Protecting terracotta pots

hi Spritz, in my experience if they are decent thickness and are planted up they should be ok. i have lots of terricota posts and i have only had cracks on the ones that are cheap and thin, or ones that are empty throught the winter. but don't hold me to that, i could just have been lucky! if they have sentimental value i would be safe rather than sorry and wrap them anyway. and the one pictured is a lovely looking pot - is it hand made?

I'd say if you'e not sure, wrap them. I've got some pots from Witchford Pottery which are frostproof and come with a ten year guarantee but I wouldn't risk anything else

Thanks both. I think I'll wrap them when frost is forecast. majeeka, I don't know if it's hand made, I'll ask my Mum, who passed it on to me this summer when she decided she couldn't cope with pots any more - well, she is 98! Yes, really. :-)

If they are empty no problem. I would not risk it, wrap them up, it's not a big job ,good old pots are hard to come by.

Hi Spritzhenry, the cause of the cracking is the water that gets into the terricotta (porous) and then when it freezes it contracts. If they are really valuable I would store them somewhere dry and frost free. They look gorgeous, try and make room for them indoors - wrap them up in bubble wrap even in an out building. jack frost can get anywhere!