Castor Bean: July
>> Tuesday, July 11, 2017 –
castor bean
Another quick "snapshot" post, just to see where things are as of early July. Unlike yesterday's bananas which are already impressive, today's subject are the castor beans.
If they behave as they did last year they will reach 10' (3m) or more tall by the end of the summer, but right now they're far from that.
I'd estimate that they are about 3' (90 cm) tall at this time:
I planted two volunteers that I found when weeding this bed earlier, but since then a few more have germinated and started to grow (you can see those -- they're the smaller ones). I'll need to remove those -- some will be transplanted but others will need to be sacrificed.
They say that castor beans don't transplant well, but I've not had trouble with them in that regard. In my experience they're sort of a slow plant to get going even when grown from seed in place, and I expect they need a hot summer to really get big.
They'll soon be dominating the views in my garden...
Hot it is here in St. Louis right now -- near 100ºF (37ºC). We just need some rain...
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I really love how your garden art is mimicking your castor beans! Very cool shot!
Is this the plant that everyone warns is so toxic?
Such a cool plant! Tried it once, but I don't think it got enough sun to really do anything. Sad to say, it kind of fizzled it's way into oblivion... In my next garden, though, I will definitely try again. And, I will plant lots and lots of bamboo...
Lisa: it's only toxic if you eat it. ;) There are lots of plants that fall into this category.
Anna: Is your next garden coming soon?
Excellent framing photo of the Ricinus, your sculpture, wind chime, etc. Well done!
I just pulled a few Ricinus at the side of the road. Here they are classified as invasive because of lavish reseeding and crowding out of native species. A much better behaved plant in your climate.
Such a beautiful plant, especially in your jungle. I used to grow it when there was more sun here but alas, someone keeps planting things that make shade.