Glue and repair terracotta: How to succeed

Waterlogging in frost, a wrong movement with the wheelbarrow or a strong gust of wind: 

terracotta pots can easily crack. 

Not so bad, because terracotta is repairable. How to glue your pot.

MSG/Monica Lietzau

Terracotta pots give a garden a Mediterranean flair

terracotta pots are real classics. 

They often spend decades in our gardens and become more and more beautiful with age - as they slowly acquire a patina. 

But the fired clay is by nature a very brittle material and sometimes 

you can be very careful - it does happen: you bump into it when you are gardening with your lawn mower, 

a gust of wind knocks it over or waterlogged water freezes inside. 

However, this does not necessarily mean the end of your beloved terracotta pot. 

Because cracks and broken off parts can easily be glued and the flower pot repaired in this way.

How to repair terracotta with glue?

The best way to repair terracotta pots is to use waterproof two-component adhesive. 

This not only glues the individual fragments together, but also fills smaller gaps or gaps. 

This is especially helpful during repair if the pieces do not have smooth edges.

Material for repairing terracotta

• fine brush
• Two-component adhesive
• adhesive tape
• sharp knife
• if necessary, waterproof paint

Flora Press/GWI

The cleaner the break, the easier the pot can be glued together

Bonding terracotta: Step by step

1. Use a brush to remove dust from broken or cracked parts.
2. If only a fragment is broken, join it dry with the empty terracotta pot, as the adhesive has only a short working time.
3. Then apply adhesive on both sides, insert and fix tightly with adhesive tape. Proceed in the same way for cracks.
4. If there are several pieces, also assemble them dry first. Stick an adhesive tape tightly over the assembled terracotta pieces on one side so that they no longer slip. Remove from the pot. Now the tape with the individual pieces attached can be opened like a book. Apply two-component adhesive to both sides of the broken edges and fold them back up again. Tightly secure with a second adhesive tape.
5. Allow to cure, peel off the adhesive tape and remove any adhesive residue with a sharp knife. If there are several fragments, they are now attached to the terracotta pot in the same way as a single fragment.
6. To protect the glued area from moisture from the inside, it can now be sealed with a protective layer of waterproof varnish several centimeters wide.

Smaller cracks and breaks in small pots can also be repaired with super glue.

Tip: Embellish repaired areas

If you want to give the patched terracotta pot an additional personal touch, 

you can also laminate the repaired areas with acrylic or lacquer paint. 

Or you can glue small mosaic stones, marbles or stones on it, these set playful accents. Fantasy knows no bounds!

When glue is no longer sufficient

Flora Press/Rosalind Simon

Succulents also feel comfortable in broken terracotta pots and harmonize wonderfully with the "used look". This makes the cracked pot a real eye-catcher

Sometimes the break is broken into so many pieces that the terracotta pot cannot be glued. 

Nevertheless the pot is not lost and can still be very decorative. 

Plant it with cacti or succulents that grow out of the broken part. 

In this way, you will give natural, Mediterranean gardens or farm gardens beautiful details - without any glue at all.