Hypertufa Project Design file
Hypertufa is a lightweight cement mix that makes it simple to make your own plant containers and projects. Once you begin, you’ll find more and more ideas to do the dress up the garden and the best thing about this hypertufa is that they begin to age and look very rustic and natural in the garden. See these fabulous ideas and learn a few tips to make your own.
Ideas, from simple to sensational!
Jenny Alexander’s hypertufa trough fairy garden
Jenny made her trough in a plastic tub, you know, like a dishpan or maybe a hospital wash tub that you always get. You pack in the hypertufa mix about two inches thick and let the whole thing dry overnight. Unmold carefully the next day and let it cure for a week before planting. This containers will be much lighter than cement!
Anna Zakaria shows three variations of hypertufa planters. She uses tiles, keys and unusual edge effects
Anna says, “My handmade hypertufa planters. I experimented with some embellishments and acrylic paints. I used easily found molds, the 4” plastic pots, a shoebox, and a planter from the dollar store. Playing with mud is fun!
The basics of hypertufa
Hypertufa is a mix of equal parts Portland cement, perlite and sphagnum moss. Use a 1 quart container to measure and mix everything in a galvanized plastic tub. For molds, start with inexpensive container from the Dollar Store.
For complete instructions see, Make your own cement planters Then graduate to leafcastings, birdhouses, variations in shapes and sizes and more!
Anna Zakaria experiments with hypertufa containers
Anna tells us, “More variations. You can see some of the molds in the background. Anything made out of plastic will do, and can be reused many times as molds. Just simple inexpensive acrylic paints. I haven’t tried the concrete color, but I’ve been soaking some pieces in used coffee grinds.
Sue Langley’s bowl, just unmolded
This is one of my favorites! Once I tried several small troughs, I made this large one. I lined it with the dry cleaning bag and after a couple days it slips right out. See the texture from the crumbled bag?
Finished hypertufa bowl made from a bowl! Now planted with Ghost plant, a succulent
“Here’s the unmolded hypertufa finished and planted. I love it! I had wanted to make something bigger this time to display on a log stump and my friend happened to bring this plant pot which I used as the mold.
When you create with hypertufa, you have some leftover each session. Time to make mushrooms!
Kathy Hardin’s hypertufa toadstool
Kathy Hardin, says This mushroom is also hypertufa…… so cute in the garden..”
Imagination run wild!
*Some of these are advanced projects that take some skill, so if you’re a beginner or want to try your first project, see the links at the end of this article.
Joan Meyers’s succulent topped hypertufa birdhouse. She says, ” My ‘Mud Pie Pot’ Birdhouse with succulent roof.”
Joan Meyers’s molded wheelbarrow from hypertufa mix…she says, “My favorite project!”
Kandy Jones says, ” This hypertufa planter was made applying ‘tufa to a Styrofoam ice chest.”
Kandy Jones’ hypertufa fountains
Kandy Jones says, “These are hypertufa fountains I made using a beach ball and half of a fan cage on the big one and a deli tray top and candy container on the smaller one) Birds love ’em!”
Karen Zakaria tells us, “These are a couple hypertufa pieces I made using deflated schoolyard balls (remnants from my son’s grade school days–sigh, he’ll be a teenager in a few days). I cut a hole in the ball about 4″ in diameter. The mix was about 4 cups each: Portland cement, peat moss and perlite; and just enough water to keep the mix together.”
“I pressed the mix into the interior of the ball, then folded part of the ball in and over the lip. To keep the folded part in place, I inserted a plastic cup, weighed down by gravel. After about a week I cut the ball away from the cement, drilled a drain hole and let it sit in the shade for a couple more weeks before adding plants.”
My son is into basketball now so I can’t touch the basketballs yet; he does have quite a few tennis balls….hmmmm…”
Leaf castings!
This is really an easy project once you find your leaf! See Leafcasting the rhubarb leaf to see my first try!
Carrie Cervantes’s rusty colored leaf casting from hypertufa
Carrie Cervantes tells about her rhubarb leaf with terracotta coloring in it. She says, ” this was fun to make…made a bunch of them for my sisters and nieces.
I made a hill out in my garden of dirt and shaped it like I wanted the bowl to be shaped; covered that mound with a plastic bag and then laid my leaf on top of that. Then packed the top of the leaf with the Quikcrete added a short pvc pipe for the base of the leaf that would then be buried underground. Waited overnight and flipped it over and peeled off the leaf. Sometimes you have to use a coarse brush to get the leaf out but the result is great and if stored carefully they last for years.”
Jill Waltenspiel’s hypertufa leafcastings. These are more fun than you can believe!
More hypertufa tips!
The hypertufa troughs in the finishing stage
My friend, Cheryl, and I are making hypertufa again! Here is our work table after our last ‘play day.’ Tractor Man says all he hears is cackling out there on days like this! Yes, it loads of fun and I’ll be unmolding these later today. FUN! As usual we used our leftover mix to make tiny mushrooms!
Me and several hypertufa projects!
Sue Langley’s finished hypertufa troughs
“Here are all my hypertufa troughs filled with sedums and other succulents,…just planted the two rectangular ones. I’ll place them along my paths, maybe in the rock garden,…or just leave them here. ~~ Sue
Resources
5 Comments
Just looking for feedback.
Would a premixed Hypetufa with an accelerator to make finished projects cure out in 24 hours be helpful?
Or would the admix be something someone who likes to create with this mix be interested in experimenting.
I have made various mixes with a variety of performance features.
Looking for feedback
Bob
Cement is an ingredient in concrete mix. It is not concrete and there are no structures made out of cement. There are, however, many structures made out of concrete.
Concrete does not cure by drying, It cures by a chemical process that requires water. This is why the strongest concrete is poured underwater.
Hypertufa requires water to fully cure. I put my projects in plastic wrap for about three days, then keep them moist for another several days. This will insure that the final products have had time to develop most of their strength.
Former US Army Corps of Engineers Concrete Inspector
Only Karen Zakaria mentioned drainage. Is it possible to incorporate a drainage hole or holes when you sculpt? I won’t be able to drill. Or, is the mix self-draining. more or less? And, speaking of that, do these containers hold moisture, or dry out fast as terracotta does?
Hi Susan, when I create these hypertufa containers I press small pieces of dowel-shaped twig or branch into the bottom of each container for drainage holes. A shoebox sized container would get two holes. Immediately after unmolding your container, take out the branch piece,…the longer they stay in, the harder to get out. Easy! If you have to drill it would likely be best before or just after unmolding while the concrete component was still damp.