How To Make Concrete Succulent Pots

  • Step 1: Spray cooking spray on the containers. Apply nonstick cooking spray to the interior of the larger container(s).
  • Step 2: Prepare the concrete.
  • Concrete molding is step three.
  • Step 4: Allow to settle.
  • Remove From Mold and Sand Down in Step 5.
  • Step 6: If desired, drill a drainage hole.
  • Add the bottom layer of rocks in Step 7.
  • Plant succulents in step eight.

Do succulents grow well in cement pots?

When it comes to choosing a pot material that is ideal for your succulents, there are a ton of alternatives. We have gathered the benefits and drawbacks of the most popular pot materials to aid in your decision-making. Let’s get started on finding one that keeps your plants happy and healthy.

Cacti and succulents thrive in concrete planters because they are porous and allow water to escape fast. Additionally, it is crucial that they contain drainage holes. Concrete planters are sturdy and excellent at protecting plants from sharp temperature changes. Concrete has the ability to both absorb and emit heat, which helps shield roots from early or late frosts.

Cons: Concrete pots should be handled carefully because they can be fairly fragile and hefty.

What type of concrete are the planters made of?

Planters can be made from nearly any type of concrete or cement mixture. However, the ideal cement for manufacturing pots will vary depending on the type of mold you use and the size of the planter.

The greatest cement mix, in my opinion, is Cement All since it builds up rapidly and cures in about an hour.

Another effective cement mix for making your own planters is Portland cement. Sand, however, is required for it to bind; otherwise, it won’t.

It’s crucial to use a smooth cement mixture to make a planter smooth. But remember that you must also mix the cement or concrete well to prevent lumps.

The result of not vibrating the mix will be either pinholes or pockmarks (air gap holes).

Color is a factor to be taken into account when choosing a concrete mix. Some concrete mixtures are white, whereas others are various shades of grey, from extremely light to fairly dark. Additionally, some combinations are beige or even off-white.

I advise using white cement if you are tinting the mix and building a planter. The purer a hue you can produce, the whiter the mixture must be.

Safety When Handling Concrete For Making Planters

Gloves must be used when handling concrete since it is corrosive, especially when the mixture is moist.

You can get burned by dry mix powder even. When working with cement and concrete, be careful to use extremely tough nitrile gloves to protect your skin.

The dry mix dust, which is damaging to your eyes, is another risk of working with concrete.

Concrete also contains silica, which, when exposed repeatedly, can really lead to cancer.

When working concrete, please wear safety goggles and a dust mask with a silica rating.

Mixing Cement For A Planter

Two cups of concrete or cement and roughly half a cup of water make up a basic formula for cement pots. If you are preparing a tiny planter, this is the recommended ratio for many combinations.

Sand must be added to some blends, but most do not. The ratio of cement to sand when using Portland cement should be 3:1 or 2:1. This article contains comprehensive information on the ideal cement mix ratio.

You must mix the concrete to a thick milkshake consistency if you are casting a planter with narrow walls.

This consistency makes it easier to pour and ensures that it will settle into the grooves. You want a consistency more akin to apple sauce for other planters.

The Thickness Of Concrete Planters For Durability

An appropriate planter must be at least 3/8 thick. However, in the end, will depend on how big it is altogether. The wall should be thicker the bigger the planter.

A 10x10x10 concrete pot will perform best with a thickness of 3/8 to 1/2. And bigger than that ought to be thicker still.

Making A Concrete Planter Mold

You can create your own silicone mold, build a form out of wood or corrugated plastic, or use a wooden form to create a mold for a concrete planter.

Use wood for larger planters. Some folks enjoy creating plywood molds. Since melamine has a flat surface and makes concrete smooth and simpler to demold, I prefer to use it.

The technique you decide depends on the dimensions and shape of the concrete planter you plan to construct.

Other materials can also be used to create concrete molds. The various techniques for creating concrete molds for crafts are covered in this article.

Additionally, this post will explain how to make concrete matte as well as shining.

Reusing Existing Items As Molds For Cement DIY Projects

In my article about picking the appropriate mold types for your concrete projects, I go into great length about this as well.

The short and sweet of it is that any plastic container that is straight or slightly beveled can be recycled.

There are many conceivable shapes, but bear in mind that an undercut is a bevel that goes in and out repeatedly on a container.

It will be challenging to extract the hardened concrete from the mold if there is an undercut. The better the form, the simpler it should be.

Thrift stores, Dollar Tree, and Dollar Store are good places to look for inexpensive things that have been reused for molds.

Creating Drainage Holes For A Pot Made From Concrete

Despite being porous materials, cement and concrete planters still need drainage holes.

You must make a drainage hole and provide a means for water to leave.

Instead of having to drill it after the fact, I much prefer to make a mold for the drainage hole in the planter.

The size of the drainage hole required for a concrete planter depends on the planter’s size. One 1/4 hole ought to be adequate for extremely small plantings.

Create more drainage holes if the planter is particularly large, such as a foot or more. Alternately, use a long drinking straw to create bigger drainage holes.

Making drainage holes during the molding process is more simpler than drilling them after the concrete has dried.

So how does using a drainage hole create mold work? First, trim a straw to roughly 1/4 of its original length. This is due to the fact that it must match the planter’s bottom’s thickness.

After that, adhere it to the mold’s base with hot glue and fill the straw’s open end with glue.

