Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Purchased a number of these last year. They were perfect so I wanted more. Arrived and I was shocked at the completely bone headed design change. Connection points changed to sideways instead of up and down ( you know...how gravity works !!! ). They will not stay together and I could easily see any plant movement in the wind collapsing them. This could actually be the dumbest design change of a product I have ever seen. Went from perfect to useless.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

holds up my top heavy peonys while looking good

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

These large Essex Supports are the BEST! I have been looking for something like this for years. I have over 50 peonies and some of them are very well established and the extra tier just holds them up beautifully. I put these together myself and didn't have any difficulty like some other people it. Keep up the good work. I love your company!

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

It was difficult to put together. You really need 2 people but it is very effective & sturdy for it's use.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The large Essex Plant Supports are the BEST!! I have been looking for something like this for years. I have over 50 peonies and some are very well established and the extra tier on these supports really makes a difference. I love them. I put them together myself and didn't have difficulty with them - like some other people did. Keep up the good work. I love your company!

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The Essex Plant Supports are a definite enhancement to our flower beds. They're attractive as well as providing support, especially for peonies.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

These are really good lookin' plant supports!.. as supports go anyway. They are also not that hard to put together. If you get the sideway attaching ones, you just want to make sure you have the "teeth" going the same direction on each ring.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The support is attractive and sturdy but, a bear to assemble. The rings are attached to the legs by tabs which pull out of the legs when trying to install in the ground. You need 6 hands to try and hold it together. All the tabs need is to be a bit longer and a cap to hold it on the leg. I had to use electrical tape to hold it together.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The support is a bear to put together. The rings are held on the legs by small tabs that pull out when trying to install in the ground. The tabs should be a bit longer and a cap installed on the end of the tab to keep it on the leg. I had to use electrical tap to keep it together. If this problem was solved I would definitely recommend it.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

It took 2 people and a lot of laughing to get these things together and keep them together until we got them in the ground. Once there, they worked great but they do not stay together well. They were frustrating to work with.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I bought these supports last year and this year. Last year's model was easier to assemble and held-up over the winter. The ones I got this year had horizontal instead of vertical joins which made it harder to assemble. I also had trouble with welds breaking before I was even done assembling.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The horizontal prongs to assemble the plant stand are very difficult to use. They had a great design prior to this one....why change?
BTW, 10% of the stands tend to break after a couple of years.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Once assembled, these supports look great and do the job for my big peonies. But, putting these together would make a great Lucille Ball skit-I felt like an idiot! If the hooks would click into place, they would much be easier to assemble.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

We purchased these a year ago to use in a section for our taller plants. It was great worked good and it looks great. Purchased more this year to find out they changed the design. They reoriented the tabs that "hold" it together, bottom-line they took a great product and made it horrible. Hard to put together and doesn't stay together without tie wrapping or screwing it together. Very disappointed.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

We purchased these a year ago to use in a section for our taller plants. It was great worked good and it looks great. Purchased more this year to find out they changed the design. They reoriented the tabs that "hold" it together, bottom-line they took a great product and made it horrible. Hard to put together and doesn't stay together without tie wrapping or screwing it together. Very disappointed.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Found the product difficult to get into the ground and stay together. It definately takes two people which isn't very convenient. Maybe in looser soil it would be more effective. I needed it for an existing Lavender plant. I simply couldn't get it in the ground in one piece rendering it ineffective, so now it is in our shed.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Difficult, but not impossible to set up by yourself-would be easier with two people

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Was dissappointed in the quality. Two brackets broke off immediately when putting it together. Do not like that it takes 2 people to put it together. Bummer if you don't have someone around. [...]

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Need more than one person to put it together and hold it while it goes into the ground. Breaks too easily. Costs way too much for it to break and be so hard to use.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Very hard to put together and stay together. But once done, it looks really nice. Make sure you get it out there before plants get too tall.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I was worried about putting it together after all of the negative reviews online, but it was really simple. Yes, it takes two people, but it wasn't a problem. It looks super in my landscaping and holds up my ginormous peonies so they can be mowed around. Perfect!

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

We have a number of perennials in our front flower beds that produce flower spires, 2-4 ft. high. In the past we have had an occasional storm with heavy rains and wind knock down these flower stems which are top heavy to start with. This year we decided to try the Esssex Supports to see if they would help support the flowers.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I like them.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

These support are doing their job holding up my peonies after so much rain that Missouri has endured this past month! I love them!

