How to Make Grapevine Trees
When you prune your grapevines, don't throw away the excess. With a few simple supplies, you can turn the throwaway vine into a grapevine tree. A grapevine tree can be simple, with nothing but the grapevine, or it can be decorated with lights, moss and other products of your garden, such as dried flowers. The beauty of a grapevine tree can be enjoyed year-round.
Making the Grapevine Tree
Gather your grapevine together. The amount you need will depend upon the size of your tomato cage. If you live in a rural area where wild grapevine is abundant, your neighbors may welcome you taking some off their hands. If you do not have access to wild grapevine, you can purchase it from garden centers or craft shops. To estimate how many feet you may need, take a clothesline rope and wrap it around your tomato cage until it is covered. Snip it at the top, and then measure the rope.
- When you prune your grapevines, don't throw away the excess.
- With a few simple supplies, you can turn the throwaway vine into a grapevine tree.
Place your tomato cage upside down on a sturdy surface. Paint the wire brown. Let dry completely.
Take a branch of grapevine and attach the wider end of it to the base of the upside-down tomato cage. Secure it in place with a cable tie. Continue wrapping the grapevine up and around the cage, securing occasionally. When you reach the end of a strand of grapevine, secure in place, and then take another strand and begin wrapping where you left off.
- Place your tomato cage upside down on a sturdy surface.
- Continue wrapping the grapevine up and around the cage, securing occasionally.
Continue wrapping and securing the grapevine around the tomato cage. When you reach the top, secure once again with a cable tie and then tuck any excess grapevine down inside the cage.
Trim the excess off the cable tie ends so that they are not visible.
Paint the cable ties so they blend in with the grapevine. Allow the paint to dry.
Spray the tree and painted areas with a matte clear coat finish. Allow to dry.
- Continue wrapping and securing the grapevine around the tomato cage.
- Paint the cable ties so they blend in with the grapevine.
Decorating the Grapevine Tree (Optional)
Gather decorating supplies such as Spanish moss, hot glue and glue gun, dried flowers and a string of lights.
Begin decorating by filling in any wide gaps in the grapevine wrap with Spanish moss. Put glue on the edges of the grapevine, and then carefully put the Spanish moss in place, taking care to not burn yourself with the glue.
Put glue on the bottoms of the dried flowers and place them in different areas of the tree.
Test your lights to make sure they work before wrapping them around the tree. Lights are put on last for two reasons: one, if you put them on before the glue has dried, the hot glue can burn through the wire. Two, if the lights go bad, they can easily be removed and a new strand wrapped in its place.
- Gather decorating supplies such as Spanish moss, hot glue and glue gun, dried flowers and a string of lights.
- Test your lights to make sure they work before wrapping them around the tree.
Gently wind the lights around the tree, working from the bottom upward. Make sure that the plug is able to reach out under the bottom of the tree. Once the lights are wound on the tree, if they are a color that clashes with the tree, such as green or bright white, use an artist's brush and brown acrylic paint and pain the strand to blend in with the tree. When the paint has dried, spray the entire tree with a light layer of the matte clear coat.
Tip
If you don't want to add moss, but find there are a lot of open areas where you can see through your tree, you may want to add the lights to the inside of the tree. You can simply cable tie them to strands of grapevine on the underside of the tree and let them hang. They will be nicely visible through the open areas.
Instead of gluing decorations on, hang them on, so that they can be changed as the seasons change.
Warning
Double-check the spacing of your decorations before you glue them on. Once you have them secured in place, it is very difficult to take them off and move them elsewhere.
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Tips
- If you don't want to add moss, but find there are a lot of open areas where you can see through your tree, you may want to add the lights to the inside of the tree. You can simply cable tie them to strands of grapevine on the underside of the tree and let them hang. They will be nicely visible through the open areas.
- Instead of gluing decorations on, hang them on, so that they can be changed as the seasons change.
Warnings
- Double-check the spacing of your decorations before you glue them on. Once you have them secured in place, it is very difficult to take them off and move them elsewhere.
Writer Bio
A certified nutritionist who majored in health, fitness and nutrition, Traci Vandermark has been writing articles in her specialty fields since 1998. Her articles have appeared both online and in print for publications such as Simple Abundance, "Catskill Country Magazine," "Birds and Blooms," "Cappers" and "Country Discoveries."
