With summer winding down and winter just around the corner, gardeners are preparing for the cold months, and that includes protecting flowerpots from cracking. Most pottery planters are made of terra cotta clay and are purposely under-fired so they will allow water to pass through. Unfortunately, that’s why they often crack easily. In cold enough weather, the water expands and freezes, and that’s when the pots break. In most cases, bringing pots indoors — storing them in a garage or shed — is the best solution. However, that’s not always possible. If you can’t move your pots indoors, you can use bricks or wood to raise them off the ground to allow water to drain more effectively, hopefully hedging against freezing. You can also insulate the planters by wrapping them in burlap or even bubble wrap. Another way to solve the problem of soil expansion is to fill part of the negative space in the pot with an empty water jug. The plastic jug will contract, making room for the frozen soil around it. Sealing the pottery is another way to go. There are all kinds of spray, dip and paint-on sealants for this purpose, and as long as you ensure that you’ve really covered every nook and cranny well, your pot should be safe from cracking.
