GB2318965A

GB2318965A - Plant support

Info

Publication number: GB2318965A
Application number: GB9622977A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bernard John Seward
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-11-05
Filing date: 1996-11-05
Publication date: 1998-05-13
Also published as: GB9622977D0

Abstract

A plant support (8) comprises a base (10) shaped to receive a plant (2) and a plant pot (4). An elongate support member (12) is fixed to the base (10) and provides support to the stem of the plant (2). If required, the plant pot (4) may also be connected to the support (12). The support rod 12 is preferably extendable, so that it can accommodate the growth of a plant.

Description

Plant Support This invention relates to a plant support.

A plant in the ground, requiring additional support, can be stabilised by a stake or cane alongside, driven deep and securely into the soil, well below rooting level; even into clay or rocky substratum.

A plant in a pot or container cannot benefit from this kind of security as a support cane or stake will be limited by the depth of the container. A growing plant, whether a flower, bush, shrub or sapling, will increase its centre of gravity (and its potential instability) in proportion to its growth, both vertically and horizontally.

The addition of a stake in the container may even contribute to the instability of the whole. The drying out of the planting medium will exacerbate the problem.

Containers holding the roots of hanging and trailing plants e.g. Chlorophytum Comosum Variegatum (Spider plants); the tall-growing Hedera helix and the potentially heavyweight Monstera varieties, become especially unstable when the plants are in mature states of growth.

According to the present invention there is provided a plant support comprising a base and an elongate plant support member which is fixed to and extends upwardly from the base, a plant in a container being placed on the base in use of the plant support, means being provided to attach the plant and/or the container to the elongate member.

In a preferred embodiment, a potted plant stands on a base board of an appropriate size. The basic single model has a major radius of 115mm, but it is envisaged that the plant stand will be made available in a range of sizes. The combined weight of the container, plant and planting medium holds the base firmly on the ground, floor or table top.

The elongate member preferably comprises a vertical rod or pole which extends from a position near the edge of the board, passing close to the rim of the container.

The plant is tied or linked across to the pole with attachment means comprising wire ties, loops, straps or any other appropriate material. It does not preclude the use of a pot-based stake; it may well be an advantage to use a stake as the point of security with the pole, obviating the need to make an additional attachment to the plant stem(s).

The container itself may also be secured to the pole in a similar way.

The weight of the container and planting medium stabilises the base; the base stabilises the pole and the pole stabilises the stem and foliage of the plant; and, if necessary, the container itself.

Each plant thus supported becomes a free-standing integrated unit, independent of wall, fence or overhead security and may be carried safely as a single integrated unit.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be carried into effect reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a sketch of a tall potted plant, staked in its pot, but potentially unstable.

Figure 2 shows the outline of a potted plant, as shown in Figure 1, in position on a base board and secured to a support rod, at two points.

Figure 3 shows a double plant support carrying, for example, a climbing plant adjacent to a trailing plant, which utilises the support rod as a trailing aid.

Figure 4 (a) is a plan view of a single plant support with three positions for locating the support rod.

Figure 4 (b) is a plan view of a double plant support with one central position for locating the support rod.

Figure 5 shows the top and bottom ends of a vertical support rod.

Figure 6 (a) shows a cross section through a decorative metal cap.

Figure 6 (b) shows a captive nut in an MDF base board.

Figure 7 shows a captive nut welded to a steel base.

Figure 8 shows a spigotted end of a plastics tubular pole in line with its reinforced location socket in a plastics base board.

Figure 9 shows (&commat; 50% scale) a vertical support rod in standard interchangeable two-section form, with plant-tie security grooves.

Figure 10 shows (&commat; SO scale) a telescopically extendable support rod in two-part form, including an inside tube locking collar and a male screw formed on a spigot, force-fitted into the lower end of the tube.

Figure 1 shows a plant 2 growing in a conventional plant pot 4 and supported by a cane 6 pushed into the soil in the plant pot 4.

Figure 2 shows the plant 2 and plant pot 4 of Figure 1 mounted on a plant support 8 according to the present invention. The plant support 8 comprises a base board 10 connected to an elongate support member comprising a support rod 12.

The upper surface of the base board 10 is flat and in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane. The plant pot 4 rests on the upper surface of the base board 10 and hence stabilizes the plant support 8 as a whole.

to form a non-slip surface. The underside of the base board 10 is fitted with four rubber feet which are equidistantly spaced within 15mm of the perimeter of the base board 10, so as to spread the potential load in a stable manner.

The support rod 12 is preferably made of hardwood dowel of uniform circular cross-section of not less than 25mm diameter. However, the support rod 12 and also the base board 10 may be formed of any suitable material, such as plastics or metal and the overall dimensions of the support rod 12 and base board 10 may be varied in accordance with the particular size and shape of plant 2 and plant pot 4 to be supported.

The plant 2 is fixed to the support rod 12 by means of plant ties 16 which comprise rubber straps looped around the plant 2 and fitted to the support rod 12 by means of jubilee clips (registered trade mark).

The support rod 12 is fixed to the base board 10 by means of a screw connection into one of two openings 18, 20 provided in an end of the base board 10.

Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the base board 10 is enlarged sufficiently to support two plant pots. In this embodiment, the support rod 12 is located centrally on the base board 10. A plant tie 16 is used to connect one of the plants to the support rod 12 and wire cross ties 22 fitted around the plant pots are connected to the base of the support rod 12 to provide additional support for the plant pots.

Figure 4a shows an alternative embodiment of base board 10 having three openings 24, 26, 28 into which the elongate support member 12 can be fitted. The base board 10 is of radiused triangular shape and is cut from 12mm medium density fibreboard (MDF).

