Painted Terra Cotta Pots: Five Year Follow-Up

These painted pots are one of my most popular posts with over 8,000 views. This may not seem like a huge number compared to high-traffic blogs, but for a hobby blog it's a pretty good flow. Since its popping up in the Popular Posts feed so often I figured I'd do a follow up on how well these have weathered.

Here is a before picture. (Click Here to see the Original Post)

A late spring hail storm.
You can see the pots sprinkled around the garden. 

One year I brought them all in to protect them from the winter snow, but other than that they have been fully exposed to the summer sun, winter storms, wind, sprinklers, and curious children.

















Five years later, here is how they have weathered the outdoor life.

This spring, I brought this pot inside to nurse the succulent back to life. The spider plant it was next to on the shelf decided to plant a baby. Companion planting, right? haha

before                                            after

I was wondering why the large fish scales pot was showing more wear than the others. My only guess is that the smaller pots were first coated with a Clay Pot Sealer to avoid water leaking out from inside the pot. The fish scales pot was a curbside find and since it already had dirt in it, I didn't use the Clay Pot Sealer on the inside. My guess is the paint is taking a beating from inside and outside the pot.

Overall I am pleased with how long these painted pots have held up. My only take-away-tip is to use the clay pot sealer. It's worth washing out the pot to apply it to the inside for the longevity of the paint. 

Original Post on Painting Terra Cotta Pots with Acrylics: http://renewedprojects.blogspot.com/2013/04/painting-terra-cotta-pots-with-acrylics.html

Original Post on the Tower of Pots: http://renewedprojects.blogspot.com/2013/06/toppling-tower-of-painted-pots.html

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