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5 DIY Bamboo Trellis Plans You Can Make Today (with Pictures)

creeper plant supported by a bamboo cane trellis

As gardening has become more popular, so too have gardening trends. One ancient trend is making a comeback and that is the art of the bamboo trellis. Bamboo trellises are lightweight, versatile, and affordable. These trellises can be used to help plants grow, add shade, or just as a decorative piece in your garden. The good news is a bamboo trellis is extremely easy to build, and you do not need to spend a ton of money on pre-built trellises. You can build them yourself.

Here are five do-it-yourself bamboo trellis plans that you can make today.

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The 5 DIY Bamboo Trellis Plans

1. Simple Bamboo Trellis

diy woven bamboo trellis
Image Credit: Garden Therapy
Tools: Hand saw
Material: 5 bamboo poles (5’ long), 10 bamboo poles (3’ long)
Complexity: Basic

This bamboo trellis is the most basic type of trellis that you can build. In fact, these types of trellises have been built by people for thousands of years. This particular trellis is great because it requires no materials other than the bamboo itself and a saw to cut the poles to length. If you get the bamboo pre-cut, you don’t even need the saw.

This simple trellis is built by interweaving the bamboo together without the use of any other materials and is great for vines that like to grow up towards the sun. Bamboo is usually very cheap which makes the cost of this trellis low due to the lack of other supplies needed to complete the project. This plan is perfect for someone looking for rustic simplicity.


2. V-Style Trellis

diy bamboo trellis
Image Credit: Fine Gardening
Tools: Hand saw, tape measure, pencil
Material: Mixed diameter bamboo poles, garden twine
Complexity: Intermediate

Bamboo trellis design is great because it is flexible and allows you to create nearly any kind of trellis you want. You do not have to stick with basic square trellises, you can build more complicated designs if you have the vision to pull it off. Using various lengths and widths of bamboo it is simple to bypass a square trellis in favor of a different design like a large V.

The v-style trellis starts narrow at the bottom and fans out towards the top. The exact size and shape of the trellis will be up to you. You can make one that is very narrow at the bottom and very wide at the top, almost like a tree or hand fan, or you can make the V narrower to fit a specific area of your house. The sky’s the limit.

Just make sure you sketch out your design and have a good idea of what kind of measurements you are going to be using so you can acquire the proper number and size of the bamboo poles.


3. Small Bamboo Trellis

diy bamboo trellis
Image Credit: The Owner Builder Network
Tools: Scissors, hand saw, pencil, tape measure
Material: 7 sticks of bamboo (4’ long), 8 sticks of bamboo (3’ long)
Complexity: High

Not all trellises have to be large. Some people want a small trellis. This small bamboo trellis measures 30” x 40” when completed which makes it perfect for small gardens or even as an in-home decoration. The small, neat squares of this design are very pleasing to the eye and are a change from the larger, rougher trellises seen elsewhere. This small trellis can fit almost anywhere, and the potential uses are endless.

The downside is that this level of uniformity requires great attention to detail. Each intersection will need to be tied with the twine. That is 56 individual knots that will need to be made. While this project is not particularly difficult, it is complex, especially when compared to other designs that only require you to lash four poles together.


4. A-Frame Bamboo Trellis

diy bamboo trellis
Image Credit: Garden Gate Magazine
Tools: Tape measure, hand saw, scissors, pencil, tape
Material: 8 bamboo poles (60” long), 11 bamboo poles (30” long), garden twine
Complexity: Intermediate

This bamboo trellis combines two flat trellises into a single A-frame that is able to stand on its own. This eliminates the need for a wall or fence to put up a traditional bamboo trellis which is perfect for gardens that occupy the middle of a yard. This trellis allows you to grow those climbing plants and vines in areas that most trellises simply cannot.

When completed, each side of this A-frame will be 60 inches tall with 8-inch squares. The overall look of this design is basic yet unique enough to stand out. This design is not complicated other than the fact that setting and lashing the two sides together can be a little tricky. Otherwise, this project is affordable and simple to complete.


5. Bamboo Hoop Tunnel

diy garden hoop tunnel
Image Credit: Unexpected Elegance
Tools: Water tub, scissors
Material: ⅜” wooden dowels, bamboo stakes, garden twine, water
Complexity: Intermediate

Did you know that with a little bit of water and patience, you can make a professional-looking garden tunnel using bamboo and dowels? This bamboo hoop tunnel is a great way to add a completely unique touch to your garden completely by hand. By the time you are done, you will have people asking how on earth you managed to build this yourself.

Garden tunnels are great because they are extremely versatile. You can use them to help climbing plants create an amazing-looking visual garden, or you can use them to cover your plants in mosquito netting to keep the bugs away during the summer. Best of all, you won’t spend a bunch of money to finish this amazing project. You can even soak the dowels in your bathtub if you need to.

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Why Use Bamboo?

Bamboo has been growing in popularity in recent years, and for a good reason. The material is eco-friendly, lightweight, strong, and inexpensive. People love using bamboo in their gardens because it is a natural material. That means you are not adding plastics or metals into your crop. These designs use very little in the way of synthetic or man-made materials and rely heavily on the natural strength of bamboo to get the job done.

Bamboo grows very quickly and does not use a lot of resources to grow. These characteristics make bamboo one of the best green materials to use in place of other more conventional materials.

Bamboo also has a classic look and feel that appeals to many people. Bamboo looks great in almost any garden.


Conclusion

With some basic items most of us have laying around the house, and a free afternoon, you can build a variety of unique and functional trellises, from a complex decorative trellis for your office to a large bamboo teepee. There is a trellis design on this list that you can be using right now. Every one of these designs was chosen for its ease of use and affordability with the average gardener in mind.


Featured Image Credit: Joseph C, Shutterstock

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