How To Install a Vertical Garden

How do you install a vertical garden without drilling into the wall?

A vertical garden unit can be mounted with adhesive rather than fixings, which is why this job appeals to renters and to anyone who would rather not drill into brickwork or tile. The method is short: mark out the position, clean the wall, apply Selleys Hold Up to the back of the unit in vertical stripes about 5 cm apart, press it firmly to the wall, level it, and leave it for at least 48 hours before hanging anything on it.

That 48 hour wait is the whole job. Hold Up feels solid long before it is strong, and a vertical garden is a load that grows — a trough of dry potting mix weighs a fraction of the same trough watered. Loading the unit early is the one mistake that brings the whole thing off the wall.

What you need

• Selleys Hold Up — 130 g tube or 290 mL cartridge
• Caulking gun (if using the cartridge)
• Vertical garden unit, troughs and hooks
• Tape measure and pencil
• Spirit level
• White spirits and a cloth
• Potting mix and plants

Why Hold Up works for this, and what its numbers mean

Hold Up is designed for mounting, bonding and sticking tasks without screws, nails or clamps, including on vertical surfaces. It is heat, UV and water resistant, and it is rated for indoor and outdoor use. It works on most materials: timber, concrete, MDF, particleboard, plasterboard, metals, some plastics, glass, masonry, tiles and ceramics.

Appearance	Smooth white paste
Technology	Sil-X
Cure time	At least 48 hours
Skin time	Approx. 45 minutes
Adjustable	Up to 15 minutes
Paintable	After 48 hours with water-based paints
Vertical load	Up to 240 kg/m² (tube) or 360 kg/m² (cartridge)
Packaging	130 g tube (white/off-white), 290 mL cartridge (white)
Shelf life	12 months

Indicative data only, not intended for preparation of specifications.

Fifteen minutes of adjustability is what makes this job forgiving. You can press the unit up, check it with the spirit level, slide it true and press again. Use that window — a vertical garden that is 5 mm out at one end is obvious once it is planted.

A 45 minute skin time against a 48 hour cure is the gap people misjudge. Within the hour the adhesive looks and feels set. It is not. The data sheet states plainly that the bond must not be disturbed until cured, at least 48 hours, and that longer cure times are needed in cold or dry conditions or where both surfaces are non-porous — which a rendered wall and a plastic garden unit both are.

The load figures — 240 kg/m² from the tube and 360 kg/m² from the cartridge on vertical surfaces — are per square metre of bonded area, not per bead. Applying vertical stripes 5 cm apart across the full back of the unit is what gets you a usable area; three dabs in the middle does not. For heavy objects, overhead applications and non-porous materials such as glass and metals, the data sheet recommends using additional supports such as clamps during cure as a precaution.

How to install it

1. Measure and mark. Using your tape measure and pencil, mark out where you want the vertical garden unit to go on the wall.
2. Clean the surfaces. Make sure they are clean and free from grease, grit and grime. Sand back any loose or peeling surface — on a painted wall, check the paint is sound and not flaky or peeling, because the bond is only ever as strong as the layer it is stuck to.
3. Apply the adhesive. Put Hold Up onto the back of the unit in vertical stripes approximately 5 cm apart, covering the full surface. If you are using the cartridge, face the V cut-out of the nozzle upwards and use a good-quality caulking gun.
4. Press it into place. Firmly press the unit against the wall in the marked-out space, making sure the adhesive spreads.
5. Level it. Check with a spirit level and adjust if needed — Hold Up is adjustable for up to 15 minutes.
6. Clean up immediately. Remove any excess adhesive with white spirits before the product cures. Once it has cured, it will not come off cleanly.
7. Wait at least 48 hours before hanging the hooks into the frame. Allow longer in cold or dry conditions, or where both surfaces are non-porous.
8. Plant it. Attach the troughs to the hooks, fill with potting mix, pot your plants and water.

Limitations — where Hold Up should not be used

• Not for some plastics — polyethylene, polypropylene and PTFE — or some rubbers. If your garden unit is moulded plastic, check what it is made from before you commit, and test on an offcut if you can.
• Water resistant, but not suitable for permanent water immersion. A wall that gets rained on is fine; a bond line sitting in standing water is not. Make sure the troughs drain away from the wall rather than onto the bond.
• Must not be disturbed until cured — at least 48 hours.
• For heavy objects, overhead applications and non-porous materials such as glass and metals, use additional supports such as clamps during cure as a precaution.
• Vertical load capacity is finite. Work out the wet weight of a fully planted, freshly watered unit and compare it against the bonded area you actually achieved, not the area of the unit.

Clean up and storage

Clean up immediately with white spirits or turps before the product cures. Store Hold Up in a cool dry place below 30°C. Unopened shelf life is 12 months.

Common questions about installing a vertical garden

How long before I can plant it up?

At least 48 hours after mounting, before you even hang the hooks. Longer in cold or dry conditions, or where both surfaces are non-porous.

Can I adjust the unit after I press it on?

Yes, for up to 15 minutes. Use a spirit level and get it right inside that window.

How should the adhesive be applied?

In long vertical beads approximately 5 cm apart, covering the full back surface of the unit. Vertical beads let any water that gets behind the unit drain rather than pool.

How much weight will it hold?

Up to 240 kg/m² from the tube and 360 kg/m² from the 290 mL cartridge on vertical surfaces — measured over the area you actually bonded.

Will it stick to a painted wall?

Yes, provided the paint is in good condition and not flaky, peeling or loose. Sand back anything loose first, or the bond will take the paint off the wall rather than hold.

Will it stick to my plastic garden unit?

It works on some plastics but not polyethylene, polypropylene or PTFE, and not some rubbers. Check the unit's material first.

Can I use it outdoors?

Yes. Hold Up is heat, UV and water resistant and rated for indoor and outdoor surfaces. It is not for permanent water immersion.

Tube or cartridge?

The 290 mL cartridge holds more and carries the higher vertical load rating of the two. The 130 g tube suits smaller units and does not need a caulking gun.

How do I clean off the excess?

White spirits or turps, immediately, before the product cures.

Can I paint over it?

Yes, after 48 hours, with water-based paints.

What if my wall is not flat?

Press firmly enough that the adhesive spreads and makes contact across the beads. If there is a genuine hollow, the data sheet's advice about additional supports during cure applies — hold or prop the unit until it has cured.

What else can I mount this way?

Hold Up is used for wall racking, spice racks, towel holders and bathroom accessories with flush backs. See how to organise your garage for the same technique applied to storage racking.