GB2035027A - Plant support - Google Patents

Abstract

A plant support comprises an elongate support member 1 which supports a stake 7, one end of the support member 1 being attached or attachable to base 2 for maintaining the support member 1 upright in soil or other medium in which a plant 6 is growing. Hollow stakes 7 may be connected together by a connector, fig 7 (not shown) carrying hooks (20) for attachment of plant ties. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Plant support This invention relates to plant supports.

A problem which arises with plants, and particularly tall plants in containers such as pots, is that of adequately supporting the plant. The general practice is simply to insert a suitable stake, e.g., a bamboo cane, into the soil or other medium in which the plant is growing, the stake being positioned alongside the plant and the plant being tied or otherwise secured thereto. Whilst the conventional staking of plants is entirely satisfactory where there is a sufficient depth of soil or other growing medium to enable the stake to be inserted to a sufficient depth, a problem arises when there is an insufficient depth of growing medium to properly retain the stake, as in the case of a potted plant. The present invention has as its object the provision of a plant support which will overcome or mitigate this problem.

The present invention provides a plant support comprising an elongate support member adapted to support a stake of suitable size and one end of which is attached or attachable to base means for maintaining the support member upright in soil or other medium in which a plant is growing.

Said elongate support member may comprise a spigot which can be inserted into one end of a hollow stake of suitable internal diameter. Preferably, however, the elongate support member comprises a support tube one end of which is open and is adapted to receive a stake of suitable size and the other end of which is attached or attachable to said base means. Said support tube may be a simple straight-sided tube or may comprise sections of different internal diameters adapted to accommodate stakes of different predetermined sizes, e.g., may comprise a first section at said one end of the support tube of a first predetermined internal diameter and a second section at said other end of the support tube of a smaller predetermined diameter.

Said base means may comprise a disc or other member or members having a relatively large surface area which can be positioned in the bottom of a plant pot before the growing medium is inserted therein or which can be buried in the soil adjacent a plant to be supported. Alternatively the base means may comprise means whereby said support member can be secured to the bottom of a pot or other plant container.

Where the base means comprise a member or members having a relatively large surface area then such member or members may be adjustable for size so as to be adaptable for different sizes of plant container. For example, where the base means comprises a member in the form of a disc then one or more annular extension pieces may be provided which cooperate with the disc or with like extension pieces to increase the diameter of the base means or the disc may have a plurality of extension pieces pivotally connected thereto at spaced intervals around the periphery thereof which can be pivotted outwardly away from the disc to increase the overall size of the base means. Alternatively the base means could be in the form of a series of telescopically extensible arms which radiate outwardly from said one end of the support member.

The invention also provides a plant support as aforesaid in combination with a stake in the form of a hollow cylindrical tube of plastics material. Said hollow cylindrical stake may have one end which is plain and which is adapted to engage said support member, the other end of the stake being belled-out and being adapted to receive the plain end of similar stake spigot-and-socket fashion whereby a longer stake can be formed simply by connecting together two or more said stakes. Alternatively, the stake may be plain at both ends and one or more connector pieces provided whereby two or more stakes may be joined together end-to-end.The or each connector piece may comprise a pair of oppositely directed spigot portions each of which is adapted to be inserted in an open end of a said hollow cylindrical stake and said oppositely directed spigot portions may be separated by an intermediate shoulder portion, e.g., of substantially the same external diameter as the stakes to be joined together.

The stake and/or said connector piece or pieces may be adapted for use with a helical plant tie of the kind sold by Tee Jay Plastics Limited of Powys, Wales, under the trade mark SPIROCLIMB and comprising one or more lengths of springy plastics wire material preformed into a coil and adapted to be threaded through spaced apertures in a stake so as to provide a series of loops spaced along the stake through which a plant can grow. Thus the stake and/or the or each said connector piece may have apertures or eyes formed therein through which a said helical plant tie can be threaded or, as is preferred, may have resilient hook portions formed thereon with which a said helical plant tie can be engaged.

The invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of one embodiment of a plant support according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of the plant support of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the plant support of Figures 1 and 2 in use, Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of another embodiment of a plant support according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of yet another embodiment of a plant support according to the present invention, Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of a further embodiment of a plant support according to the present invention.

