Forget the typical glass bowl this time of year and make a Halloween terrarium. My daughter and I were browsing at Michael’s a few weeks ago and came across this black ceramic pumpkin. It has just enough room for a few plants and a couple of the Halloween themed ornaments they carried. It’s super easy to put this terrarium together — add cactus potting mix, plant the succulents and top it off with black sand, a sprinkling of glow in the dark pebbles and ornaments. Here are a few tips from my experience to help ensure your sucess:
See also Container recipes
Put your Halloween terrarium together
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When you’re shopping for plants look for a mix of different shapes and foliage colors to get the most interesting arrangement. For this container avoid dark green and deep purple foliage though, they’ll disappear against the black background.
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Give the succulents a good soaking before planting and premoisten the potting mix to helps the plants settle in more quickly.
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Don’t be afraid to brush off some of the potting mix or break a root ball down a bit, if needed.This pumpkin has a shallow base that doesn’t hold a lot of potting mix. Fortunately most cacti and succulents are shallow rooted.
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When trick or treating is done plan on givng your plants a brighter home that’s better suited for long-term growth.Though the wide opening allows a lot of light in when it’s facing a bright window This isn't a permanent home for them.
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If you do need to water use a large eye dropper or watering can with a narrow spout and apply it lightly and carefully near each plant. This will help minimize washing any sand or pebbles away.
See also Projects
Container recipe
A) Pickle plant (Kleinia stapeliiformis)
B) Grafted cactus (Gymnocalycium mihavnovichii friedrichii ‘Rubra’)
C) Barrell cactus (Echinocactus spp.)
D) Cereus (Cereus validus monstrose ‘Ming Thing’)
