http://xrl.us/o3jz http://xrl.us/o3jz Pictures of one of my white castor bean plants. This plant is grown for two reasons. It gives a tropical effect, which is very attractive in our northern climate, and any bug that eats the leaves surely dies. So it is biological control of some leaf eaters or so I believe. I have two plants of the white and two of the red. The plants are in ideal locations so I can see just how large they can get by the end of the season. They do not survive our frosts in Zone 5. The red is probably more attractive, but is generally smaller in the leaf than the white one. White and red is the general background colour of the beans they produce. I will post pictures of the beans when they mature. I keep tight control of the beans, meaning I account for everyone, since they are very poisonous to small curious dogs. Here is some detailed information about the plant. http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/castorbean.html Durgan.
http://xrl.us/o4dh http://xrl.us/o4dh Two types of Castor bean I am growing. The Red one has a red stem, and the bean has a red background. The Green type has a white background seed and the stem is all green. People tend to grow the red type, but the green has larger leaves in my experience. Durgan.
The beans aren't just poisonus to your dog, a couple of those beans will kill an adult, one bean alone will kill a child, glad to know your accounting for them all. The sap is also highly toxic, causing severe allergic reactions to some people.
http://www.durgan.org/30%20July%202006%20Green%20Castor%20Bean/HTML/ http://xrl.us/pudf 30 July 2006. Green castor bean plant is getting large. The tropical look is pleasant in our northern climate. Durgan.
http://www.durgan.org/14%20August%202006%20Green%20Castor%20Bean%20(Ricinis%20communis)/HTML/ http://xrl.us/qpny 14 August 2006 Update on growth. Beans are forming. Durgan.
I grew the green variety last year and would agree that the leaves are larger than the red or pink ones. Some of the leaves were nearly a metre across!
How about some pictures? I will measure mine at the end of the season. This is the largest one I have grown so far. The red one is usually more bushy, but this year the two I have are sort of smallish. Durgan.
http://www.durgan.org/8%20September%202006%20Castor%20Bean%20Plants/HTML/ http://xrl.us/rm9t Castor Bean plants with seed pods. Pictures are annotated in lower left. Durgan.
http://www.durgan.org/24%20September%20Ricinus%20Communis%20(%20Red)/HTML/ http://xrl.us/rvum Red castor Bean Plant (Ricinus Communis) seed pods are ripening. The green plant seeds are not ripe as yet. I will post the green bean seeds when ripe. Pictures of the red bean plant are are shown. The pattern is different on opposite side of the beans. Germination is almost 100% judging from last year's effort. The beans should be handled with rubber gloves. A worker in a nursery told me her job was sorting beans from the pods, and she got a severe rash on her hands when sorting the beans. She told me this while I was buying seeds one year. So handle taking reasonable precautions. Durgan.
I am glad you posted a pic of the seeds, Durgan. They are very beautifully patterned. Each one is distinct. They do contain a very strong toxin, so caution is good advice.
I just obtained some castor seed pods and I am drying them out and will try to plant and grow indoors before next spring. Have you tried this method? Jann knis
Usually the seeds are ripened on the tree. I pick them after they are brown, and are dry. They are started indoors about 1 March and the germination rate is almost 100%, and the plant grows quickly. The plants are put in full sun in the ground after danger of frost has passed about the third week of May in Zone 5. Each plant has several hundred seeds, so I cut the clusters off and destroy them, so animals cannot ingest them, since to do so is a sure and painful death, by ricin poisoning. I grow the plant because of the tropical appearance, which is attractive in our cold climate. Anything to create the illusion of the tropics is most welcome. Durgan.