My Little Secret to Getting That Charming Aged Terracotta Look (In Days, Not Decades!)
When it comes to planters (both outdoor and in!) I love a classic terracotta pot. The material and design are fantastic for plant health — plus they’re easy to match when you presumably add more plants to your collection over the years.
One of my favorite features, though, is the gorgeous patina terracotta gains over time. As I’ve added more pots to my outdoor plant collection over the years, I found myself impatient for the new pots to blend in with my older planters, so I started looking into ways to give the newbies an “instant aged” look. I found two methods I was excited to try.
First, I tried yogurt.
In researching techniques for aging terracotta, I found that some people had used yogurt to add some texture to their pots, so I added an extra pint to my grocery list. Simply cover the entire pot with a consistent layer of yogurt using a 2-inch foam brush, then let it sit for at least a month or longer in a shaded, well-ventilated area.
It was way too moldy.
I was expecting a really beautiful patina with dark green tones and white areas, and what I got was, well, gross. To be fair, I absolutely expected the yogurt to grow mold and other green things (that’s the point), but it was just beyond. I ended up tossing the pots. I have seen other people use the yogurt method successfully, and their results were a bit less dramatically disgusting and didn’t resemble a petri dish. But I’m pretty sure I know where I went wrong.
If you’re going to try yogurt, don’t do it in heat.
Looking back, doing this in the heat of summer in a less than well-ventilated area was all wrong. The coolest, darkest spot I had access to was a storage area underneath our deck. We live in Chicago where rats run wild and free, and I didn’t want to attract them, so it was my best bet. If you’re going to try yogurt, do it during a milder time of year like late fall or early spring. Apply an even coat of yogurt (regular is fine), anything too thick will take too long to dry. Anticipate more dramatic results the longer you let it sit, and know that it can be a really smelly process that attracts unwanted garden pests.
Garden lime was the clear winner.
After the yogurt debacle, I was hesitant to try other DIY methods for aging terracotta but had seen really nice results with garden lime, a calcium-loaded soil enhancement, so I decided to pick up a bag.
The process is similar to that of the yogurt with the painting application, but you need to mix your lime with water in a 1:1 ratio first. Next, you paint the pot from the top down using long horizontal strokes with a trim brush. (Don’t forget to paint down a few inches on the inside rim so it looks aged all-over.) The lime will start to dry and give you almost instant results.
I recommend using more lime than water.
There was a bit of texture and some nicely streaked areas from the paintbrush, but I found that my 1:1 water-lime mixture was a bit too thin. The more I played around, the more I realized it’s just an art supply, and it’s up to you to make it what you want. You can start with a 1:1 ratio to see how you like the results, but I recommend adding in more lime. A thicker mixture will give loads more texture and won’t be quite as drippy to apply.
The method is totally modifiable.
The nice thing about this process is that you can build up layers, remove, and even add them back in if you remove too much. You can use sandpaper to expose more terracotta color, or, you can take it to the sink and use a scrubby sponge to remove some of the lime (which was what I did). Another recommendation: work quickly! If you apply too much lime to an area and it drips, brush over it immediately because it will dry fast, leaving unwanted drips behind.
Since the lime did come off under water, I’d recommend spraying your pot with an acrylic sealant once you’re done to keep the finish protected when you actually go to water your plants.