Tony Hermsen on wed 11 nov 98
Hi Nikom -- Your questions bring up some good points, I hope the following =
will
alleviate some of the confusion.
Terracotta planters can not be made entirely frost proof. They can however =
be
made frost resistant. There are centuries old terracotta planters that have
wintered the years because understanding gardeners have seen to it that they=
are
protected during the winter. Gardeners also like planters that are made in =
the
standard flower pot shape (small at the bottom, large at the top. This makes=
for
easy repotting of plants and also adds some degree of frost resistance =
should
the planter be left outdoors. As the soil freezes and expands it can move =
upward
within the planter and not put pressure on the side walls. Designs with
=22undercuts=22 will not survive as well.
Terracotta should be fired as high as the clay body will allow in order to =
give
the clay maximum strength. A planter made of terracotta will always be =
porous.
Earthenware clay, even though fired to maturity will still remain porous. =
This
is an advantage to the gardener since plants do not like to have their roots
constantly soaked in moisture, it causes the roots to rot. That makes =
terracotta
ideal as a plant container
Tony Hermsen
Enderby, B.C.
Canada
http://www.jetstream.net/business/tonyh
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