Mini tree question - wrapping tomato cages

[Mwhite7097]

I install the lights on the cages vertically from top to bottom. I make a slight bend in the 3 cage legs and then zip tie them together to give me "hooks" to attach the lights to the top and use the top ring (now on the bottom of the tree) to wrap lights. This way I can face the lights out to the audience and not have to wrap the back of the cage. I feel that wrapping the whole tree is a waste of lights. The front is all you normally see anyway.

[Crazydave]

I found tomato cages on amazon.com $33 for a 10 pack

[TJ Hvasta]

Check a nursery / garden shop too.. there's one be me that sells .. I think they're 32", for a $1.50.. 42" (I think) for $3

I wrap mine in plastic chicken wire, then zip-tie the 2 string per color every 2-3 loops.. then loosely wrap with garland for daytime appeal..

Edited September 28, 2012 by TJ Hvasta

[robm]

How many strings are you putting on these minis? Total bulb count? Im looking 3 color minis like this and needing to know what bulb count looks great...

[caniac]

How many strings are you putting on these minis? Total bulb count? Im looking 3 color minis like this and needing to know what bulb count looks great...

I started with 100 but it look sparse so I added another 100 and it looks great. some guys go 300-500.

[dknahoolewa]

3' mini trees....350 per color (LED).

cool white tends to be really bright but i like it that way. makes for neat combination with other colors.

[Klayfish]

My "mini" trees are 54". When I mocked one up, it took about 500, could use 600 if I really wanted to pack it. I'm going to try to do one with 400 to see what I think.

[wallleyes]

My mini tree`s are 33 inches and i use 1 strand of 100 count c-6 led lights per color.Plenty bright.

[Liberty-Laser]

I use 26" artificial trees. Several years ago I found 12 of them at a yard sale for $1 each. Last year I stripped the incandescent from them and replaced with 200ct LEDS. They look great during the day and a real eye catcher at night.

[George Simmons]

I also use the 33" size tomato cages. The ones that have clear mini incans have 200 lights. Given the shallowness of my yard and given that the mini trees are right up front, they're way too bright and I wish I had used fewer bulbs. (When one set loses 50 lights I just leave it as is and it looks great.) I feel they're too bright. When I refurbish those I'll definitely use fewer lights.

The other colors I use - blue, red, green, white - are all full-wave LEDs and I've found that fifty-light strings are plenty bright to do the job nicely. I can't even imagine putting a couple hundred colored LEDs on a tree that size unless the trees were going to be a hundred feet or more from the street.

[ToddH]

Zip tied the tops, then epoxy, then covered in plastic dip. Overkill? Maybe, but it keeps me from impaling my forehead when I set the minis out and bend over to plug them in!

HAHAHAH I almost bursted out at work after reading this one!!