It’s that frightfully fun season again at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and so we encourage you to set the tone with plants we’re certain would be found in the home of any respectable witch or goblin, and are easy to care for, too!
Snap! Watch a Venus flytrap snag its next meal.
Our top choices
are the spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum), snake plant (Dracaena trifasciata), and Shrek’s ear jade plant (Crassula Ovata “Gollum” ).
Kalanchoe, also called “mother of thousands” (Kalanchoe daigremontiana), is a fright to anyone who remembers the 1951 science fiction classic “Day of the Triffids” where an alien plant species landed on Earth and took over the planet. This scary plant reproduces by growing baby plants on the edges of its leaves. Warning: do not let hundreds of tiny babies invade your home!
Plants with a taste for flesh? Yes! Carnivorous plants need nutrients from insects and other small animals to thrive. The Venus flytrap, (Dionaea musipula), is well-known for its jaw-like leaves that close on unsuspecting flies. We also love the blood-red coloring on the tropical pitcher plant Nepenthes and the trumpet pitcher plant, Sarracenia.
Remember, beyond the candy and costumes, there are a few flesh-eating, jaw-clamping, spooky fun plants that would welcome an invitation to your Halloween celebration.