Wire trellis frames are a classic, million-times tried-and-true system for fruit growing (viticulture, arboriculture), and can -- with stainless steel cable-- also be used in the home garden. Trellising with stainless steel cables is particularly practical for grapevines, raspberries, blackberries, or other espalier fruit trees. Here you can see the different possibilities, from the simplest wire trellising to the most complex pergolas. Under wire rope system 0050, you will find two of our pre-assembled kits.
In a vineyard, wire frames are often over 50 metres long. The trellises, subjected to the force of wind, will loosen and sag-- an aesthetic defect but not a functional one. In commercial orchards, the wires are then usually left slack and then retensioned every few years. In a private/house garden, short wire frames usually only have 2-3 stakes; for this-- small-scale free-standing rows of espaliered vines-- FassadenGrün offers stainless steel cable system 0050.
Galvanised steel posts are now commonly used in vineyards. In the past, reinforced concrete was also used. Wooden posts that are driven into the ground or dug in are very decorative, especially in show gardens and home gardens, but they are less durable. The sandier (and therefore drier) the soil, the longer they last; the loamier, the shorter. Posts made of solid robinia trunks can last 25 years, posts made of 7 cm x 7 cm robinia sawn timber can last 10 to 20 years, and even longer if the soil is very dry. Unfortunately, however, this is not sufficient for professional viticulture in the United Kingdom.
For home gardens, it is recommended not to drive or dig in wooden posts, but to place them in drive-in sleeves or H-post supports. Then, after 10 to 20 years, they can be shortened if necessary and continue to be used!
In vineyards, inexpensive galvanised wire is usually used for trellising, sometimes also 2 mm stainless steel wire. Plastic wire is also increasingly being used. In home gardens, where a neat appearance is desired, 3 mm stainless steel cable is the right choice. Diagonal bracing is then carried out with 4 mm stainless steel cable.
Wire frames in vineyards typically have 2 wires - "double wires" on each tier. Crafty spacer systems are sometimes used to keep the wires apart. All this makes fastening the vines to the wire frame easier: the vine shoots can be inserted more quickly between the wires, and tying is no longer necessary. In the house garden, double wires are generally not needed.
In the home garden, wire frames are ideal for espalier fruit (for grapes, raspberries and blackberries)... Instead of stainless steel cables, simple wire ~ four or more horizontal lines (usually with double wire on each of the tiers) ~ is used. The sloped 'guy' (tension) ropes are suitable for additional greening, e.g. with annual climbing plants.
Wire frames can be attached directly to walls if desired. This reduces the number of drill holes and fixing points, which can be beneficial for insulated walls. However, rope systems or classic wooden trellises are usually preferred for walls.
You can see many examples in the image gallery. You can find more photos of wire frames under ‘Vineyard training’ and ‘Rope system 0050’, as well as at ‘Fence Greening’. Further down the page, you will find tips on how to build a wide variety of wire frames.
The most basic wire frame: here, rot-resistant pointed robinia stakes are hammered into the ground (life span 10-25 yrs); the wires or ropes hang slack because high loads are created in taut wires which tend to pull the lateral stakes inwards. The stakes should therefore be set at an angle to the outside right from the start, or better -- braced using one of the three options below.
Drive in a stake by means of a post/pole driver. Such a device can be easily rented in wine or fruit-growing regions or at building supply and hardware stores. Every 2 or 3 strikes, the desired alignment is checked and corrected by means of a vertically positioned spirit level.
The use of a metal spike on the base of the post makes it possible to use less rot-resistant wood and increase the life of the post. (Place the metal spikes in the ground, insert and screw the posts into them.) Use long spikes at least 900 mm (35.43 inches) long. The posts should have a cross-section of 7 cm x 7 cm.
Aligning the height of the posts is most easily done using the middle post as a reference. Once all the posts are driven in at the same height, the holes for staple nails or continuous wire ropes are marked and drilled.
FassadenGrün offers the 0050 rope system for straight and slanted posts. Usually the end posts are anchored in the ground at an angle towards the back. In vineyards, heavy stones are also buried in the ground with a wire attached, thus creating and strengthening the tension.