Figure 7 is a sectional view of a connector piece connecting together two hollow cylindrical stakes, and Figure 8 is a sectional view of a modified connector piece.

The plant support illustrated in Figures 1,2 and 3 comprises a support tube 1 the upper end of which, in the position of use illustrated, is open and is adapted to receive a stake of suitable size and the lower end of which is integral with a shallow inverted dishshaped base member 2. Strengthening webs or fillets 3 extend between the support tube 1 and the base member 2. Apertures 4 are provided in the base member 2 to allow water to pass through the base member 2 to the drainage holes normally provided in the bottom of plant containers. The support tube 1 and the base member 2 are formed, e.g., moulded, integrally from plastics or other suitable material.

In use, as illustrated in Figure 3, the base member 2 is positioned in the bottom of a suitable plant container which in this case is a standard plastics plant pot 5 and a plant 6 is then planted in the pot in a suitable growing medium. Finally a stake 7 of suitable size is inserted into the support tube 1 and the plant 6 secured, e.g., tied, to the stake 7 in the usual way. As will be seen, the support tube 1 is offset from the centre of the base member 2 so that the plant 6 can be planted in the centre of the pot 5.

Figures 4, 5 and 6, in which like parts have been given like reference numerals, all show embodiments wherein base means is provided whereby the support tube 1 is securable to the bottom of a plant pot or other suitable plant container.

In other embodiment of Figure 4 the bottom wall 8 of the plant pot 5 has a ferrule 9 formed integrally therewith in which the lower end of the support tube 1 is a tight friction fit.

The embodiment of Figure 5 is similar to that of Figure 4 except that the ferrule 9 is replaced by a spigot 10 over which the lower end of the support tube 1 is a tight friction fit.

In the embodiment of Figure 6, the bottom wall 8 of the pot 5 has a hollow truncated cone-shaped projection 11 upstanding therefrom the upper truncated end of which provides an aperture through which the support tube 1 can be inserted and the lower end of the support tube 1 comprises a complementary truncated cone-shaped portion 1 2 adapted to fit snugly within the truncated cone-shaped projection 11. An annular locking means 1 3, which may be in the form of a continuous bead or an annular series of projections, is provided on the support tube 1 adjacent the upper truncated end of the coneshaped portion 12, said annular locking means being adapted to pass through the aperture in the truncated cone-shaped projection 11 with a snap fit to secure the support tube 1 to the bottom wall 8 of the pot 5.The bottom wall 8 of the pot 5 has a depending peripheral flange 14 on which the pot stands and the cone-shaped portion 1 2 of the support tube 1 depends below the bottom wall 8 to the same level as the peripheral flange 14 so that when the pot 5 is standing on a flat surface the cone-shaped portion 12 will also be supported by the flat surface. Apertures 1 5 are provided at intervals in the peripheral flange 14 in known manner so that water can drain from beneath the pot 5.

With the support tube 1 removed therefrom the pots 5 illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 can all be stacked with similar pots in the same manner as conventional plant pots.

Whilst in the embodiment of Figures 1, 2 and 3 the support tube 1 is shown as being integral with base member 2 it will be appreciated that if desired it may be separate therefrom and may be attachable thereto, e.g., as by being a force fit in an aperture in the base member. Since the base member is preferably formed of relatively thin material a reinforcing boss may be provided around said aperture to provide sufficient strength and depth to adequately receive and support the support tube 1. In such an arrangement the webs of fillets 3 would, of course, be omitted.

Where a number of plants are to be supported e.g., in a single container such as a window box or plant trough, then the base member may have attached or attachable thereto a plurality of support tubes at any desired spacing from one another.

Instead of the support tube being adapted to receive a separate stake of suitable size it may have a telescopically extensible stake associated therewith, e.g., in the form of one or more plastics tube sections of suitable diameter which is (are) telescopically contained therein.

The plant support of the present invention is preferably used in combination with a stake in the form of a hollow cylindrical tube of plastics material.