Use water while drilling with a power drill equipped with a diamond head drill bit to create drainage holes in concrete planters.

Hint: In my experience, PVC pipe drainage holes in concrete planters have been incredibly tough to remove. PVC pipe has been used in these drainage holes.

It is preferable to create an open tube out of sand in a plastic container and use that. It will be simple for you to get rid of it.

Here, a variation of the sand/tube drainage technique was applied, but it was done so as an interior shape.

Why are the cement pots I created myself cracking?

The information that follows can help you identify cracked concrete, but if you’d like a professional’s opinion, speak with a concrete contractor in your area for a hands-on evaluation.

Reason #1 – Excess water in the mix

For concrete to reach its optimum strength, little water is needed. However, a sizable portion of the concrete used in residential construction has too much water added to it on the job site. To make the concrete easier to install, this water is injected. The concrete’s strength is also significantly diminished by the additional water.

Cracking is frequently caused by shrinkage. Concrete shrinks as it dries and hardens. This is a result of extra mixing water evaporating. The shrinkage will be larger the wetter or soupier the concrete mix is. Concrete slabs have a maximum shrinkage of 1/2 inch every 100 feet. As a result of this shrinkage, the concrete experiences forces that essentially tear the slab apart. These stresses ultimately result in cracks.

Should concrete pots be sealed?

Concrete is not poisonous to humans or to plants. Nevertheless, some plants may be harmed by concrete.

This is because concrete contains lime, which has a high alkaline content. Many plants require higher acidic soil in order to thrive because they can’t survive in high alkalinity soil.

Because they have probably undergone a leaching process and been sealed, most concrete planters that are bought from stores are safe for any plants.

If you want to be cautious, you can let the concrete planter soak in water for three days to let the alkalinity leak out.

Because they are relatively porous and will let some moisture through, cement and concrete pots are often excellent choices for potted plants.

With less chance of overwatering than if they were in a planter made of plastic or another non-porous material, this makes plants easier to care for.

Concrete and cement are equivalent in terms of which is better for plants. Each of them has lime and will release alkalinity.

With either concrete or cement, the soil’s ph level will be roughly the same.

Concrete can be neutralized by submerging it in water for approximately three days. Lime seeps through the pores of cement or concrete when submerged in water.

The advantage of doing this is that high alkalinity may cause some plant kinds to not grow or even to eventually perish. You see, lime is quite alkaline due to its high pH.

Lime leaching a concrete planter or pot is not required, however, as plants, like the majority of succulents, frequently flourish in soil with a higher pH.

Vegetables can be grown safely in concrete planters, pots, and other containers. But if you’re producing them from scratch, you should let them leach for three days.

Concrete planters that are bought from a store have typically already through that procedure and are highly likely to be sealed.

Although they may need to be watered more frequently, terra cotta and concrete pots are the best choice for the majority of plants because the alternatives can be more problematic.

Non-porous containers, like ceramic and plastic pots, hold too much water, which is a surefire way to get root rot. There must be drainage holes in these kinds of containers.

This is because concrete leaches lime, which has a high alkaline content, and succulents prefer soil that is higher on the alkaline side.

In a concrete planter, though, you can put any kind of plant, though you might want to wet it beforehand.

Change the water every day for three days while doing this. This will hasten the process of alkalinity leaching away.

In addition to soaking the concrete planters in water, you can decide to seal them if you are still concerned about high alkalinity.

Only plants that require more acidic soil should be grown in concrete pots that need to be sealed.

Succulents thrive in this habitat, however many other plants won’t be content in this soil.

Some of the lime will not bleed into the soil if the concrete is sealed.

But before sealing, I advise giving the pots a three-day soak in water. This will rapidly remove most of the concrete’s alkalinity.

The prevention of efflorescence is another advantage of sealing DIY concrete planters. The minerals in concrete bleed through and generate an accumulation of white residue, which is what causes efflorescence.

Depending on your objectives, you can choose the best concrete sealer for planters. A concrete planter should be sealed for two reasons.

One is that it can increase the concrete’s durability slightly, and the other is that it can help stop lime, a common element in concrete and cement products, from leaching.

Are plants healthy in cement pots?

What kind of pot should be used was one of the issues I had when I first started container gardening. One option was cement pots, and I was curious about these.

Because they are sturdy, porous, and provide insulation, cement pots are wonderful for plants. Before used, cement pots will need to have the lime leached out of them. Alternately, the lime may raise the soil’s pH, which could harm some plants.

You may learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of using cement pots for plants by reading this article. Additionally, I’ll demonstrate how to properly prepare your cement plants so that they don’t suffer damage.

Can Quikrete be used for pots?

Large stone or ceramic planters can be pricey, but you can create a bespoke, mid-century modern-inspired planter with Quikrete 5000 Concrete Mix. To bypass the wood base phase, you must have some woodworking experience. In either case, devoted do-it-yourselfers may get started right away and build this unique planter using 2x4s, 2- and 5-gallon buckets, and a few other materials.

Place the 2-gallon bucket inside the 5-gallon bucket after adding the concrete mix to it. To ensure that the smaller bucket doesn’t float away, fill it with weighted items. Give the concrete planter two to three days to cure. Build the wood base while the concrete planter is setting up. When both pieces are complete, use a strong adhesive to join them together. The planter blends well with both classic and modern settings. Additionally, it is sturdy and will keep your porch or patio looking wonderful for years!