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When the air gets chilly and the leaves start falling, it’s time to decorate for Halloween. But while many homeowners bedeck their porches and patios with scarecrows, colorful gourds, and jack-o-lanterns, you can also use colorful Halloween plants to wow trick-or-treaters and add interest to porch planters. If you want to craft an unforgettable Halloween container garden, here are 11 easy-care plants with a unique look, lots of autumn color, and a delightfully spooky vibe.
1. Pumpkin on a Stick (Solanum integrifolium)
If you’re looking for an unusual plant to bring color to your planters this Halloween, look no further than pumpkin on a stick. Also known as the “ornamental eggplant,” this fun and funky plant is a member of the nightshade family. Its bright orange fruit is technically edible, although not very tasty. Easy to grow from seed, pumpkin on a stick can be used to add height to planters, but you can also harvest it for dried bouquets.
Best For: Thriller, edible, dried arrangements
Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
2. Crotons (Codiaeum variegatum)
Crotons come in different shapes and sizes, but most varieties have bright splashes of yellow, orange, and red adorning their glossy green leaves. These plants can be planted in September and left outdoors until they die away in the cold, but you can also bring crotons inside when temperatures fall and grow them as houseplants. For that Halloween look, choose crotons with lots of bold leaf color, like ‘Icetone,’ ‘Norma,’ and ‘Corkscrew.’
Best For: Filler, houseplant
Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
3. Purple Passion (Gynura aurantiaca)
Also known as velvet plants, purple passion’s bright green leaves are covered in an electric purple fuzz that seems to glow like something out of a mad scientist’s lab. This unique coloration can be used to complement the look of Halloween plants with yellow or orange leaves, but purple passion’s trailing stems also look stately in hanging baskets or as spiller elements in planters. Like crotons, purple passion makes a fantastic houseplant.
Best For: Spiller, hanging baskets, houseplant
Hardiness Zones: 10 to 12
4. Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus)
There are lots of colorful ornamental grasses for Halloween planters, but black mondo is a particularly striking choice with grass-like leaves that are so saturated with color they appear black in most lighting. Growing just 8 to 12 inches high, black mondo is the perfect height for filling in empty soil space, and its slender leaves shiver with movement when the chilly autumn winds blow.
Best For: Filler, movement
Hardiness Zones: 5 to 10
5. Doll’s Eyes (Actaea pachypoda)
A native North American plant, doll’s eyes, or white baneberry, is most famous for its bone-white berries, which emerge in autumn and are held aloft on bright red stems. Although baneberry berries are toxic to humans, wild birds love them and these plants can be enjoyed in winter as long as songbirds don’t gobble up all their berries in fall!
Best For: Thriller, native gardens, attracting birds
Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
6. Ornamental Peppers (Capsicum annuum)
Ornamental peppers are dual-purpose plants that can be grown for aesthetics alone or harvested for their edible, yet spicy, fruit. Varieties like ‘Black Pearl’ and ‘Sedona Sun’ are especially popular around this time of the year thanks to their teeny tiny peppers that come in classic Halloween shades of orange and black.
Best For: Filler, edible
Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
7. Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum tectorum)
While the hen and chicks plant (aka common houseleek) comes in different colors, dark beauties like ‘Black’ or ‘Onyx’ are especially good for Halloween planters. Not only are these succulents undemanding about water, but their cold-hardy nature means they’ll likely return year after year.
Best For: Filler, dry soil
Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
8. Black Heart Vine (Ipomoea batatas ‘Black Heart’)
Sweet potato vines are commonly grown in hanging baskets or used as spiller elements in mixed planter designs. Like hen and chicks, these plants come in different colors, but the dark, heart-shaped leaves of ‘Black Heart’ are ideal for Halloween.
Best For: Spiller, hanging baskets
Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
9. Celosia (Celosia spp.)
Another popular autumn plant, celosia are easy to grow from seed and they produce colorful flowers in showy shades of orange, yellow, and magenta. While there are lots of celosia to choose from, cockscomb celosias may be the best choice for spooky season since their unique flowers are shaped a bit like brains.
Best For: Fillers, beginning gardeners
Hardiness Zones: 10 to 11
10. Elephant Ears (Colocasia esculenta)
‘Black Magic’ and other dark varieties of elephant ears add structure, height, and a bit of drama to Halloween planters, and they can be overwintered as houseplants. Just make sure to keep elephant ears in roomy pots that are at least 18 inches wide. A single elephant ear leaf can grow over 2 feet long!
Best For: Thriller, houseplant
Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
11. Ornamental Brassicas (Brassica oleracea)
Brassicas are one of the few vegetables that can be planted in winter, but ornamental brassicas are also commonly grown in autumn as container plants. Unlike the drab brassicas grown in vegetable gardens, ornamental cabbage, kale, and Swiss chard produce shockingly colorful leaves in vivid shades of purple, green, and more. Use these plants to accentuate the look of other cool weather ornamentals or serve their edible leaves as garnishes at your Halloween party.
Best For: Filler, edible, cool weather
Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
