Net lights are a pre-wired grid of bulbs, built for draping over an irregular surface (a bush,
a shrub, a hedge) fast — instead of wrapping a single string back and forth by hand, you lay the
whole net over the surface once. We don’t currently carry a net-light set in our catalog, so this
is general guidance on how they work and where they shine, not a product roundup.
Where net lights work best
Shrubs, hedges, and low bushes are the classic use — the grid pattern naturally drapes over an
irregular rounded shape far faster than hand-wrapping a straight string light back and forth
through branches. They also work well over small evergreens and, laid flat, as a quick way to light
a section of lawn or a flower bed edge.
Where a straight string light works better instead
A roofline, gutter, porch railing, or any straight run is better served by a standard string
light — see our roofline light picks — since
a net’s grid shape doesn’t add anything on a straight edge the way it does on an irregular bush.
Installation tips
Drape the net over the surface starting from the top or back so the wire structure is hidden by
the foliage, then adjust bulb spacing by hand for even coverage — nets can bunch or gap depending on
the shape underneath. Most net-light sets have a manufacturer connect limit for daisy-chaining
multiple nets together, same reasoning as any other Christmas light set (see our connect-limit guide) — check the specific product’s own listing before combining sets.
FAQ
What’s the difference between net lights and a regular string?
Net lights are pre-arranged in a grid pattern designed to be draped over a surface all at once,
rather than a single line you wrap back and forth by hand — faster for irregular shapes like bushes.
Do you sell net lights?
Not currently — this catalog is focused on roofline/string and icicle lights right now. Check back
or see our current lighting lineup for
what’s in stock.
Can net lights be used on a roofline?
Technically, but a straight string light is generally the better fit for a straight roofline run —
net lights earn their keep on irregular surfaces like bushes and shrubs.
Sizing a net to the shrub
Net lights are sold by lighted area — a 6 ft by 4 ft net covers roughly 24 square feet of
surface, for example — and the mistake is measuring the plant rather than the face of it you
actually see. You are covering the visible front and top surface, not wrapping the whole volume, so
measure the height and width of the face as seen from the street and match a net to that.
A net noticeably smaller than the shrub looks like a cap sitting on top; one much larger bunches
at the base and shows dark gaps where the grid folds. Matching within reason matters more with nets
than with string lights, which are forgiving about length.
Where nets beat hand-wrapping, and where they do not
Nets win decisively on rounded, dense, uniform shrubs — the time difference against threading a
string light back and forth through branches is enormous, and the result is more even. They are also
good over low hedging where a consistent grid across a long run looks deliberate.
They struggle on anything irregular: a shrub with distinct separate branches, a young sparse
plant the net sinks into, or a columnar evergreen where the grid cannot lie flat. For those, and for
tree trunks and columns, a string light wrapped by hand does better —
wrapping a tree trunk covers that
technique, and the roofline guide covers
the string sets we actually stock.
Net lights on a roofline: the one case where it can work
Conventional advice, including ours above, is that nets belong on shrubs and string lights belong
on rooflines. The exception worth knowing: on a short, steeply pitched gable face, a net stretched
across the triangle covers an awkward shape quickly in a way a string light run cannot, because the
gable face is a surface rather than a line. It is a niche case, but it is the one place a net
genuinely outperforms a string on a roof.
Everywhere else on a roof — eaves, fascia runs, long horizontal lines — a string set is the
right tool, and the grid structure of a net just reads as odd against a straight edge.
Installation and season-long care
Drape from the back or top so the wire structure disappears into the foliage, then adjust the
grid by hand for even spacing. Secure the net at a few points so wind does not shift it — a net that
slides down a shrub over a few weeks is the most common complaint. Keep the connection point
elevated and out of standing water at the base of the planting, which is exactly where water
collects: Christmas light safety
covers why that matters and lights stopped
working after rain covers what happens when it is ignored.
Check the connect limit before chaining several nets along a hedge —
connect limits apply to nets exactly as they
do to string sets. And take nets off plants carefully at season end rather than pulling, since a net
snagged on branches tears: the storage
guide covers winding them without creating next year’s problem.
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