Containers, ready for planting!

In another thread, we discussed options for painting the glossy surface of plastic pots. Wanted to share photos of some the completed containers. The first is a line up of about a third of those I've painted in the past week. I'm coordinating the colors to match the house - deep green, stone and burgundy. The pictures were taken late in the day, no sun, and it's a little difficult to see the green and burgundy. You can see the original terra cotta color on the interior of the pots -

Debbie

These are my two favorites - large, about 24" diameter low bowls with a design around the rim - applied a glossy polyurethane to these after final coat - from a distance they almost look like ceramic pots!

this was an old plastic wastebasket, again horrible terra cotta color. used a flat finish paint on this one but even with the primer, it's already starting to flake off - guess it was because the plastic was a really glossy finish to start with - may have to prime again and repaint to keep this one looking good.

Another one in the flat finish - the swirl pattern was a little more difficult to paint, plus the surface was completely smooth, no texture at all - also painted one burgundy, but the flat paint works much butter with this pattern.

okay, I lied, these are actually my favorite :) Smaller low bowls that I primed first and then spray painted with the stone texture paint - one can (approx $5) covered two of these bowls - I've got 4 more of them in the basement ready to prime but I'll need more "stone" paint!

My plans are to plant the containers, some with annuals, some with perennials - planning an assortment of them to plant Hostas for a corner under the deck where nothing else would thrive - too much shade, possibly add a few ferns also. Won't be long now - I'll be planting in them and I'll post pictures of their progress.

Wonderful job! Congratulations on your efforts. I'll look forward to seeing them planted and then at maturity. Will you bring in the pots for winter? I was curious about how they'd hold up if you left them out.

Oh, my! Those are great! You did such a nice job. The stone bowl is my favorite, too, and I am so surprised the stone paint actually *does* look like stone. LOL! I was never sure. Plus I was never sure if you had to make a perfectly even coat so you didn't get mor stone lumps in one place than another...and it looks like ya just spray and go.

Thanks for the pictures!!! I'm going to run around the house today looking for plastic pots and wastebaskets ;)

Suzy

Great job! I know what I'll be doing with my plastic pots! Tamara

LOL, beware it's addicting! I'm looking at every plastic pot in a whole new light now :)

pirl, I'll be leaving them outside over the winter. Not sure how the paint job will hold up, but the pots have at least 3 coats of paint on them (4 on the ones I applied polyurethane) - so they should last awhile. Another plastic container I sprayed with the stone texture paint 4 years ago has been sitting on the front deck in full hot sun and 'nary a nick on it :) If you're wondering about the perennials sitting outside all winter in the pots?? The two "garden hose" containers I planted with a variety of perennials in 2005 have held up now for 2 years - just need to make sure they have good drainage - if they get too wet, winter rot will ruin them.

Suzy, the stone paint is easy - you just need to keep it moving - I usually spray on a real light coat the first time, then go back over it with a second coat to make sure I don't miss a spot. Even though I really like the color I used on the pot above, they have other colors I might have to try for fun!

Many plants can take the winter in pots - I have lots of experience with daylilies (even some in plastic bags!). I was just curious if the combination of plastic and the the paint, combined with freezing and thawing would result in cracking. I'm glad to hear the good news.

Would you advise us to sand new plastic or not? What was the base that you painted on first? Newcomers would want to know, now that we've seen how nicely they've turned out.

Debbie,
I have had good luck in painting old plastic containers with Fusion paint for plastics. Just recently, I found another brand of spray paint for plastics at Lowes and it came in a bunch of different colors.

Your pots looks great and I do like the look that the polyurethane gives them.

pirl, I knew I would be painting ALOT of containers and I wanted to save time by avoiding sanding all of them. Some of the containers have a somewhat textured surface, not much but what I'd call 'bumpy', and they have taken the paint better than those that are completely smooth. I couldn't afford to buy enough Fusion spray paint to do all the pots, so I found a product at Sherwin Williams http://www3.sherwin.com/do_it_yourself/sherwin_williams_products/exterior_house_paint/primers.jsp - scroll down to PrepRite® ProBlock® Latex Sealer:

Assures adhesion of the topcoat to slick, glossy surfaces.......Ideal for use on galvanized metal, aluminum, wood, hardboard and previously painted surfaces. I think it was about $15.00 for a quart which is comparatively cheap considering I have several other exterior painting projects I need it for.

