Don't Toss Broken Terracotta Pots: Use Them As A Decorative Plant Topper

When it comes to gardening, there's something really special about using terracotta plant pots for a stylized upgrade. These highly aesthetic clay planters are fragile, however, and if you've got even a bit of a green thumb, you've probably broken one or two over the years. Considering how cheap terracotta pots are to buy new, it probably isn't worth your time to try and fix a broken one. Thankfully, there are several neat ways to reuse your cracked clay planters, and one of the best is to use the pieces to add some decorative flair to your container garden. That's right: You can turn broken terracotta planters into a DIY mulch for your indoor or outdoor potted plants.

All you need for this easy DIY is an old terracotta pot and a hammer to crack it apart and break the larger shards into very small pieces. You then place them on top of the soil in your outdoor containers or houseplant pots. It's a cheap and easy way to upcycle a broken terracotta planter into a layer of decorative mulch. It doesn't just look great, either; it also has some benefits for your plants.

First, this broken-up terracotta top layer helps the soil retain moisture by preventing evaporation, which is useful for indoor or outdoor potted plants in hot environments. Second, when used outdoors, the terracotta mulch acts as a natural deterrent against slugs and snails, which may avoid the rough, unpleasant texture of the broken clay. Broken terracotta pots can help wildlife, too. Providing clean drinking spots is a great way to attract pollinators to your plants. Concave terracotta shards naturally collect water, creating convenient drinking spots for bees.

As mentioned, the easiest way to turn a broken terracotta pot into an attractive mulch for potted plants is by using a hammer. Before you can start smashing up the pot, you need to prepare a safe work space. Put on some eye protection and gloves, then place the entire pot or its larger shards inside a cloth bag or cover the pot with an old towel. This will contain any pieces that go flying. You don't need to pound the shards into dust, either. Instead, aim for a mixture of slightly larger pieces and smaller, gravel-sized chunks. After smashing the planter into shards, lay the largest and flattest pieces on the soil of your potted plant first, then spread out the smaller pieces to fill in any gaps between them. That's it!

There are ways to recycle a broken terracotta pot beyond using it in potted plants. If you've turned some terracotta shards into mulch but still have pieces left over, you can place these shards, especially larger ones, in the soil around your in-ground plants. You don't need to break these chunks up as much — just spread them over the dirt. As with potted plants, this can help to control garden snails without eliminating them — and slugs, too. If you arrange the shards with their sharp sides facing down, they may also repel larger animals, such as rabbits and squirrels that see your garden plants as a free meal. Frogs and lizards are welcome guests in any outdoor garden — container or in-ground — because they help to control pest populations. If you have a large curved shard or intact half pot, turn it upside down on the soil to create a shelter for these beneficial critters.