A hypertufa is a man-made rock that is composed of several aggregates that is combined together using Portland cement. Since they are rather porous and light, they’re generally created as garden decorations, in most cases as plant containers. A hypertufa is an substitute for tufa, a steadily precipitated limestone deposited from springs.

There are lots of recipes for building hypertufas, although the fundamental formula is that it is one part cement for every three parts aggregate. For the most basic recipe, the main ingredients are 1 part Portland cement, 1½ parts peat moss, and 1½ parts  perlite. Portland cement comes in two colors: gray or white. Gray is alright for most projects; on the other hand select white if you want a granite look to the end result or if you wish to use colorants. Peat moss is included in the recipe as when it decays, it will leave openings and crevices that imitates the attribute of a true tufa rock. At the same time perlite is the substance that makes a hypertufa light.

As an alternative to perlite, you can substitute it with vermiculite, although you may have a harder time finding one. Vermiculite will put a little more weight to your hypertufa. In addition, it brings a glimmering effect to your hypertufa. The proportion of materials is the same with the first recipe.

Sometimes you might want to make a stronger, heavier hypertufa. You can do this by adding sand to your mix. Take note that the type of sand will impact the feel and color of the outcome of your project. For the proportion of this recipe, use an equal ratio for all the ingredients. Another ingredient that can be included to reinforce your hypertufa is fiber mesh. For this recipe you have to make use of 2 parts of Portland cement, 2 parts perlite, 1/2 part coarse sand, 1 1/2 parts peatmoss, and just a small amount of nylon fiber mesh.

Peat moss can also be replaced with coir, a processed coconut fiber. The recipe for this variation is  2 parts coir, 1½ parts perlite, and 2 parts portland cement. Consider that coir doesn’t decompose as quickly as peat moss and as a consequence this recipe might not look like a real tufa rock, unlike those containing the latter.

You may also use hypertufa as a mortar, to combine real or synthetic rocks. For this purpose, you’ll need builders sand, clay soil, and acrylic fortifying additive. Black potting soil could also be used instead of peat moss. The recipe is 1 part Portland cement, 1/2 part peat moss or black potting soil, 2 parts builders sand, and the acrylic fortifying additive.

As a final note, the key to each formula is the appropriate adding of water. Add water gradually until you attain the required consistency of your mix. You can always add more water anyway if you figure out that it is not enough.