I had SW tint the primer a medium-dark shade of gray and used it as the base coat on all the pots. The darker colors of green and burgundy took 2 coats on top of the primer but I could get away with just 1 coat of finish color on the lighter stone colored pots. I've decided that if the finish color is a glossy or satin finish paint, it's not really necessary to apply the polyurethane - they look shiny regardless and it's one less step! Of course, only time will tell if avoiding this final step will provide enough protection through the winter to prevent any 'cracking' that might occur with freezing and thawing.

nathalyn, the spray paint is definitely a much faster route but unfortunately too expensive for the number of pots I wanted to paint - plus I'm just too darned fussy with my colors - even though the spray paint comes in a wider array of colors than it has in the past, I wanted the pots to match the colors on my house (exactly!), which weren't available in the spray paint :)

Thanks a bunch for sharing and mentioning this thread to me. I have been planning on using some large pots in a bed in my front yard, but I was really hoping to use a color that would coordinate with my house. I have seen large terra-cotta-colored pots and some large dark brown ones that fit my budget and some the exact size and color that I wanted but for $50 each. I also have 3 or 4 smaller pots in miscellaneous (some ugly) colors that I might now be able to put to use. Thanks again!!

- Brent

Thanks for the information. I just bought two very big pots but hope to have the time to try out your method on some of my plain plastic terra cotta looking pots.

Me, I can't get enough bright cobalt blue.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=3319884
There's periwinkle and azure and purply blues and turquoise blue and there is Indigo. I hardly ever include Navy. I'm sick of HD's plastic stone, plastic terra cotta, and plastic marroon. I have enough plastic pots, now I need to find some spray paint!

xxxxx, Carrie

HD needs to get with the times. Here they're so far behind it's pathetic. Their plastic pots (with raised designs) are around $30.00. I bought the real thing and it was only a bit more.

Here, the ones I think you're talking about are $17 - $18, plastic or terra cotta, so I bought terra cotta. I've painted it before (with indoor latex in a can with a brush) and so far so good. Anybody have any ideas on whether painted terra cotta behaves more like permeable or more like glazed?


xxx, Carrie

I'm still painting! I will say that after using both a glossy and flat finish latex paint - the 'flat' paint adheres really well to the primer and I could probably get away with one coat but it's so easy - while I've got my brushes out, I just slap on another coat for good measure. Painted three more of the low bowls - green, maroon, and tan - only a few more of the larger, taller ones to go and it's time to start planting! Finding that the dark colors of the green and maroon are requiring 3 coats of paint (4 with the primer) to satisfy me - just tough to completely cover the gray of the primer. Also grabbed a black mailbox we had kicking around and primed and painted it green to replace one that has had a broken door on it for over a year - have a Donna Dewberry (sp?) kit I've never used and thought I might experiment with it on the mailbox - might be fun, might be a mess! However, this morning's project is to paint some clay pots and a plastic saucer. I got an idea from a HGTV episode and I'm making my own birdbath. Even though this is container gardening, I'll post a pic when it's complete.

carrie, love that blue - maybe i should consider blue containers for the patio we're building (hopefully this spring), it might just liven up that area and make it more fun! Regarding your question on the terra cotta - I'm no paint expert but I'd have to guess it would depend upon the type of paint you're using and if you "sealed" it first, before painting? The birdbath I'm painting is using terra cotta pots, so I'll let you know when I'm done :)

The one pot I did last year was not even the whole pot painted, certainly not primed or sealed. If I can get my camera to start downloading successfully, I'll take a picture.

Carrie

Debbie, what did you use for a primer? Jeanette

Debbie, what brand is the stone finish paint? jeanette

Uhmm..if using terra cotta, you can wash the terra cotta pot with plain water and a sponge, let air dry then paint with either latex or acrylic paints ( craft paints) when completely dry,... coat with waterbased varnish (satin or glossy finish) When my girly pumpkin comes back from her excursion and with the digital, I'll take a picture of one that I painted many years ago and is still up to par. No primer is needed. The varnish will seal it.