Said hollow cylindrical stake may have one end which is plain and which is adapted to engage in said support tube 1, the other end of the stake being belled-out and being adapted to receive the plain end of a similar stake spigot-and-socket fashion whereby a longer stake can be formed simply by connecting together two or more said stakes.

Alternatively, said hollow cylindrical stake may be plain at both ends and one or more connector pieces provided whereby two or more stakes may be joined together end-to end. One embodiment of a connector piece is shown in Figure 7 and comprises oppositely directed spigot portions 16, 1 7 each of which is adapted to be inserted in an open end of a hollow cylindrical stake 1 8 and an intermediate shoulder portion 1 9 of substantially the same external diameter as the stake 1 8. Resilient hook portions 20 are formed integrally with the intermediate shoulder portion 1 9 and serve for the retention of a loop 21 of a helical plant tie of the kind hereinbefore described. An inwardly projecting shoulder 22 on each hook portion 20 serves to prevent the loop 21 becoming disengaged from the hook portion 20.

The connector piece illustrated in Figure 8 is substantially the same as that shown in Figure 7 except that the hook portions 20 also include eyes 23 through which twine or otherconventional plant tying material can be threaded and the spigot portions 16, 1 7 are fluted as shown at 24 so as to allow air to escape between the spigot 1 6 or 1 7 and the stake 1 8 as the spigot is inserted into the stake.

Claims (20)

1. A plant support comprising an elongate support member adapted to support a stake of suitable size and one end of which is attached or attachable to base means for maintaining the support member upright in soil or other medium in which a plant is growing.

2. A plant support according to claim 1, wherein said elongate support member comprises a spigot which can be inserted into one end of a hollow stake of suitable internal diameter.

3. A plant support according to claim 1, wherein said elongate support member comprises a support tube one end of which is open and is adapted to recieve a stake of suitable size and the other end of which is attached or attachable to said base means.

4. A plant support according to claim 3, wherein said support tube comprises sections of different internal diameters adapted to accommodate stakes of different predetermined sizes.

5. A plant support according to claim 4, wherein said support tube comprises a first section at said one end of the support tube of a first internal diameter and a second section at said other end of the support tube of a smaller internal diameter.

6. A plant support according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said base means comprises at least one member having a relatively large surface area.

7. A plant support according to claim 6, wherein said base means comprises a disc.

8. A plant support according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said base means comprises means whereby said support member is secured to the bottom of a plant container.

9. A plant support according to claim 7, wherein said base means is adjustable for size so as to be adaptable for different sizes of plant containers.

1 0. A plant support according to claim 9, wherein one or more annular extension pieces are provided which co-operate with said disc to increase the diameter of the base means.

11. A plant support according to claim 9, wherein said disc has a plurality of extension pieces pivotally connected thereto at intervals around the periphery thereof which can be pivotted outwardly away from said disc to increase the size of said base means.

1 2. A plant support according to claim 6, wherein said base means comprises a series of telescopically extensible arms which radiate outwardly from said one end of said support member.

1 3. A plant support according to any one of the preceding claims in combination with a stake in the form of a hollow cylindrical tube of plastics material.

1 4. A combination according to claim 13, wherein said stake has one end which is plain and which is adapted to engage said support member, the other end of the stake being belled-out and being adapted to receive the plain end of a similar stake spigot-and-socket fashion.

1 5. A combination according to claim 13, wherein said stake is plain at both ends and wherein one or more connector pieces is provided whereby two or more stakes can be joined together end-to-end.

16. A combination according to claim 15, wherein the or each connector piece comprises a pair of oppositely directed spigot portions each of which is adapted to be inserted in an open end of a said hollow cylindrical stake.

1 7. A combination according to claim 16, wherein said spigot portions are separated by an intermediate shoulder portion of substantially the same external diameter as the stakes to be joined together.

1 8. A combination according to claim 15, 1 6 or 17, wherein the or each connector piece has at least one resilient hook portion thereon with which a helical plant tie can be engaged.

1 9. A combination according to claim 18, wherein the or each connector piece has at least one eye formed thereon through which tying material can be threaded.

20. A plant support substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3, Fig.

4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig 7 or Fig. 8 of the accompanying drawings.