Yes, something soft, flexible, wide and elastic (or with some "give" in it) is best. Rigid wire/pipe cleaners will/can rust and break, usually at the worst time. Rubber coated wire is OK, but the rubber usually perishes, leaving your plants branches exposed to thin, rigid wire that can cause injury to the branches, as can pipe cleaners, especially outdoors and if in a windy environment. Personally I use a biodegradable, slightly elastic, cotton tie that is about a quarter of an inch wide and comes in a roll, about 50 yards/40 metres long. Just remember, when you tie anything around your plants branches, to tie a loop around the branch and not a knot, otherwise as your plants branches grow and expand, any tight knot will strangle the branch, depriving it of the flow of water and nutrients, leading to death of that branch. Far better to run the tie from an anchor point, up over the branch and finish tying it back at the anchor point.
Hope this helps....
Organoman.
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