Terracotta is a ‘classic choice’ for garden pots and has been used in pottery for thousands of years – but there is a danger of them cracking in the colder months
Those who enjoy gardening have been urged to take action and do one thing to prevent their plant posts from cracking.
Experts from Gardeners’ World say terracotta pots cracking is something which can happen when any dampness in soil or compost expands. If it freezes during winter months the pot will also be stretched to breaking point.
Lucy Hall of Gardeners’ World magazine said in a short video on the publication’s website: “Terracotta pots can crack during winter when moisture enters the porous clay and freezes and expands. This can cause flaking of the surface. Cracking can also occur when soil in your pot freezes and has an impact on the pot.”
The issue was also highlighted on the website Gardening Know How, which says the material is a “classic choice for garden pots which has been used in pottery for thousands of years. Terracotta pots can even look and can develop more character over the years.”
They were originally baked in the sun or in fire, but manufacturing is now very simple and uses little energy providing a sustainable item that can be used for many years. But the garden website says “material also has a reputation for cracking in frosty weather. This eventually results in them breaking.”
Advice to gardeners would be to move the clay pots indoors to a sunny spot or to insulate them with bubblewrap. But fellow gardening expert and writer Leigh Clapp also has a simple and ingenius solution to prevent this happening. She said: “When planting your containers, simply place a plastic pot inside the terracotta pot. This avoids it cracking in winter because it retains all the moisture instead of it absorbing into the clay.”
Because terracotta pots are often some of the cheapest you can buy at your local garden centre, many of us use them to store our beloved plants – whether that is herbs, flowers, or vegetables. But they need a bit of care and attention at this time of year to ensure they make it safely through the coming frosts. This job is incredibly easy to tackle and you have a couple of simple options available to you to protect this kind of pot, and the plants inside them, over winter.
Firstly, you can simply move your terracotta pots inside for the winter. Whatever frost-free location that is available to you will work just fine, and keep the pots from cracking in the frosts, ready to be brought outside again in spring, adds Lucy Hall from Gardeners’ World.
If you don’t have any indoor space available to move them to, you should “stand them up off the ground” to minimise any frost damage or use ‘plant pot feet.’
