If you love gardening, but brightly coloured flowers aren’t your thing, we’ve found some peculiar plants that are perfect for the Halloween lover. While some of these plants look spooky, others are outright strange or even a little dangerous.
With Halloween just around the corner, these plants will certainly be unnerving around the house or garden.
7 Spooky Types of Plants to Spice Up Your Halloween Decor
1. Chinese lanterns
Scientific name: Abutilon sp
What may look like a common small shrub during the cooler months of winter, blooms some incredible-looking flowers during Spring, just in time for Halloween. The bright orange or red lantern-shaped bulbs look a little like pumpkins before they bloom and dry to look like lace or a finely spun spiders web pod.
How to care for Chinese lanterns.
Plant the Chinese Lantern in a sunny area outdoors and water frequently. Chinese lanterns do not like the cold, so move them inside or to a warmer area during the cooler months.
Note: All parts of this plant are considered toxic.
2. Black rose succulent
Scientific name: Aeonium arboretum ‘Zwartkopf’
While many succulents are adored for their greenery, the black rose has stunning leaves ranging from deep purple, burgundy and black. As this type of plant is fairly easy to care for, it’s a perfect low-maintenance indoor plant for your office or around the home to add a subtle gothic vibe for the spooky season.
How to care for black rose succulents.
Like other succulents, the black rose loves being in the sun and only need watering once a week or when looking a bit dry.
3. Night Blooming Cereus
Scientific name: Selenicereus grandiflorus
Once upon a time, there was a type of plant in the cactus family that only bloomed once a year when it was warm. For just one night, the stunning white flower blooms and shares its sweet scent with the world, before closing before morning. The end.
Yes, this plant sounds like it’s a mythical creation in a fairy-tale but it’s completely true.
How to care for a night blooming cereus.
Despite being a desert flower, the night blooming cereus actually prefers some shade. To ensure you see the stunning flower, keep the plant indoors where it will receive some sunlight and not too much shade. They require minimal attention and can withstand some neglect, like most types of cactus.
4. Devil’s Ivy
Scientific name: Epipremnum aureum
Alright, so the only think spooky about devil’s ivy is technically its name, however, it is highly toxic for pets. It is also the perfect climbing plant, so is ideal for hanging in pots or planted in the ground to grow up and around a trellis.
Note: Devil’s ivy is toxic for cats and dogs.
How to care for devil’s ivy.
Devil’s ivy thrives indoors or in places with a lot of shade. Plus, it requires very little watering so is perfect for someone who wants to have plants, but doesn’t have a lot of time for maintaining them.
5. Venus Flytrap
Scientific name: Dionaea muscipula
Native to the United states wetlands, the Venus flytrap is perhaps one of the spookiest plants on this list for the sole reason that it is carnivorous. That’s right—this plant considers the house fly and other bugs the perfect snack.
If you’re concerned about little fingers, this type of plant will close on it if you really wiggle a finger in there, but no harm will come to you. It’s recommended you don’t do this as it can damage the plant.
How to care for a Venus flytrap.
Keep your Venus flytrap near a windowsill with plenty of sun exposure to keep them happy. Pop it in a pot with good draining and water them once a week. If you don’t tend to get a lot of flies, you can feed it with some good-quality fertiliser.
6. Black Bat Flowers
Scientific name: Tacca chantieri
It’s easy to mistake the black bat flower as something straight from a horror film but this plant is actually a type of orchid that thrives in warmer weather. This Demogorgon-looking plant has a gorgeous large, black flower with hanging filaments and large green leaves, making it one of our favourite types of plants on this list.
How to care for the black bat flower.
Taking good care of this unusual plant will pay off with a stunning bloom. Expect to repot this plant every year or so as it grows rapidly. Keep it in a well-draining pot in a shady area and make sure the soil remains moist (but not soggy) at all times.
7. Rattlesnake plant
Scientific name: Calathea lancifolia
With striking wavy leaves with dark purple and green markings, the rattlesnake plant is the perfect addition to your Halloween-inspired garden. While it can bloom in the spring and summer months, this indoor plant is more known for its striking foliage.
How to care for the rattlesnake plant.
This plant will thrive in the warm Australian climate but does not like direct sunlight. Be sure to plant your rattlesnake in a pot with good drainage and only water when the soil becomes dry to the touch.
Feature photo by Mabel Amber from Pixabay
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Find spooky, exotic or strange plants at your local nursery on Localsearch
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