Dan's Papers - March 28, 2008 - Crack Pots: Methods & Madness of Restoration

Terra cotta, one of the oldest materials used by man, isn't just for flower pots. It's used as architectural embellishments, to hold olive oil, ship spices, as giant cisterns and as other types of garden décor. Darwin shipped home plant specimens in terra cotta pots as did the numerous plant collectors of the Victorian era. Inexpensive and easy to produce, terra cotta comes mostly from Italy and China these days. But unless it is the true Impruneta clay that has been high fired in a kiln for days, these pots may not have a long life in the garden.

Antique pots abound and many of them have suffered some damage over the years. Modern pots have the same problems. Moving, repeated frost and freezing, taps from machinery like lawn equipment, and shipping can all cause cracks, chips and breakage. Glazed planters may suffer the same fate over the years, and won't age as gracefully as you would like.

There are ways to fix planters if they're valuable, part of a favorite grouping, a family heirloom or a cherished gift from a friend. The solution can be simple and time tested like wiring or gluing. If you have a valuable porcelain or glazed Malaysian pot you may need to call a ceramic conservator.

Mara Seibert summers on Elm Street in Southampton. Her company, Seibert and Rice, imports heavy duty Italian terra cotta from Impruneta. She and her partner Lenore Rice discovered the wonderful, handmade pots and garden décor while on vacation. Inspiration struck and they've been supplying landscape architects and home owners across the U.S. for over ten years. While these thick, hand built pots can be left out all winter, if they have soil in them and are elevated, some clients still have little accidents.

An owner of Seibert and Rice's garland vase - gorgeously decorated with mermaids and flowers - had an accident several years ago. A windstorm caught the head of the topiary jasmine planted in it and the resulting impact of the pot hitting the terrace left the piece in two chunks. This is actually the benefit of having thicker terra cotta - thinner pots tend to shatter.

According to Seibert, there are two ways to fix this kind of breakage. The age-old method is to drill a hole on either side of the cracks, using a masonry bit on the drill. Then thread copper wire through the holes, twisting it on the inside to hold the pieces tightly together. Eventually the copper oxidizes and is not obtrusive. "Many of our clients have done it and they love it, it adds some charm," she stated.

This method can be seen on ancient pottery like olive urns - in any number of museums and in Italy. "One big urn I saw in Italy had a band of wire around the top and bottom which probably added some structural integrity," said Siebert. "For a chipped or cracked pot, we also recommend two-minute clear epoxy. A little fine sand paper used after the glue is dry will take the shine off the epoxy."

Gorilla Glue works really well, too. It tends to expand as it sets so be sparing and if it oozes out from the crack once the pieces are firmly back together, a razor blade can cut off the excess. Either type of gluing method will benefit from having a wire wrapped around the entire pot, like the olive urn, to hold every thing together until the glue sets. A crack that is not a break can be treated in the same way. A band of wire around the top, under the lip, can add a little stabilization and maybe prevent further cracking.

For reconstructing valuable pieces, a little glue and wire is not enough. In his North Main Street studio in Southampton, Jim Nanos evaluates planters to determine whether they're worth fixing. One of his large scale outdoor reconstructions was of two terra cotta replicas of the Chinese soldiers that were buried with the Chinese Emperor, at the end of the Qin dynasty. When the hand of one was discovered to be in seventeen pieces, it was like Humpty Dumpty had fallen off the wall. Nanos reconstructed the hands and other degraded parts that had suffered from too much exposure to the elements. But since the statues were destined to stay outdoors for most of the year, he went back for yearly maintenance to mend the cracks and match surface colors.

If you don't have annual pot maintenance, Siebert recommends bringing a pot that was mended indoor sfor the winter. "Water will get in those cracks," she said, "and once it expands the pot could break again."

Spring clean up is aided by well maintained tools, so drop off hedge clippers and larger shears for sharpening before the spring rush. A good file can help sharpen the old fashioned half moon bed edgers - remember to file on a 45-60 degree angle, in only one direction. Sharpen both sides so that a clean line is formed where the beveled edges meet. Felco pruners may be a gardener's best friend, but a pruner's is WD-40 and a finely toothed file.

For more than 20 years, April Gonzales has been involved in garden design, installation and maintenance on the East End, as well as specimen plant scouting and site supervision for landscape architects.