I tried hammering the green plastic covered stakes into ground and the plastic ripped. I found out the Home Depot can and will cut their rebars to the size. So I have them cut 3 20' long 3/8" rebar( for about $4 each) to 5' sections. The whole project, rebar, can of paint, and hose clips costs less than $20. All those green garden stakes ($4 each) are so going back to Lowes. I have 4 Christoper Marloes. After the flowers open, all the canes and flowers end up on the ground. Last year, I bought 2 obelisks and tie the two in the front garden to them. This year the canes completely formed to the obelisks and have covered them all the way to the top. These rebars will form a similar structures for the two in the back for only 1/5 of the price.

I've grown clematis on all manner of supports, some freestanding, some attached to the house or other structures - wooden trellises and arbors, fences, deck columns and supports, metal (oxidized iron) obelisks and trellises, rebar supports (fun to make yourself), a formal copper arbor and various "found" items (including a massive wrought iron screen formerly part of a theater decoration that I got from a salvage yard). Haven't had any difficulties with any of them as far as being able to train the vines to climb. Rather, once they get started, they pretty much take off on their own :-) And of course, any kind of sufficiently large woody shrub or tree works equally as well. Many - but not all - clematis can be grown in a container. You need to do some homework to find those most suitable but generally smaller growing vines with smaller, mature root systems work best. Containerized plants take extra care and effort so if given a choice, I'd prefer to plant clematis in the ground, although I have grown some for several seasons in large containers.

Thanks for the advice Tracy and Robert. I knew that there had to be a way to do it, but just didn't know who to try to get to do it. Robert, would love to see pictures of your creations. I can't picture in my mind what you are talking about with your 20ft. rebar bent with a 5 ft. diameter. Just a few weeks ago on Victory Garden (might have been a repeat), they made a huge tuteur out of rebar similar to what they used to sell at Smith and Hawken that looked like a huge haystack. I almost bought one several years ago and wish that I had. I wondered how easy it would be to actually construct it because they made it look too easy. Carol, it goes without saying that your garden picture last year looked smashing. Post more pictures this year please.

I guess I am running in to "what is best" and "what is practical and standard"... 1) On the pipe issue... the drain pots have side ports that I see most all pool builders tie together two drains with a straight run with tee in the middle and then go to side and up. With the pipe coming directly out the side of the pot there is NO way to make that interconnecting pipe lower than the rebar. In fact, since I requested a 3" rigid PVC drain line, the rebar will sit right on top of the pipe, since that will be the 3" spacing to stone. They ran the pipe to teh side down under the stone, which is good, but I need to fingre out what I want to do with the area between the drains and i have two sets in the deep end, so two 4' sections without gunite under the rebar and direct path for water to get to the rebar. I need to determine what I will do here... I am thinking I should dig out under the pipe for 3" so at least the gunite will flow under the pipe and there will be proper encapsulation of the rebar. Anything else I should do? 2) On the dobie issue... my PB uses pieces of pavers. I have called every masonry supply house around and no-one carries dobies. Many people did not know what a dobie was. Home Depot and Lowes list them on their web site but no store has them. The elusive dobie... I can see the dobie being an exact 3" (not sure what the paver height is), but other than that, they both create a void and probably allow water to penetrate to the rebar, so is there really a structural difference? Is it a code issue or just a "standard" that most pool builders do not follow anyway?