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The 3 plant supports I have keep my flowers upright and looking lovely even after a heavy rain. I remove the rings and put the small one down onto the supports when I cut the plants back and the small birds find it a good resting place after visiting our bird feeders in the fall and winter.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I purchased 4 set of these last year and they arrived mid summer. They havent done very well outdoors in the weather. They are starting to rust and some of the welds have come apart. The rings have all seperated I will have to try to take them all apart and repaint them and then try to wire them back together to make them more stable. Not happy with this purchase at all they were expensive and should have held up better.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

These are strong, well made supports and they look beautiful with peonies. They are hard to put together and sometimes they come a bit apart but this can be remedied with a weld or you could use tape or something else. However, I highly recommend these due to the strong metal used. The other type are just too flimsy but these are the best supports I have found anywhere, period.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I purchased two of the large Essex Plant Supports last year on sale to use with my peonies. The assembly instructions say two people are needed for installation but they don't say there is nothing to secure the rings into the receptacles on the legs. Because of this design flaw, the rings are constantly slipping out, making it nearly impossible to hold the support together. My husband had to "wire" it together before we could install it over the peonies. I gave this support two stars for durability and being the perfect size for large plants but the overall design is poor and needed help before we could use it.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I bought two to begin with, just to see how they looked and if they worked. I put them together on my own, with a just bit of difficulty because I have severe arthritis in my hands. But if I can do it, nearly anyone else ought to be able to do it much more easily. I like them so much that I'm now going to order two more and this time I'll try the next size up just to see how they are. They are very attractive and because of their shape they hold the plants in a very natural, graceful position. I highly recommend this product!

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

These worked well. No problems getting them into our soil which has lots of crushed granite. They look great in the garden.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I just received the Essex large plant support this week. I was a little worried that I would be disappointed because of the reviews concerning the difficulty of putting it together. It took my husband and I about two minutes to put it together and stick it in the ground!It probably is easier for two people, but I bet I could have done it myself. So far, it's beautiful!

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Use it for my beautiful red single-flowered Peony and so far the stake is working well.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I love the older ones! It took me and my husband both to assemble. Two of the brackets broke of at the weld. :(
Wish you'd go back to the old model.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Purchased 3 large Essex supports for my very well established, very large, very heavy peonies. I have been looking for these for years. My neighbors are stopping by to ask where they can find them. Bravo

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I originally bought the small size last year and loved them. They were the original design with the vertical inserts and very easy to assemble. I wanted to purchase more in the medium size this year but got discouraged by some of the negative reviews regarding the new horizontal insert design. I decided to go ahead and give them a try because I couldn't find any other designs that I liked. They were still quite easy to assemble, perhaps just a tad more difficult than the original design. I was able to put them together alone, in my house, and carry them outside to place them in the garden. I'm so happy I decided to go ahead a buy them. I'm actually going to buy more now because I only purchased a few to "test" them out.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

My peony support is very beautiful and next year I plan to purchase more for the rest my peonies. A severe storm came through with tennis-ball sized hail. The only peony support (and peony) left standing was the Essex support.
It was a bit difficult to put the support together--it could be because I'm disabled, and will ask another person to help next year, but most people could probably handle it on their own.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

works great with peonies.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I'm trying them on VERY tall peonies and on "short" non-climbing clematis, both of which overwhelm other supports. I put them around each plant, and already have had 3 different people come to my door to find out where I bought them, and comment on how attractive they are.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I have several Essex Plant Supports. They are hard to get to stay together and some of the welds don't stay.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

We've used other contraptions to hold our peonies off the ground, but this one appears to be the best. Although our peonies haven't blossomed yet, I can already tell that the weight of this support and the sturdiness of the wire is going to be superior to what we used last year. So far, I'm impressed!

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

use them to hold up my peonies. Work very well. the connecting method on the original ones was easier to put together than these newer ones. However once together they stay better.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Once I secured it with tie wraps, it felt more stable.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

bought essex plant supporter last year; it was a great design-easy to put together, sturdy...BUT THIS YEAR...the design is terrible. I wouldn't recommend it. Hard to assemble, won't stay together, one of the connections broke. Disappointed in this design, hope they change it. I love my first one.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I am useing this product for my peonies, it is very attractive while doing its function, the only disadvantage is I had to get my husband to help me hold it together while I set them up.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I was most anxious to try this plant support, and was very disappointed that it couldn't even be successfully assembled. I will have to wait till next year now, as my peony will be too tall by the time I wait for a replacement.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The rings fall off SO easily that it is terribly frustating to even try to set it up. Only when we clamped everything did it work, but then the finish got marred. There has to be a better way...

