Here are 5 spooky and scary plants that will give your visitors the willies on Trick-or-Treat night!

As the holiday of ghosts and ghouls approaches, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some creepy, spooky, and downright weird plants. While you probably won’t be growing many of these in your garden anytime soon, having one or two as potted plants on your porch (or as houseplants) would be a fun way to intrigue (or spook) your neighbors and visitors!

Check out this interesting list to learn more about these truly unique plants – whether or not you use them to scare your Halloween guests is up to you!  🙂

Pitcher Plants (Pictured Above)

Good thing this carnivorous beauty is satisfied with the insects that get trapped in its elegant long throat—we may swoon but are (fortunately) immune to Sarracenia’s lethal charms. Insects? Not so lucky. Drawn to colorful leaf tips that mimic flowers, and soon drunk on the sugary nectar that gathers there, bugs have just a matter of time before they tumble to their demise. Sarracenia enjoys a meal of decaying critter parts absorbed right through its leaves. So evil—it’s brilliant.

Pitcher plants can grow outside in full sun, except in the coldest climates. Indoors, give them plenty of bright light.

Venus Flytrap

The most infamous of the insectivorous (carnivorous) plants, Dionaea muscipula does little to lure its pray. Its large, round leaves simply provide a welcome landing pad. But the short hairs that cover the leaves are activated by pressure, causing them to snap shut, trapping the hapless bug where it will slowly be decimated by the plant’s digestive enzymes.

Although they’re common curios in garden shops, in order for your plant to not just stay alive but thrive, this Carolina swamp country native will need conditions that mimic their natural humid, sunny, boggy habitat.

Sundew

They’re just too bad to ignore: The last of our carnivorous picks its prey with sweet-smelling “dew” (a lethal digestive enzyme) that covers its fuzzy stems to trap and eventually dissolve the unlucky visitor.

Sundews need bright light, moist soil, some humidity, and temperatures of at least 40 degrees. A window that gets four or more hours of direct sunlight and bright filtered sun during the rest of day is ideal.

Buddha’s Hand

This edible fruit’s fragrance and rind are a pure treat. Ripe when yellow, it has minimal flesh, but the rind and pith, which aren’t bitter, are fully usable. Candy the former like orange peel, or use it fresh grated as seasoning or as an infusion to sugar, salt, or liquor. Buddha’s Hand cocktails, anyone?

Buddha’s Hand will do well in a large pot indoors year-round, or outdoors when temps are above freezing. Keep in a location that gets full sun for at least half the day, and during winter, place in a well-lit room.

Black Velvet Petunias And Black Pansies

No Halloween garden party would be complete without pots of simply wicked annuals, which should be available at your local garden center for a few more weeks.

See more spooky plants at RodalesOrganicLife.com…