@nhbabs: that’s a wonderful idea...I may borrow it! :)

I got the idea from my local nursery. The only thing is that I need to have the obelisks where I want them for the winter before the ground freezes, some years by midNovember.

Where you are, many type twos likely won’t overwinter vines above the snow line, so I hard prune them all, regardless, with the exception of the type 1 early blooming atragene group plants which are totally hardy.

so I hard prune them all, regardless.

Me too.

I’ve ordered 3 x 6 feet tall obelisks

Any pictures you could share?

Sure! I love to share pictures of anything garden-related! :)

They’re actually 7 feet tall. Should I be worried about them falling over?

Not if you bury them to at least the first circular banding.

To be honest, if they came in pieces, needing to be screwed together (rather than welded or brazed), they have a fairly limited lifespan (ask me how I know) so, if that is the case, you may as well leave them standing out because lifting and storing also puts a strain on the structure. If welded in one piece, then yep, the main damage will be rusting (and much depends on the durability and composition of the metals used in construction)... but since this happens during summer as well, I am not sure how winter storage will significantly increase their usable lifespan. Please be assured, I know nothing of the depredations of a Z3 winter and could be talking out of my arse (as per).

@Camp: they come in pieces, thanks for your advice, I might leave them in the ground if storing them does not make a difference.

The holes where the screws go invariably rust through really quickly, the screws fall out and the bands start to slip down. Although you might gain some longevity by taking them in during winter, the act of moving them does almost as much damage. On balance, I would leave them in, make them work for you over winter (I think Bab's idea is inspired and enjoy them for the duration of their life. As well as clems, they are perfect for supporting quick growing summer annuals such as sweet peas, eccremocarpus scaber (Chilean Glory Vine), Mina lobata (Spanish Flag), Ipomea Quamoclit, Asarina scandens, Black Eyed Susan (my favourite - Thunbergia alata) or tropolaem majus (nasturtium,)...all easy to start now, from seed, including some interesting perennial types such as T.tricolour).

Check out solar lights on Amazon - I have little mini ones, they stay lit all night, even in winter. I think they were around $10

Thanks Dingo, I’ll look it up!