Terra cotta planters are also made of fired clay but are, in contrary to ceramic planters, porous. The advantage of terra cotta planters is that it is almost impossible to overwater your plants because of the fact that terra cotta planters absorb water.

The only exception is when you are living in a hot or arid climate in that case it will be necessary to water more often. Another advantage is that because of the porosity, of the terra cotta planters, the soil will be aerated more easily and that will lead to healthier roots because they can breath easier. Beside the advantages there are a few disadvantages. One of them is that they can home plant diseases and fungi because of the humidity. So, take care of them and clean ceramic planters when they are not used. Just remove the soil and dry them in the sun or in an oven. Another disadvantage is that they can be heavy and it will be difficult to move them around your garden. They will also be cracked when you let them fall. The porous ceramic planters are likely to crack during the cold winter season because of the extreme temperatures. You can prevent this storing your terra cotta planters in a shed during the winter. This porosity is the main reason why ceramic planters tend to last only for a few years. On the other hand terra cotta planters look more natural than those made from other, materials, like plastic, which is one of the important reasons people are using them. But you have to be careful because terra cotta planters can develop discoloration from alkaline water or from the salts in fertilizers and moss and algae at the sides if you keep them in humid places out of the sun. When you are using a terra cotta planter for the first time you have to fill the planter with water till it is soaking wet before filling it with soil. The reason for this is that it does not draw moisture away for the plants.