While I'm trying to figure out how I want to approach LST with these babies, I was thinking about tie downs. I have the lip/rim around the pot but I don't want to permanently modify the pot in any way. I remembered that I had some 6"x1" fabric/sod staples which are made out of some form of steel, it does react to magnets, but which also rusts after extended periods in the soil, like over the course of the summer growing season, 4-6 months. It doesn't disintegrate or anything, in fact I've had some out in the flower bed holding down some drip hose for a decade or so and it is holding up quite well, however the surface of the staple does rust when in contact with the soil.
I was thinking about using them, in addition to using the pot lip/rim, as tie downs for my LST but was concerned about the rust issue. From my observations, the rust pretty much stays on the staple, not much is actually transferred into the soil. I would only use them for one indoor grow after which they would get moved outdoors permanently. Could/would the surface rust significantly mess up the plants/soil in the ~4 months of grow time? Would any of you use something like this for your plant training?