Nope! What leaches or oxidizes off the trellis will not be enough to harm the plants. I had a gorgeous copper arbor in my old garden that I grew clems on, one on either side. Never any difficulties or problems. I sold it when I moved......now I wish I still had it, as there are not enough places in my new garden for all the clems I want to grow.

Copper is a basic plant nutrient - it is only toxic when in very high concentrations. Not anything that would be generated by the oxidation of a copper trellis.

My husband made a copper trellis last spring for my Betty Corning with no problems. He's gradually planning on replacing all our wooden trellises with copper ones.

Thanks! I'll forge ahead.

Schifferle - Did your husband find a pattern or plan or did he just make up his own?

I got the book, "Trellis Craft: How to Make Your Own Copper Pipe Garden Ornaments by Roger A. Beebe" for him from Beebe's website: http://www.trelliscraft.com/ You can also buy it for slightly less on Amazon.com. It's a great book with complete how-to instructions and lots and lots of design ideas. In the rose forum, someone asked about trellises and someone commented that copper has sometimes been stolen in cities to sell for scrap. I've heard of that happening, but it has never happened to me even though my home is in a small city. I & my husband built several copper and wooden signs a couple years ago for an herb garden next to an historical building in the city nearby. No problems with theft.