Never built trellises, but used to build book shelves and coffee tables and other furniture out of copper. No welding required, just solder and it's not tough..measure twice, cut once and clean the copper before soldering. And no matter what they tell you, soldering flux makes for a cleaner, nicer joint. There are some new high strength solders like Staybrite 8 that are low temp and work really well, but they cost more and you won't find it at the big box. Just one thing, copper is very expensive right now with all the building going on. But that being said, you will end up with a one of akind, did it myself work of art. Drop me a note if you need more info.

I know that GT had done one at one point, but the tubing wasn't strong enough to hold her grapevine (or some such thing....) You might want to drop her a line.

Good luck!

I don't know if this would be a good idea. Copper is deadly to aquatic plants, and probably is not better for terrestrial ones.

I once unthinkingly dropped a couple of iron pyrite (iron disulfide) nuggets into a pot that held a house plant. The plant went into rapid decline, and we couldn't figure out why. I finally tried removing the "fool's gold" and the plant made a dramatic turnaround.

Apparently, just close proximity to the pyrite was enough to bother the plant. I'm pretty sure it would have died without intervention.

I realize that copper is a different substance, I'm just pointing out that copper, due to it's known toxicity to some plants, MIGHT not be the optimum trellis material.

Pure copper as it is found in copper piping is not toxic to plants. The various oxides,sulfates, sulfides and hydroxides are toxic to plants and in sufficient quantities can inhibit root growth. There are actually commercial nursery containers with copper hydroxide in the lining to inhibit plant roots from bonding with the container for easier un-potting to prevent root damamge. The copper oxides that will form when the copper is exposed to the elements are stable an will usually have no effect on your plants. If it were that toxic, everyone who has a copper water main running under their grass would have a dead brown strip running with it. The organic materials in the soil tie-up any free copper and make it difficult for the plant to absorb. The more compost the safer your plants. If you are still concerned, after you complete your trellis, you can apply a compound to get the patina then seal the trellis with polyurethane. But in general unless the plant is very sensitive it should be fine.

PC, I used copper tubing for a refrigerator, very soft and flexable..and not good for grape vines :( LOL!

That's right - I remember it well!

Don't they wrap some bonzai plants with copper wire? OTOH, I've been told that you can kill a tree with a copper nail in the root, but that doesn't make much sense to me after thinking about it.

built one from these instructions of my own design,... owner added the ceramic owl. copper trellis by Earth Fabric Ceramic and Metal Sculptures, Raleigh NC