Want a spooktacular project that is fun to make? Try planting a Halloween terrarium. Easily create a scary scene in a glass terrarium bowl or hanging globe. Fill the terrarium with small plants and Halloween accessories, and you’ll have a decoration that is sure to catch attention.
Here are some tips for making your own Halloween terrarium.
Choose a Halloween terrarium container
The ideal terrarium containers are big enough to give you room to create a spooky scene. It’s also nice if the terrarium has a large enough opening so that you can easily put in the accessories and plants.
(Healthy Houseplants.com)
Prepare the Halloween container for planting
Place in the container the following ingredients in this order:
- ¼-inch layer of gravel
- ½-inch layer of charcoal
- ¼-inch layer of sphagnum moss
- 4-inch layer of potting soil
Select your plants
Opt for small plants that range in size from 2 to 4 inches high and wide. The best choices for terrariums are slow-growing and adapt to living in close quarters. Some good selections include dwarf anthurium, mini African violets, Neanthe bella palm, pink polka-dot plant (hypoestes), some types of ivy, fig vine (Ficus repens) and mosses like kyoto and selaginella.
Plant your Halloween terrarium
Place plants close together in the terrarium. This will help them to grow well. Doing this will also allow you to create an engaging scene. After planting, secure the plants by patting down the soil around the roots.
Add Halloween accessories
Just about any small 2- to 4-inch Halloween accessory will work well. Look for fun items like tiny ghosts and goblins, black cats, witch brooms and hats, pumpkins, skeletons and anything else that strikes your fancy.
Put your Halloween terrarium in a bright location
Terrariums generally require bright indirect light. Avoid putting them in a window with direct sunlight. The terrarium glass may heat up the interior of the terrarium to the point where the plants burn.
Water occasionally
If you’re growing a terrarium that has a lid, keep in mind that it will most likely remain moist in there due to condensation. That means that you want to avoid overwatering. Excess moisture will quickly lead to root rot. Only water when the terrarium dries up by approximately 50 percent. When you do water, use a turkey baster. Dribble in the water at various locations in the terrarium.
Open terrariums are exposed to your home’s dry air. That means they’ll dry out much more frequently than lidded terrariums. You’ll need to water an open air terrarium once or twice a week. Use the turkey baster watering method rather than pouring in water, which can lead to damaging excess moisture.
Maintain your Halloween terrarium
Once established and growing, terrariums don’t require much care. You simply trim back the foliage every one to two months, so the accessories remain visible. Fertilize just once a year in the spring. Too much nutrients will cause the plants to grow quickly, and they could outgrow the terrarium.
Switch out accessories to make the next holiday terrarium
Once Halloween passes, redecorate your terrarium for Thanksgiving. Then do the same for Christmas. Take good care of your terrarium, and you can use it to decorate holidays throughout the year.