Planting a Hypertufa Bowl

Planting A Hypertufa Bowl

What could be simpler than planting a large hypertufa bowl?

The difficult part of it is trying to film it. Oh my!

I made this large bowl a few weeks before filming, and it is natural Portland cement mix with no added color. I use vermiculite which is a brownish color as opposed to perlite which is white. I think that may give it the more tan result. I prefer the brownish color for some reason. It just seems more appealing to me. Do you have a preference?

planted hypertufa bowl

I planted it with a hardy sempervivum,  also called  houseleeks. ( This is an Amazon affiliate link.) These type of succulent plants are great for hypertufa. They multiply easily to fill the bowl and then can be separated and planted into another bowl so that you have an endless supply. There is something about these plants that I just love. I cannot seem to get enough of them and just love to see them multiply each year.

This one is Sempervivum arachnoideum  and it is just one of the cultivars you can grow. Here is a link to a page that shows so many available varieties. (This is for information only. I have no affiliation with them.)

My large hypertufa planter is good to leave outside all winter long here in zone 6 in Ohio. These sempervivum are winter hardy and make a great succulent to grow in  zone 3-8 and there probably is some overlap into other zones.

But now here is the film.

After Planting A Hypertufa Bowl

Just as with all hypertufa containers, don’t put it in a place where it will be in standing water in winter.  Hypertufa is best raised on “feet” so that it is not directly sitting on the ground or surface that could impede drainage. I have most of mine on pedestals of some kind or placed on the ground but on a bed of deep gravel.

You can use simple concrete blocks if they work for your garden planter, or make some pedestal rings as I show in this post.

But some info about my film:

I had so many stops and starts in this film, so editing it was a real nightmare. I am slowly learning my software, so some segments  I just said “Forget it,” and I deleted them.

And I spoke so slowly, I increased the speed of the film to I wouldn’t sound like I was falling asleep. Now I sound like I’ve had too much coffee.

One of these days I will create a bloopers cut! That should be a real hoot, if I would be brave enough to post it.

And so it goes.

I have written another post showing the update on this hypertufa bowl and how much it has grown. You can check it out too.

Be sure to explore my Kim’s Gardens YouTube channel. I have many videos there which may be helpful when you make your own hypertufa pots. I would be glad to try and answer any questions.

4 Comments

  1. Doris Funk says:

    I have been using terra-cotta cement coloring in some of my pots. Also using larger vermiculite (white). It shows up nicely on the outside.

  2. These are great bowls especially for Arizona! Thank you for sharing them!

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