Special case of horizontal guying. The wall eyelets required for it must be sealed in ('glued in') conically with compound mortar; plastic rawl plugs are not sufficient for such loads. Here, dark varnished wooden posts were placed in metal ground spikes and fitted with zinc-plated cover caps (available in hardware stores).
With a slanted position of the end posts, the anchoring can be brought more vertically into the ground. This method is applied mostly in the vineyards to win the last few inches in a row of vines for the fruit-bearing 'leaf wall' or canopy.
FassadenGrün recommends this ground/earth anchor for an easy and optimal "guying" --tensioning/anchoring. It is screwed into the ground like a screw and can support a load of several hundred kilograms.
As an alternative ('variant 2') to the guying described above, supporting stakes (made of e.g. robinia/lokust wood) can be used-- dug in and set on a stable pressure plate. This can be a natural stone slab, rock, or brick. The earth should first be compacted under the slab. Install the posts so that they lean outwards slightly to counteract the subsequent settling and tendency to shift inwards.
Trellis system for blackberries with double wires and staple nails and an additional support post in the middle. The wires should be tensioned sequentially from top to bottom.
End posts with a slanted supporting post in a vineyard near Meißen/Saxony; here made of reinforced concrete. The posts are inserted into notches.
Long before there were wires in the vineyard, the individual posts were connected to each other and stabilised with wooden crossbars. This third variant of reinforcement is particularly relevant for smaller trellis frames in the home garden.
Additional slanted struts are used to further reinforce such wire frameworks.
If transoms (cross beams), also called 'riders' are put above the climbing frame, the trellis frame becomes a pergola.
In some cases it may be a good idea to tension cables vertically, especially for voluble twiners, since they love to wrap themselves around vertical supports. The easiest way is to guide the ropes through the cross beams (transoms) by drilling holes and fastening the ropes from behind with clamping rings.
A fanlike tensioning is particularly attractive.
Here the ropes of several fans intersect each other, creating a dense vine braid. A ground anchor is screwed into the bottom centre. Eyebolts WH 06060 or inexpensive staples nails KN 04055 are screwed into the frame of the wood. A cable can also be 'carried' by multiple eyelets (3 or 4), so that ultimately fewer cable clamps are required.
![[Translate to Englisch:] Goldhopfen (Humulus lupulus) an senkrechten Edelstahlseilen](/fileadmin//2025/01-Ideen/05-Objekte/07-Drahtrahmen/05-Alternative_Bespannungsformen/080085-drahtrahmen-senkrecht-1350.jpg "[Translate to Englisch:] Goldhopfen (Humulus lupulus) an senkrechten Edelstahlseilen")
If the length of the row is longer than 4 or 5 metres (13.1234 feet), additional posts are required (at intervals of every 4 or 5m). In the vineyard, long rows of 80 to 100 m length are formed in this way. In domestic gardens, a more formal appearance is usually desired for aesthetic reasons, and wires should not be allowed to hang loosely. For this purpose, 0050 cable systems with wire rope instead of wire are used, and the post spacing should not exceed 3.50 m.
For aesthetic reasons, a more streamlined appearance is usually desired here, with wires that do not hang loosely. For this purpose, 0050 rope systems with wire rope instead of wire are used, and the post spacing should not exceed 3.50 m.
In viticulture (commercial wine and fruit growing), galvanised metal stakes with the addition of aluminum ("Crapal" quality) are often used-- here, an intermediate post in a row of vines.
FassadenGrün recommends and sells this cable tension adjuster (GS-Nirosta), which can be added even after the wires have been mounted- onto taut or slack wires (to some extent also onto 3mm / 0.11 inch wire)- without cutting the wire, and can be finely tensioned at any time with a spanner/wrench.
Fassadengrün is a commercial supplier of stainless steel wire rope systems in Germany, Europe and overseas. Information about: Which plants are suitable, are climbing aids necessary, should they be made of wood or metal? Here at FassadenGrün you will find all the information you need from a single source.
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