the ground too early or your peony won’t have enough time to store up the energy it needs to bloom in the spring. Keep the portion you cut off, this can still be used to support things in your garden, even smaller peony bushes. (if planting from peonies bare-root it can take a few years for them to fill in) Supporting Peonies when Flowering In early spring, when peony shoots begin to pop through the ground, I make sure to get my peony support rings into the ground so my peonies will have a shoulder to lean on when the weight from their giant blooms begin to emerge. Vancouver is a very rainy place. I live in a lush green environment pretty well year-round, but I do get lots of gloomy skies to compensate for it.As the peony grows taller make sure the buds are threaded through the grid to support the flowers individually. Available in two heights — How much verticality do you want to add to your garden? Choose between a 24” or 36” model. Many have tall stems and large flower heads, so you may be wondering whether or not you need to install supports for the peonies you have chosen. Do Peonies Need Support? Tomato cages are the ideal enclosure for both indeterminate and determinate tomatoes. Tomatoes are usually taller when determining their height, reaching three to five feet in height. They harvest one of their biggest harvests after putting off the majority of their fruit during a shorter period of time.