As promised a terra cotta bird bath made and painted by the boy pumpkin, using the technique as described above.

VERY nice! Good job.

Thanks Pirl, the ones I painted all in the garage behind the plants bought in from the FREEZE! BUt I'll share the compliment with the pumpkin after he returns from his sleepover. My pumpkin painted this last Spring, but as you can see it has weathered well using the above technique. We can't be too lengthy in details when painting or the pumpkin loses interest.

jeanette - I can't remember - they sell two brands at Walmart or Lowe's and both have slightly different colors. If I remember correctly it was $6.97 a can but you can easily spray two containers with one can. The primer I used is from Sherwin Williams (link in this post http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3314639) and is called Prep Coat. It might be an unnecessary step, but I didn't want to put all this work into this project only to find out next year that the paint didn't adhere to the plastic - would like to get at least a few years out of them! In moving them around on the deck I've already noticed a little chipping but nothing major.

garden6 - nice paint job! I tried my hand at painting a few flowers on a mailbox - not a pretty sight - will take some work to make it acceptable - it's not as easy as it looks :(

I finished my latest project - the birdbath and will try to get a few pics to share. A few more projects to go and then hopefully it will be warm enough to get a few plants in these containers!

Rcn~ thanks! You're right on about the prep coat for plastic or the paint will deteriorate, rub off and look like an ugly mess. I'm using your method to paint some tired old plastic pots myself. Will share a photo after the deep freeze, as they are behind my plants in the garage. So thanks to you for the inspiration and directions for plastic pots! ;0)

garden6, glad I could help - but now we want to see pictures! I've finished a few more pots - primed them but cheated and spray painted instead of the 3 coats of finish paint :) But I wanted textured paint and kind of tough to get that effect with regular paint. This deep freeze has had us hustling and I'm hoping by the first of next week I'll have an opportunity to pot up some of these containers - even if it means I'll have to cover them or bring them all indoors in the event of another freeze. All this work and I'm just anxious to get some of them planted!

Debbie

RCN~ here's a few, sorry about the rain, as it rained for the past couple of days and for a few more. Excuse the sad geraniums, just out of the garage after the killer FREEZE! I plan to paint the rest of the plastic navy blue and royal blue like the loner, to complement the rest. Thanks again, as I do like the glaze look from a distance.

G6, nice! I'm thinking after my tan-green-burgundy theme, I need to find a garden spot somewhere for a cobalt blue theme - maybe next year's project? Our "Killer Freeze" has nixed my plans for getting my containers planted early this year :( I did attempt to at least put a few things together in a pot to see how they'll look - now give me a few more days and warmer temps and maybe I'll get them planted!

G6 - nice work and very nice colors. What plants will you be using?

Debbie and Pirl~ Thank you! If the W/S lobelia and allysum survive the KILLER FREEZE, I will combine them with the geraniums. 3 pots have W/S pansies in them and when they decline, I will add annuals, one pot has elephant ear and Marguerite sweet potato vine tubers. Sooo..we will see how they recover. One pot is still empty and we're all waiting for Spring!

This message was edited Apr 12, 2007 9:38 AM

Yes, as the winds increase here, along with the rain and as I listen to the forecast for a possible snow storm on Sunday.

The lobelia will be stunning with the color of the pots!

Thanks Pirl.. I'm venturing from my comfort zone of all combos tried and true of the past several years for me as I now have more time and energy to play in the garden! ;0).

garden6 - look what I found in my photos, by Blooming Bulbs:

G 6 ~ I love your blues,,, pirl, did blooming bulbs have that pic, or sell you those? Sorry....

xxxx, Carrie

How I wish it was my photo but it's not. It appeared on Blooming Bulbs site.

Thanks Carrie! Pirl~ that's a lovely combo, just as I could imagine! Thanks for confirming my new adventure in combos! Very lovely indeed!

The colors just reminded me so much of your lovely colored pots!

Hey everyone, I just found this thread and I love what you are doing with the plastic pots. I have a question though... My hubby has a electric sander that I could whiz over the pots with - if I do that should I still put a primer on them? Thanks, this is a great idea!!!