Lichen on tub

You can easily get rid of this with a scrubbing brush and a bowl of water. As for preventing it, you probably can't on an unglazed pot. You will notice that the glazed pot next to this one is free of the moss.

Thank you Bulbaholic. I'll paint the tub with gloss paint. That should do it.

Chortle.... I'm sure I remember Alan Titchmarsh teaching us to paint the terracotta pots with yogurt just to get this effect.
Must have been fashionable at some point.

Just wondering if gloss paint will stay on - terracotta is porous so the body is damp most of the time, which is why the green growth is so happy there. As Sophie says the weathered look is thought to be desirable by many poeple, or used to be - fashions change.

I wonder if they a terracotta pot could be oiled?
like you would wooden items?........
you could paint with emulsion and when it flakes off call it shabby chic!

Thank you all.

its algae and you can scrub it off with water and a drop of bleach to deter it.

I like the moss effect, when the weather warms up more it will dry and give a more aged effect to your pot

Thank you for all your help.

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