Have you considered making one out of rebar? My husband and I are just getting into this, following ideas we found online. We made a small one for above the gate of our rock wall. It turned out quite well and we are getting started at a larger one in my terrace garden. One of the posters on the Antique Rose forum, Melissa from Italy, gave me the idea. She mentioned making arbors with rebar and that got my brain spinning. I haven’t seen any pictures of hers so I don’t know how she goes about it, but there are lots of online ideas to get you started if it’s of any interest to you.

I too have thought about making rebar trellises. Most metal trellises do rust here.

I am in FL and between rain, humidity, & salt air these trellises ALL end up rusting and collapsing.

Even ground contact rated lumber will eventually rot out.

I wish I could build something from Cypress. We have 80 ft Pond Cypress in one of our ponds. Fat chance getting in there and trying to hrvest that lol. Maybe if a storm ever knocks one down..

Cedar does ok for awhile but I've had them rot. I havent actually tried Redwood.

Some of the heavier Composite Deck Boards might hold up. Thats something I have been thinking about.

I have had rebar in the ground as supports for yrs and they havent rusted out.

@judijunebugarizonazn8, I am not quite crafty enough to create something out of rebar, but that's an interesting idea. Thank you for sharing and I'm glad it has worked out for you.

I'm wondering if my best bet is to go with something vinyl, even if it's not quite the style I was going for. I'll have to keep looking. :)

What about an arbor made of cattle panels? I'm not particularly creative but have seen some online and on a TV gardening show. I think they should hold up even if they aren't fancy.

Cattle panels are very sturdy. They would make a good top for an arbor and one could use them for the sides as well. You would probably still need a wood frame. If you just wanted a big hoop type trellis, you can just fasten it to tposts.

It would be less visible if it was spray painted black or dark green especially once the greenery has grown over it.

I have hog panels and cattle panels we use for our farm animals and veggie gardens.

Cattle panels are wider than the hog panels. They both come in 16 ft length that you need a long bed pickup or trailer to get them onto. I believe you can get the cattle panels in 8ft as well.

Tractor Supply will usually help you load them and tie the down. You need to bring your own ratchet straps etc..

I usually use an 24 inch bolt cutter to cut them. I suppose one could use an angle grinder as well.

That is the exact tutorial I used for my small arbor over my gate. However, I didn’t have a conduit bender for my rebar rings, so I found a YouTube video of a guy who uses a pipe to wrap rebar around a post to make the rings. It worked wonderful. Mine is identical to the picture above except that it’s smaller in height since it fits over my gate pillars as an archway. (I don’t have my gateway all finished or I could include a picture.) But seriously, it’s not that hard, it’s lots of fun and the result is a sturdy trellis/ arbor that should last for years. I’m currently working on a nine foot round arbor made in a similar fashion. My husband is sure I should concrete them into the ground to be sure the weight of the plants don’t cause any shifting, especially during seasons when the ground is more wet. So I’m planning to cut pipe with a 3/4” inner dimension into 18” lengths, dig a hole for each one and concrete them in. I have my rebar bent in hoops already and will anchor the “feet” into these pipes about 6 inches or so. I will place rings and straight pieces as needed to make a lattice work for the plants to tie to. Everything will be wired together in place. My husband is sure all the joints should be spot welded as well…probably not necessary, but hey, sturdy is good. I’ll try to remember to take pictures and post them when I’m finished.

I got some good advice years ago ..... don't waste money on a fancy, decorative arbor if the roses will cover it. On the other hand, if the arbor is to be the focal point, with roses that will allow the metal work to show, then, by all means, get as fancy as you like.

A favorite in my garden is a basic wooden structure with hog wire stapled between the posts. It will eventually be completely covered with roses and clematis.

Thanks Fig! I didn't realize that building an arbor out of rebar doesn't involve welding. Seems doable, but what about the rebar rusting? I live in a humid climate. I bought a powder-coated H.Potter trellis for another climbing rose last year and it has held up well, but to buy an arbor from them is substantially more than I wanted to pay.

Thought about one from Plow and Hearth called the Montebello (I'm new to this forum and assume including product links is frown on, so I won't include). This is the style I am dreaming about, but this one is from Garden Artisans and it is WAY out of my price range.

That is a really beautiful arbor! I would love to have one myself. But in my rustic setting it might look out of place and I don’t have a budget for that either, so I understand. I hope you can find or make something that you are happy with and holds up well in your climate.

I love the arbor above, but if you have a rose of any size growing on it, this is all you see of it:

The arbor above is at least 5 feet across and 18 years old. It's a good quality metal one (rust isn't a problem here), and it stands on a slope to make things even more difficult for the arbor. In those 18 years, the arbor has supported a huge New Dawn for 7 years, and now its current occupant, the biggest Colette around, for 11 years. To ensure stability of the arbor, my son in law drove cattle fence posts into the ground and lashed the top foot or so of the posts to the arbor's legs. I can't remember where I ordered this arbor from 18 years ago, but it wasn't cheap, nor was it the most expensive. I've seen a wonderful selection of arbors from Hayneedle (I've purchased some good gardening products from them), Amazon, and Gardener's Supply. A lot of the same arbors are sold on all three of these websites, so look for the best deal and free shipping, if you choose to order. Diane

Here are two arbors I’ve recently finished, both made using rebar and the method mentioned in some of the above posts. The round arbor is 9 ft across and over 7 ft tall. I plan to grow two climbing roses over this one.

Here are two arbors I recently completed using rebar and the method mentioned in above posts. The round arbor is nine feet across and over seven feet high. I plan to plant two roses, one on each side, to cover this arbor. Possibly Perfume Breeze and Pretty in Pink Eden.

Houzz is frustrating sometimes. So my first post wouldn’t post, said an error occurred, and then it totally disappeared. So I started over again and tried to post that one. Then they both show up! Sigh.

Good job! That looks perfect ! I can't wait to see it covered in blooms

Thank you for posting the photos of your finished rebar trellises Judi! They look carefully done -- the rebar was smoothly bent. Good work!

Thank you, Kristine and rosesmi5a. I am pleased with the results, but honestly, they are rebar and hence, rustic. If you could see them up close and personal, you would be able to see that the circles are not perfect circles, etc. My husband did help me build a form to bend the structural pieces, rather than using stakes in the ground as the Family Handyman magazine shows. The form provided a much more uniform bend. Still, they are rustic and earthy and that appeals to me, so I’m good with it and, best of all, it should hold up well for many years. I would certainly recommend this idea to others.

Wow, that big one looks amazing! I am so so impressed. Fantastic work!

I love your Rebar Gazebo! I am going to try it too! I want to replicate my cheesy 3-way arch that I bought from Wayfair. I love it so much but the first one rusted out within 3 yrs and I stupidly bought a second one, knowing it will also rust out, just because I love it so much. If I can replicate it somewhat with rebar, I can keep it painted and it will last a lot longer.