Big

In the previous post I mentioned how I rely on big annuals and tropicals for impact in my garden, and it's only in late summer/early autumn when those plants really start shining. For me castor bean (Ricinus communis) is one of these late-season stars, and this year I tried a new cultivar.

I don't know exactly the name of this variety, as it was tagged with just a "22" at Greenscape Gardens. It looked a lot like 'Zanzibar' to me, the type with the huge green leaves that I had seen at Missouri Botanical Garden a few years back, so I took a chance.

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I still don't know for certain if it is 'Zanzibar', but if it's not it's close enough for me. Huge green leaves?

Yes, I'd say so! (If you've missed it, my hand is there for scale). Very impressive, especially since this does not receive as much sun as it probably wants.

When the sunlight is hitting it though...

...it's really hard to miss!  That's the view everybody else gets of this plant -- I never get to see it backlit except when I'm driving home.

Such a beauty!

For reference, this is what it looked like when I planted it in early July:

I love an annual that can grow a good 10' (3m) tall in a season!


I'm definitely going to collect the seeds from this one.

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