A DIY tepee plant cover: a stylish way to protect your flowers and plants from the frost
- Difficultyeasy
- Cost< 60 €
- Duration1-3 h
Let’s be honest: most plant covers for balconies, patios and gardens don’t look that great. So why not make a tepee to protect your roses or hydrangea from the frost, instead? Teepees are not just great fun for children and animals to play in, they're also perfect for your most sensitive plants and flowers. And with our instructions, you can make your own one in just under an hour.
Drill holes in the wooden rods
The rods will be tied together with rope that you thread through them. To make the holes, first use a pencil and ruler to mark them up. The height of the holes will depend on how big you want your tepee-style plant cover to be and/or how much you want it to fan out. To make sure the tepee is sturdy, you should leave at least 10 cm between the holes and the end of the rods. The size of the holes should be based on the diameter of the rope you’re using (the rope needs to fit through the holes). Before you start drilling, clamp down the slats or rods with the screw clamps to prevent them from slipping. Now drill down through the centre of each rod. If the hole isn’t clean, you can sand it down with a multi-sander and sanding sheet (120 grit) or an abrasive sponge.
Finish the wooden rods
To make the rods weather-proof, spray them with a waterproof clear finish – after all, you want your plant cover to last the whole winter. Using the can or the spray system, spray the finish on the rods from around 20 cm away. Don’t forget the ends! It’s best to use a face mask when doing this. You could also wear disposable gloves to protect your hands. Then leave the rods to dry thoroughly; you’ll find information on drying times on the spray can.
Before coating the rods with the finish, you might also want to use a medium-grit abrasive sponge on them. This will help make the finish better.
Thread the rope through the holes and tie it in knots
Once your rods are dry, you can tie them together. Thread the rope through the first hole and pull on it until only around 15 cm sticks out. Tie one knot before the hole and two after it. Then thread the rope through the next hole and, again, tie two knots in it. Continue until you have threaded the rope through all six rods, then tie one final knot. You should be left with one longer piece of rope.
Cut the fabric and waterproof it
To avoid too much material trailing on the ground, cut some off the bottom edge of the fabric. Then mark out a hexagon shape with a ruler and pencil (so you’ll need to draw five sides of equal length). These should be the same length as the distance between the bottoms of the tepee rods on the ground.
Now to make your tepee
Now it’s time to make your tepee and attach the fabric to it. First twist the rods in the same way you would twist spaghetti in a pan. Position the rods over the plant or flower that you want to protect. Then take the hot glue gun and insert a stick. While it’s heating, drape the fabric over the frame, with the right side facing outwards. Now apply the glue along one rod, from top to bottom. Press the fabric on to the rod for 30 to 60 seconds, until the glue is dry. Repeat this step on each rod. On the final rod, glue down the fabric firmly again and attach any remaining fabric to the fabric on the first rod.
Now your tepee-style plant cover is all ready!
As you can see from the photos, our version of the plant cover has a gap at the front – almost like the entrance to a tent. When it gets very cold (below -10°C), you should close this gap – for example, by piling up wood mulch. Or, in step 5, you could stick a triangular piece of fabric to the two tepee rods that later form the entrance, then attach the larger piece of fabric, which you cut in step 4, on top of that.