How to Make Hypertufa; join in the fun and learn how to make this unique garden craft; use these instructions to make troughs, pinch pots and many more great hypertufa projects

Containers made of a portland cement mixture lend texture and interest to a garden.

Concrete decorations for the yard, especially birdbaths, are heavy and immobile due to the weight. A hypertufa birdbath looks like concrete but is more lightweight and easier to manage. Use any container as a mold for a birdbath. Look around, find a design that is preferable, and make a hypertufa birdbath.

This reader from Michigan shares how to make a hypertufa container, a stone-like rustic planter that can be outside for years.

Learn how to create a planter made with hypertufa, a material that has an ancient, hand-hewn quality. They are perfect for alpines, succulents, mosses and more.

Glossary of our available hypertufa finishes

Hypertufa is a mix of concrete and other elements that is lightweight, easy to work with, can be molded or even carved, and is a perfect DIY project for both beginner and experienced crafters. You can create pots, containers, art... ok, we will just let these cool DIY hypertufa projects speak for themselves, ok?

Sealing hypertufa is the way I am going to go about it. I feel that a good hypertufa pot is breathable with its texture and structure basically constructed to

Hypertufa is a cement-based mixture that is as versatile as it is strong. This incredibly durable material can be molded into any desired shape or size. Hypertufa is a great option to get the look of stone without all the weight. Plus, it can withstand all the outdoor elements and it only gets better with... View Post

Hypertufa is a mix of concrete and other elements that is lightweight, easy to work with, can be molded or even carved, and is a perfect DIY project for both beginner and experienced crafters. You can create pots, containers, art... ok, we will just let these cool DIY hypertufa projects speak for themselves, ok?

Hypertufa - create lightweight, sturdy, attractive stone pots, planters, and ornaments for the garden and home using cement, peat moss & perlite [LEARN MORE]

Building Hypertufa Projects is a great way to fill your garden with unique rustic garden crafts...

One of my signature projects at the Chicago Botanic Garden is designing and building the hypertufa troughs for the Heritage Garden spring display. While our greenhouse staff spends their winters gr…

Before the year closes in on me and as I can find some extra time to experiment, I needed to get busy coloring or staining hypertufa with some chemicals. I

Make a sustainable hypertufa container by replacing the peat moss with coconut coir. We use a sand mold method to shape our containers.

How to Cure Hypertufa correctly; give your project the best chance of surviving frost, rough handling, use and abuse; tips to properly curing your project...

Make these unique containers yourself. Over time, the artificial stone beds will age and gather moss for added charm.

Do you use anything for reinforcing hypertufa? Is it necessary? If you do use reinforcement, what do you use? I can tell you what and when I use fibers or

Cómo hacer macetas de hypertufa. ¿Estás cansado de las macetas de arcilla o de madera? ¿Quieres que tu jardín tenga un aspecto diferente? Las macetas de hypertufa, o toba calcárea, tienen una apariencia de una textura áspera y similar a la...

Hypertufa is a cement-based mixture that is as versatile as it is strong. This incredibly durable material can be molded into any desired shape or size. Hypertufa is a great option to get the look of stone without all the weight. Plus, it can withstand all the outdoor elements and it only gets better with... View Post

What are hypertufa troughs? Hypertufa (pronounced hyper-toofa) is a mixture of peat moss, perlite, cement and water. Old stone watering troughs in England could be found in farmer’s fields, sometim…

Hypertufa How To; your quick guide to making rustic crafts with this versatile and unique material; learn the tips and tricks here

Which is the best outdoor garden planter for your needs? I certainly would vote to make a hypertufa planter or pots, but then, I am not exactly an unbiased

Today, I’ll show you how to make just about anything you can imagine with hypertufa using inexpensive materials you can buy from your closest home center. I’ll also show you all of the many ways you can use this versatile material to achieve various different textures and finishes without much effort. What is Hypertufa? Tufa is […]

A friend in my NARGS chapter recently asked me to make a couple new planters for him. We discussed many designs when he stopped by but settled on two that I don't make often. The first is an oval bowl. For this I made an inner mold of laminated layers of 2" rigid foam glued together and shaped with a utility knife. The hypertufa bowl was cast upside down, packed onto the dome-shaped mold, with gravity and diligent packing with my hands helping to make it tight and uniform. Keeping the hypertufa mix on the dry side is very important as if it's too wet it will just slide off the mold. Before casting I wrapped the mold in shrink-wrap as a sort of release agent. It also gives me something to pull on once the bowl's cured and I need to remove the core. The finished trough is pretty good-sized at 24 x 20 x 10 1/2" high. Those are my boots for scale. My friend admired an organic looking planter on my deck and asked if I could make a similar one. I probably made that planter about 6 years ago, with cardboard boxes as a mold. Almost all of my molds are rigid foam or plywood now, and it's been a while since I've done one with cardboard boxes. Above is the mold after I cast my friend's new trough. The outer carton has the flaps folded down, with shrink-wrap around it for safety. The inner carton is filled with sand. The best and worst part of using cartons for a mold is that they begin to fail as you cast the trough. The trough was thicker than normal, since the outer carton started sagging outward almost immediately. I trimmed the inside walls with the sharp end of my brick hammer and then scrubbed the outside with a wire brush. It's 21 x 21 x 14" high. It definitely has that organic feeling that my friend wanted. Now they need a few weeks to cure.