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

With the pieces provided, the support continually fell apart as I was putting it together. I did not have enough hands or arms. The use of bailing wire helped, but my wife did not like the modified look. The support will keep my peonies from drooping on the ground.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The redesign makes it very difficult to set these up. Just as I get one of the circles together then try the other one, the first one falls apart. I have tried many different ways; nothing has worked. I am now going to tape them together. I like the old design much better...the stands stay together.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The support works great on the plant, but assembling was a tricky process. Inserting the rings on the supports kept slipping out requiring a lot of effort to keep it together until it was in the ground.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I am using the support for a large house plant. I would recommend giving the dimensions of the bottom ring and legs in your catalog description to make it easier to choose the size.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I'm handy, but could NOT assemble these alone. I tried, at one point had all sections but one and then BOINK, the thing pops apart and knocks me - HARD - on my head. OUCH. Even with 2 people, these have a bad design; assembled they still pop apart VERY easily. They need to have some sort of lock or snap feature, they are just a BAD design. Both are now in pots, in use, but one looks like the connection could pop apart any second. I love the idea and look of these, but won't buy more unless they are redesigned.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The assembly instructions on these suggest two persons, and they are not kidding. The supports fall apart as quickly as you put them together. To add to the frustration, the spot welds that hold the fasteners on to the frames are poor at best, and we found ourselves with several fasteners that had broken off. Eventually, we were able to put the supports together with the help of zip ties. I hope that they stay together once the plants have started growing up through them.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I need products that are sturdy and last through NY winters. These supports are superb as are all the products I have purchased over the years - tomato supports, vegetable supports, mulches, etc.Pla

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I purchased this product for my peonies. It looks really great once I got it to stay together; a little difficult to get all the metal tips to stay in the sleeves long enough to push into the ground, but once I did, it is real sturdy and should hold the peonies nicely.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The instructions say that it might take two people for assembly. I found that a lot of twine also helps. For the price, the assembly design could be a lot better, but they do look nice if you have the patience to put it together and keep after it.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

This plant support cannot be assembled alone and even then, will not stay together. I finally had to resort to duct tape to hold the parts together. The overall construction is poor.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The assembly instructions state that TWO people are recommended for assembly. I found that half-inch strips of duct tape hold the parts in position for assembly. I assembled three large supports without help and installed them in less than ten minutes. Do I win a prize???

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

the only problem is getting it together without help and then sometimes it still slips out of the slots, but I still love them!!!!

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Very nice design and cost effective.Much nicer quality than the local discount stores.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I bought a set of these early 2010. They were fantastic - solid construction that supported a very heavy Matrona sedum. They were so rigid I could put them together and then walk them out to my garden. Based on that I bought several more at the end of 2010.

However, between those times there was a redesign. The legs no longer hook vertically into the loops, but instead slide in horizontally. No rigidity anymore. The rings pop apart from the legs at the slightest nudge or twist. They have to be constructed at the point they are to be used so they can be immediately pushed into the ground. Otherwise, no structure.

These were great. Now they aren't. If you were wondering why some reviewers can't love them enough but others can't stand them, that's why.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

This is the only support I have found big enough to support my mature peony clumps. They do require 2 people to put them together.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Clips need to be added to secure the rings to the posts or even a gentle nudge makes it come apart. And without the clips it is frustrating for even two people to put it together

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

These plant supports really do the trick for my tall peonies but last year I planted a highdranger variety that is tall and lanky. The significant amount of snow we recieved last winter did some damage to the highdranger. After "pruning" the highdranger this fall - I used the plant support to hold up the branches and its real secure and ready for the snow.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

