To make your hypertufa pot You’ll need:
Here’s what you’ll need for your hypertufa pot
- Perlite
- peat
- Portland cement
- gloves
- mask
- bucket or large container of some kind for mixing
- oil or vaseline
- plastic trash bag
- wire brush
- dowel, pencil or something of that nature in shape
- Something for a mould
Cement pigment is optional and fiber if you’re going to be making a very large hypertufa pot.
Mix dry ingredients together in the following combination:
- three parts peat
- three parts perlite
- two parts cement
When the dry ingredients are throughly mixed…slowly begin to add water while mixing. Add until you have a cottage cheese-like consistency. Coat your mould with cooking oil or spray and begin to push the mixture into the bottom and up the sides. Beginning with the bottom….layer the mix to about 3/4″ thick…and proceed up the sides at approximately 1/2″ My smaller pot took about 9 cups of peat and perlite…and 3 cups of Portland. The larger pot took 12 cups of peat and perlite…and 4 cups of Portland.
Once you get your mould covered, take your dowel or pencil and poke a drainage hole or several depending how large your hypertufa pot is. I used one in the smaller pot and three in the larger. Cover the whole pot in plastic trash bag and set it aside for 48 hours.
After your pot has sat in the trash bag for 48 hrs….remove and “RUSTIC” it up a bit with a wire brush. I just turned my pot over. If you’ll notice in the pictures….I couldn’t find my oil for some reason….so I used wax paper…worked fine. The pot falls right out of the mould.
Leave your pot for a couple of days to dry….if you live in West Texas…it’ll probably be a couple of hours! lol …..and plant that bad boy up!
I left the edges on this one really rough….you can smooth them up and make them more even Like I did in the pot below. I think they look good either way!
And….Yes….That is a NOSY dog in the top right corner…..they have to see EVERYTHING I do! lol
Can’t you see this filled with succulents? Do you like rustic containers?
Keep an eye out….you’ll see more of these…and some more neat ideas for planting them up too!
Love Y’all!
Thanks for the tutorial! I was looking for the recipe as I need some light weight pots to lift up some potted plants inside a much larger container. If I can make enough, I’d love to also plant my pansies in a hypertufa pot. I love the idea of something sweet and perfect, like the pansy, to be coupled with something rustic and rugged.
You’re so welcome….you’ll love these pots. They are so light…and yes, the rustic is very nice with the soft flowers. You can dye these too with cement/concrete dye.
Such a fun-looking project! Thanks for sharing!
monique recently posted…The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebreau Book Review
You’re so welcome Monique! I hope you have fun making some of these! Thank you for stopping by!
Pinning! I never fully realized that hypertufa pots were lightweight until I read your post, Tammy. Definitely going to try making these! 🙂
Laura / The Shed blog by Pet Scribbles recently posted…Hometalk answers your home and garden questions!
Yes…you need to..they are very lightweight and super easy to make!
Thanks so much for the DIY post. I’ve been wanting to make Hypertufa pots forever, but had forgotten the name. Will these pots withstand a winter freeze? I want to plant perennials in them and, because we live in central NC where the winters have been pretty mild lately, I leave most of my pots out year-round. We got a hard freeze for about 5 days two years ago that ruined my good planters, but in the two years since, all my pots have survived. What is your advice on the “life expectancy” of these amazing pots?
Linda mine have survived the winters…however we too have extremely mild winters. They are suppose to be fine outside year round. I’m glad you found them. Good luck….they’re lots of fun to make!