Being somewhat OCD about a cohesive look and color harmony, my hodge podge of containers has been a long standing point of contention. I browse the beautiful lines of containers at garden centers and often dream of replacing all I'm currently using with coordinating colors and shapes, but at the end of the day, I'm just too darn cheap. And pretty containers are downright expensive; Lord knows I couldn't possibly spend my garden budget on pots instead of plants!
So last winter I embarked on an experiment, in desperate need of some garden related activity to get me through until the warm days of spring. I systematically painted all my containers. I'd tried painting a few in years past to see how well they would hold up, with varying success, but I have finally got it down!
Most of my pots are clay, but larger ones are plastic (so I can move them without injury). For the clay pots, I knew that I needed to make sure all the moisture was out of the porous clay before beginning, so I started by cleaning the pots, and setting them near the woodstove to dry for several days (at least 3). Without a wood burning stove to help, I'd recommend placing them in a warm, dry area with good air circulation (a fan would help) for several days.
Then they got a good coat of Kilz primer, inside and out, making sure to coat the drainage holes as well. I allowed the primer coat to dry for at least 24 hours, also near the wood stove.
I followed with 2 coats of outdoor latex, inside and out, allowing for 24 hours of curing between coats, and making sure to coat the drainage holes again. After the final coat, I allowed several days for the paint to cure before potting.
After all that effort, I was on pins and needles for a while after they were potted up and outdoors, but I'm happy to report, they've all held up beautifully! Many are house plants that are still growing happily in their colorful containers, and now a year later, the containers look as good as they did when newly painted.
Plastic pots are a bit more iffy, but I found those with a rough texture took the paint nicely. I used Kilz primer on those also, but didn't bother with the inside of the pots (since plastic isn't porous), and allowed for the same curing time. They have also held up beautifully. Some are still outdoors with perennials in them, and I'm yet to see any peeling paint.
Just wanted to share my method for others who have faced the same problem. Hope you find it useful
