Coat Those Styrofoam Planters With Slurry!

I have had a lot of questions whether or not those Styrofoam planters could be coated with cement. I am glad to say that they can and I have done it. It is simple and easy to do, especially when you are making some draped hypertufa containers. It is a great way to use up any leftovers.  You could also start off by mixing just a little more of the slurry mixture than you think you need to get the current project done.

I first made these Styrofoam planters in 2014, and I am happy to say that most of them have survived very well.  Sad to report that one of them was severely injured in a collision with a snow blower. ( Side-eye to my husband.)  It apparently jumped out in front of him as he passed very close to the edge of the garden. Bad planter!

Here is a short video of me applying the slurry which was leftover from one of my draped hypertufa projects. If you have made one of the Styrofoam box planters, you may want to try it. I swear it feels just like hypertufa for real!

These Styrofoam planters coated with cement have spent three winters outdoors here in Ohio . The one in the photo image above is the one from the video. They are only a little worse for the wear. Some of them get slight flakes of cement coming off them but it just ages them, I think.  I have touched up some of those with paint that I dilute and, using a tiny artist’s brush, just match the colors that I had originally stained it with, or adding another shade to make it seem more naturally aged.

I put a small red “ball” next to each of the Styrofoam planters ( I have saturated the color too so that they stand out.) And these are just the ones on the lower deck. LOL

For some reason, some of the non-cemented planters age with almost a melting type appearance. I don’t know if this is an effect of “acid rain” or some type of pollution in the air, but those I plan to coat with the hypertufa cement slurry. Those are done at the time when I am transplanting for some reason such as the plant outgrowing its pot.  Others I leave because the look is not something that bothers me all that much.

I have a short video showing my process of coating the Styrofoam planters with cement. Really I am coating it with the hypertufa mixture leftover when I made some Draped Hypertufa.

I had not previously painted this box I am showing, but painted it afterwords with the same sponging technique. It really enhances the planter and with the hard “stone-like” surface, it seems like it’s really hypertufa.

I have a video showing me painting the Styrofoam hypertufa if you would like to see it too.  Perhaps you may want to go ahead and Like, Comment, and Subscribe to my YouTube channel while you are there.  I am trying to make more videos and make them about just what is going on in my garden at the time.

Join me. If you also click the bell icon when you subscribe, it will notify you when I upload a new video. I am attempting a couple each week. Let me know what you would like to see on video and I will do my best.

I need to get outside now. I have one more path to check through for weeds. Got my vinegar all ready. It’s those little wild violets that are driving me crazy right now. Seeds are flung everywhere and it have thousands growing. I must keep up with them. I kill them with vinegar and then usually go get the carcass to throw it in the compost pile.

Let’s go get in the dirt!