This support held my peonies beautifully last spring, and now I've bought one for a friend who has some of my cuttings. I've taken the ring off and folded the legs in on each other - and the chickadees and juncos love sitting on them when visiting my garden. I have another support which has only one ring and I find the stems crush each other in it. Gardeners Supply unit keeps them nicely spread and easy to enjoy their beauty.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The plant rings do not "lock" into the supports. This makes it difficult to assemble, kind of like "pushing a rope"! It is of heavy duty construction but is pricey for the difficulty of use. I was only able to use this at the end of the season. I question if it would remain assembled throughout the growing season.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I have bought many things from Gardeners Supply and have always been pleased with their merchandise, until now. The peony rings are prettier than any others I have seen. However, they come in pieces - two rings and three legs. They connect to each other by inserting a small horizontal post into a square little tube. But the fittings are loose and come apart. It is nearly impossible to keep the complete ring from falling apart. Even if two people hold the ring together, it falls apart when you try to insert the legs into the soil. Pretty but they just don't work.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I love these plant supports. Started with two and ordered two more for my peonys. The only complaint needs a better powder coating to prevent rust where pieces join. The coating on all the metal seems a little weak.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I have tried several plant supports, but for either tall (such as digitalis, hollyhock, delphinium) or bushey (agastache, fuschia), these Essex supports are the best.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I put them in place in the spring and let the plant grow through them. The plants stand up nicely.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I bought those plant supports to keep several of our perennials in place and I liked the design. The plant support itself is very sturdy. Despite the "improved design assembles easily" I found it very hard to fit the pieces together. Although the "how-to-assemble-flyer" actually tells you that you need a second person to interlock the pieces I could have needed two more people to make it work. After all the plant support doesn't stay assembled and falls apart as soon as you want to move it into the soil. Because of the interlocking design you cannot simply use cable binder to keep it together, it needs some serious wire work.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Although they are made with durable materials, are attractive looking, and functional, they are VERY hard to assemble. The parts mostly fit together smoothly, but NOTHING holds them in place! We used black wire ties at all eight junctions (and they were not easily installed) before the units were steady.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

These plant supports are much sturdier than those I bought at my local nursery.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Much sturdier than the plant supports I bought at my local greenhouse.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

NEEDED FOR YOUNG PLANT SUPPORT AND A
DETRACTION FOR DEER AND OTHER WILDLIFE

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I didn't realize it would be as big as it is. It may well be too big for what I need, but I bought it at the end of the season so I won't find out till next spring.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Great for flowers.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I bought this support specifically for my poppies. It works great and helps them hold their heavy blooms off the ground. I did need to ask my neighbor to help me hold it together in order to install it, but working with a neighbor is not all bad! Very pretty. I plan to leave it out this winter to add interest to my front-of-property flower bed.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

My husband and I spent some time this morning installing these on existing plants..yes it is more difficult but it can be done. After working together to put in three because the directions say its better with two people my husband being the engineer that he is came up with a one person method which I happily let him do. They look great and are very sturdy and should last a long time. An easier installation method is to place the small ring in the desired position around the plant and using that ring as a guide push all of the supports in. Then you can bring the bottom ring up and attach it and then attach the top ring. Much easier that way. I will be ordering more of these, I dont mind waiting for the back order if necessary.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I use these supports for my peonies and they work well. Some years the peonies grow taller or the blooms are especially heavy or laden with rain and I wish the supports were a little taller.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Difficult to install in desert soil. Must be careful not to press down on brackets - one broke off with only moderate pressure.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

blend well into the landscape

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I am using these for hydrangeas. They are sturdy and look very nice. Only problem is assembling them by oneself. I would definitely buy again.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I used a dab of hot glue to keep them together during installation as I knew storage wouldn' be problem. But, they would have been fine without. I have both the large and small to hold up different sized peonies. And, one of the small ones works great as a bird bath stand. They are worth the money.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Love your products

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

The large stands work great for my peonies and the smaller stands look great with my Yarrow. I plan to buy more for my daisies and sage.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

Bought these to contain peoonies (smaller) and black and blue sage (taller) along a walkway. I just wanted to support the plants, I didn't realize how attractive these supports are and how really sturdy. The taller ones are perfect for the sage as they send tubers and spread wide. They are solid, not bendable wire like traditional cages. They don't get "tossed around" when my dogs run past. They will last for eons. I will buy more of these for "showcase" plants. They are pricier -great investment for perrenials that come back every year bigger and fuller.

Comments about Essex Plant Supports:

I have 50 peonies. I have tried many other supports, but like these the best. They are strong and nice looking. They don't always go together easily, but I use zip ties to secure each attachment site. I do not take them down and put them away before winter. I keep them up to prevent deer from trampling the spring emerging herbaceous peonies and to also keep deer from winter browsing the tree peonies. They are more expensive than any other supports, but until there is a better peony support....this is top of the line.