I have followed this thread and thought I would add my 2 cents worth.
In the MMD Archives there is a short note about Velcro plant ties:

http://mmd.foxtail.com/Archives/Digests/200601/2006.01.31.html

I have used these for a couple years with great success.  I simply wrap
the plant tie Velcro around the roll and overlap the ends about an inch
or so and then cut a custom-sized piece to fit that particular roll.
It doesn't make any difference if I am securing a small roll such as
"The One Minute Waltz", "Flight of the Bumblebee" or a large roll such
as "Rhapsody in Blue" or Madam Butterfly.

The Velcro rolls are green in color and I have found them readily
available here in New York in Home Depot, garden supply stores and in most
gardening catalogs.  These can be made as loose or as tight as you
like.  They don't squeeze the roll either.

I have seen rolls in 30, 45, 50 and 75 foot lengths.  A 75-foot roll
of Velcro will wrap a lot of piano rolls.  Since the previous article
about Velcro plant ties was written in the winter, it might explain why
the garden centers were in short supply.  Try now in the summer when
these things are stocked in large quantities and people are out tying
their plants up.

Vincent Morgan, New York City