SEATTLE — "So, I love spookin' the living tweedle out of those little trick-or-treaters when they come to trick or treat," said Seattle gardening expert Ciscoe Morris, who of course, uses plants to do the job.
Here are his top 3 scary plants for Halloween.
Black Pearl is an ornamental red pepper with foliage that's as dark as night.
"But the real scary thing about this is these hot peppers have over 30,000 Scoville units. They're hotter than a habanero! Better put a little sign on this that say's 'Do Not Eat!'" Ciscoe said.
The spooky plant is Dracunculus vulgaris, or dragon lily. It grows a purple flower that looks like a big calla lily.
"But the amazing thing about the flower is that when it blooms, it stinks like a herd of cattle died in your backyard. What could be more fun than that?" declared Ciscoe.
After the flower dies, it leaves behind a surreal looking bunch of orange seeds that Ciscoe uses to put the 'Trick' in 'Trick or Treat.' He suggests you gather the seeds, then, "What you want to do is whenever you visit a friend, plant a few. Won't they be surprised when that blooms in their garden!??"
Finally, a spooky plant that's an expert murderer.
"So, this is a carnivorous plant called Sarracenia, it comes from the East coast of the United States. It is so cool!" Ciscoe said. "Flies and other insects are attracted to the plants, by a sweet smell. They get to the top I think there's a narcotic on there. All sudden the fly goes, 'Whoa, cool man' - it doesn't pay to have bad habits, and in they go! There's little hairs on the top that are super slippery. And then there's sharper hairs near the bottom. Down they go and they get trapped and digested!"
Just for fun, Ciscoe cut off one of the branches of his Sarracenia and slit it open, revealing dozens of tiny bug corpses stacked inside.
"Oh now that is disgusting!" Ciscoe said gleefully. "You've been eating well buddy. Oh la la!"
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.