Figure 4b shows a dumb-bell shaped base board 10 suitable for supporting two plants. This is an alternative arrangement to the oval shaped base board 10 shown in Figure 3 and is fitted with a centrally disposed support rod 12 (not shown).

Figure 5 shows a partially sectioned portion of a support rod 12 provided with a threaded opening 30 at its upper end and a male threaded portion 32 at its lower end. In use, the male threaded portion 32 is screwed into one of the threaded openings in the base board 10. If additional height is required a further support rod 12 may be screwed into the threaded opening 30 in the upper end of the first support rod 12.

Referring to Figure 6(a), a threaded plug 34 is used to fill the openings in the base board 10 which are not fitted with a support rod 12. A threaded plug 34 may also be used to close off the threaded opening 30 in the upper end of the uppermost support rod 12.

In order to improve the overall appearance of the plant support 8, the threaded plug 34 preferably comprises a decorative finishing cap in plated or anodized metal.

The screw pitch on the threaded male portion 32, the threaded plug 34 and the threaded opening 30 can of course be of any appropriate size, but it has been found by the inventor that a 5/16" Whitworth thread works particularly well.

As best shown in Figure 6(b) the female thread in the base board 10 is provided by a captive nut 36 forced into a counter-bored recess 38 in the base board 10.

In an alternative embodiment illustrated in Figure 7, the base board 10 is formed from mild steel sheet which is pressed out to form a hollow base 42 of approximately 15mm depth. The base 42 has an enamel non-slip paint finish on its upper surface to prevent slippage of a plant pot. A captive nut 41 is welded to the underside of the hollow base 42 beneath an opening 44 which is sized to receive the male threaded portion 32 of a hollow steel support rod 12.

In a further embodiment illustrated in Figure 8, the plant support 8 is moulded from plastics material and has a hollow rigid base 46 of approximately 25mm depth. A recess 48 of 23mm depth is moulded into the upper surface of the hollow base 46 and tightly receives an end of a support rod 12 formed with a splined spigot 50 of a length not less than 23mm. The support rod 12 is formed from rigid plastics tube having a wall thickness of 2mm.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 9, the support rod 12 is provided with a plurality of pairs of grooves which prevent wire plant support ties 22 from slipping on the smooth outer surface of the support rod 12. The size and spacing of the grooves may be varied to provide optimum support for a particular plant and container. For general use, the inventor has found that grooves 2mm wide by lmm deep at 7mm separation are particularly useful.

As mentioned previously, the support rod 12 may be made up from a plurality of short sections which may be screwed together to vary the overall height of the support rod 12. In addition, the individual sections of the support rod 12 may be of different lengths.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 9, the support rod 12 is made up from two interchangeable sections of 350mm and 180mm overall length.

Referring to Figure 10, an alternative embodiment of support rod 12 is shown comprising an upper section 54 and a lower section 56. The upper section 54 fits within and slides relative to the lower section 56.

The overall length of the support rod 12 may be increased, as a plant 2 grows,simply by pulling the upper section 54 out of the lower section 56.

In the illustrated embodiments the support rod 12 is perpendicular to the upper surface of the base board 10, but the support rod 12 may instead extend at an angle of less than 900 to the upper surface. This may be achieved by fixing the captive units in the base board 10 at an angle to the upper surface of the base board.

Claims

1. A plant support comprising a base and an elongate plant support member which is fixed to and extends upwardly from the base, a plant in a container being placed on the base in use of the plant support, means being provided to attach the plant and/or the container to the elongate member.

2. A plant support as claimed in claim 1, in which the elongate member is extendable.

3. A plant support as claimed in claim 2, in which the elongate member is telescopic.

4. A plant support as claimed in claim 2, in which the elongate member is made up from a plurality of interconnectable sections.

5. A plant support as claimed in claim 4, in which not all of the sections are of the same length.

6. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the base is adapted to be carried.

7. A plant support as claimed in claim 6, in which the base is provided with handles.

8. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the base is provided with flexible feet.

9. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the base is provided with castors or wheels.

10. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the base is adapted to support a plurality of plant containers.

11. A plant support as claimed in claim 10, in which the elongate member is located between the plant containers.

12. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a plurality of elongate members are fitted to the base.

13. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claim, in which the upper surface of the base has a non-slip finish.

14. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which an elongate member is releasably connected to the base.

15. A plant support as claimed in claim 14, in which the elongate member is screwed to the base.

16. A plant support as claimed in claim 15, in which an end of the elongate member is threaded and is screwed to a threaded opening in the base.

17. A plant support as claimed in claim 15 or 16, in which the elongate member is screwed to a captive nut fixed to the base.

18. A plant support as claimed in claim 14, in which an end of the elongate member is a push fit in the base.

19. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the base is adapted such that the elongate member can be fitted to the base in a plurality of different locations.

20. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the elongate member extends at an angle of approximately 900 to an upper surface of the base.

21. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the means for fixing the plant and/or the container to the elongate member comprises a rubber strap.

22. A plant support as claimed in claim 21, in which the rubber strap is fixed to the elongate member by a hose fastener such as a jubilee clip (registered trade mark).

23. A plant support substantially as described herein with reference tc and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS

1. A plant support comprising a base and an elongate plant support member which is fixed to and extends upwardly from the base, a plant container being placed on the base beside the elongate member in use of the plant support, means being provided to attach the plant container and/or a plant contained in the container to the elongate member.

5. A plant support as clasped in claim 4, in which not all of the sections are of the same length.

8. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,in which the base is provided with flexible feet.

10. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the base is adapted to carry a plurality of plant containers.

20. A plant support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the elongate member extends at an angle of approximately 90 to an upper surface of the base.