Aging Terracotta Pots

I love the look of terracotta pots that look like they’re from the greenhouse of an ancient chateau, white with age and mossy beauty. Eventually, any terracotta pot left to its own devices outdoors will assume this look, but you can speed along the process with a few tricks. The one above is a pot I treated last year, so time only improves the forced-aging process. You will need:

• Terracotta Pots

• Garden lime

• Paint brush

• Moss

Soak the pots in water to start. Terracotta is porous, so as they soak, you can actually hear them drinking up water!

Mix your lime solution: equal parts water and garden lime.

Stir the solution well; consistency should be like half and half, thicker than milk, but not as thick as cream.

Brush the pots with the solution.

While the pot is still wet, dab moss all over the pot. Rubbing the pots in moss releases moss spores to encourage moss to start growing.

Keep the pots in a shady, damp location to continue the aging process, but the good news is they look ready to use if you are ready to plant in them. They will only get better with time.