Today, I’ll show you how to make just about anything you can imagine with hypertufa using inexpensive materials you can buy from your closest home center. I’ll also show you all of the many ways you can use this versatile material to achieve various different textures and finishes without much effort. What is Hypertufa? Tufa is […]

How to make lightweight hypertufa planters for your garden and patio. They look like concrete, but are much lighter!

Here are some of my Favorite Hypertufa Molds - they're all around us...

How To Make Hypertufa...

I have missed my giant hypertufa so much. Calling it the T Rex Hypertufa was probably quite a stretch, but it was a really big one compared to the ones I

A guide to uses for hypertufa troughs, as well as the easiest way to make and shape hypertufa for your use in your lawn and garden areas.

Today, I’ll show you how to make just about anything you can imagine with hypertufa using inexpensive materials you can buy from your closest home center. I’ll also show you all of the many ways you can use this versatile material to achieve various different textures and finishes without much effort. What is Hypertufa? Tufa is […]

Well, one of my previous video and post was about the Hypertufa Making Marathon that we did a while back. But I have a whole big bunch of hypertufa planters

Containers made of a portland cement mixture lend texture and interest to a garden.

Hypertufa - create lightweight, sturdy, attractive stone pots, planters, and ornaments for the garden and home using cement, peat moss & perlite [LEARN MORE]

This is a guide about hypertufa craft projects. This simple mixture of Portland cement with substances like perlite and peat moss makes porous artificial stone pots, planters, or garden art in any shape or size you can imagine.

Hypertufa How To; your quick guide to making rustic crafts with this versatile and unique material; learn the tips and tricks here

Today, I’ll show you how to make just about anything you can imagine with hypertufa using inexpensive materials you can buy from your closest home center. I’ll also show you all of the many ways you can use this versatile material to achieve various different textures and finishes without much effort. What is Hypertufa? Tufa is […]

Have you heard of hypertufa? it’s a light weight cement mixture that can be used to make all kinds of things. I’m going to show you how to make these beautiful Draped Hypertufa Pots. Yo…

This article presumes that you are familiar with the basics of making projects with hypertufa. If you aren’t familiar with the process, or just need a refresher, go to our Hypertufa 101 article with step by step hypertufa-making instructions, by clicking here. I have made several hypertufa projects and by far my favorite mold for making planters is wicker baskets. They can readily be found for a few bucks at second-hand shops so I don’t worry that they will be destroyed by the process. When you firmly push the hypertufa mix into the wicker basket’s cracks and crevices, the final look has a basket imprint which I find hard to match by any other method. Types of Wicker Baskets The thickness and strength of the wicker basket is important. Baskets that are thicker with a tighter weave will give you the deepest imprint on the final project but will be more difficult to de-mold later. Recipe for Wicker Basket Planters The common mix recipe of one part Portland Cement, one part peat moss and one part vermiculite or Perlite works well for small to medium planters. Building on the Inside of the Basket The above wicker heart was used as a mold to build the hypertufa on the inside. It will be a small planter just big enough for a mini hosta or sedum. Wicker Baskets are generally used as inside molds so that beautiful wicker design is imprinted on the outside of the planter. It’s important to firmly press those hypertufa meatballs into the basket. Here's a thicker basket filled with hypertufa. DeMolding from a Wicker Basket There are a few things you can do to make de-molding the project from the wicker basket easier. Greasing the inside of the basket with Vaseline or cooking spray before adding the hypertufa mix is one way. A trick I have learned is to vertically slice one area of the basket from the top to the bottom. Then place some duct tape over the slice to hold the basket steady while you build. When it's time to demold, pull off the tape and begin the slow process of demolding at the area that you previously sliced open. There are few garden projects that are as easy and rewarding as making hypertufa garden art and planters. If you haven't tried it yet, read our Hypertufa 101 and get started! You'll be hooked in no time. Where to go next! Great Garden Articles -- Full List! Follow us on Pinterest! Back to Our Blog Homepage! This post may contain some Amazon Associate links meaning that I will get a small compensation at no expense to you if you purchase something from this blog.

Well, one of my previous video and post was about the Hypertufa Making Marathon that we did a while back. But I have a whole big bunch of hypertufa planters

Concrete decorations for the yard, especially birdbaths, are heavy and immobile due to the weight. A hypertufa birdbath looks like concrete but is more lightweight and easier to manage. Use any container as a mold for a birdbath. Look around, find a design that is preferable, and make a hypertufa birdbath.

Hypertufa projects are made by combining various aggregates (such as Peat Moss, Vermiculite and Perlite) and binding them together with Portland Cemen