In the last post we talked about Italian terracotta.  Now let’s talk about the other main types of clay pottery that you will find at Arizona Pottery.

Arizona Pottery imports clay from China.  These pieces of pottery are made of heavier clay than the Italian.  After being fired in mud kilns, these pieces have a rough texture to them.  They also display what we call a “whitewashed” finish.  It looks almost like a powder finish.  When these clay pots are sealed they look darker and a lot of that whitewashing disappears.  Because these Chinese pots are very porous they will absorb a lot of moisture which will contribute to a faster deterioration process.  Of course sealing the pots prior to planting will slow that process down.

One a scale from Best to Worse – Chinese terracotta is considered middle of the road.  Not a nice as Italian but not as bad as others.  A simple reason why we love the Chinese terracotta pottery is that they make wonderful designs.  You will find exotic basket weave patterns, cherubs, swags and medallions.  There workmanship is lovely and the styles are unique.

Seal these planters, store them for winter if possible and you will be very pleased with their performance in your garden and yard areas.