If you want to dress up your garden with Terra Cotta but not any old clay pot will do, look for the popular guy on the block, Long-Tom. This cutting edge terra cotta pot is designed and produced in Italy. It offers style, sophistication, and is extremely flexible with all of its uses; it is the perfect container for the front entrance, patio, or the hall table.

Long-Tom’s simple vase shape, and smooth clay finish will accent any plant combination your imagination can put together. This pot will provide the perfect summer home for your geraniums, rosemary, euphorbia’s and echeverias. Long-Tom pots are perfect for these not so hardy, “zonal denial” plants because you can move the pots straight from the patio into the green house, cold frame, or living room for the winter. Keep in mind, this style of pot is perfect for all seasons, in the fall fill it with your favorite paper whites or amaryllis, and be sure to reserve a few for spring, and fill them with tulips, crocus, or daffodils.

Constructed of high quality Italian clay, the Long -Tom offers good resistance to cold temperatures, remarkable water absorption, and excellent transpiration and porosity, all good things for the plants potted in them.

When its time to store Long-Toms just scrub them clean, dry them thoroughly and turn them upside down. Their vase shape allows you to stack them sky-high, a definite asset when space in the shed is at a minimum.

Here’s a low maintenance combination that will accent your front entryway or patio. Using a larger Long - Tom and two of the smaller sizes, combine the Cupressus macrocarpa, Euphorbia mysinites, Hebe pinguifolia “Pagei.” This grouping will provide you with colour from early spring right through to the end of summer. The colour succession starts with the Euphoria’s interesting chartreuse bracts and finishes with the delicate flowers of the Hebe, continuously set off by the soft ferny foliage of the dwarf growing Monterey Cypress. These plants enjoy the same conditions of full sun and low water levels. They may also need winter protection, be sure to check your zones.

As with any container planting, remember to water often and fertilize regularly. And if your plant is looking to “big” for the pot, its time to kick it up a size, not the plant, just the pot!

Tip:

A must for any clay pot, and deck is the use of pot feet. They serve many important purposes. Feet will enhance a pot’s wonderful design, protect the surface below it from water & soil stains, and will allow the air to flow around the base of the container, reducing the chance of disease or invasions of molds or mildews.

How to clean your clay pots:

A yearly scrub with soap and water, followed by a quick soak in a 1:10 bleach/water solution before storing and stacking them to bed for the winter, will get rid of dirt and diseases. Be sure to dry them thoroughly before storing to prevent the growth of mold.

How to make your new pots look old:

Take your new pot and soak in water overnight (the kitchen sink will do.). The next morning mix up a solution of ½ cup moss, ½ cup buttermilk, and three teaspoons of white school glue. Spread a thin layer over the wet clay pot. Plant up your container, place in its new home and in no time you’ll have a moss aged look.