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tall castor bean
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Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Sun, Sep 13, 09 at 1:00
| Good morning folks. I'm currently here at Wilderness Grand Canyon at Wisconsin Dells. They have to many beautiful plants in front. I saw their red castor beans and it matched the height of my castor beans at home. However, they have this green castor beans that stole the show. I think it was 15' tall. What type of castor bean would that be? This will help me buy the right castor bean seed next time. I would like to have a castor bean plant that tall.
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: tall castor bean
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| I don't know if your still down there, but stop and check out Olbrich Gardens in Madison on you way back to Illinois. I was there Saturday and was amazed at that place. The outdoor gardens are huge...tons of variety. Even has a huge Thai temple! Can't help you on the castor bean! |
RE: tall castor bean
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| I'll do it next time. I was at Madison last Sunday afternoon. Thanks for this info. :) |
RE: tall castor bean
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| Update: I'll bring my family there on Oct 3 :) Thanks for sharing! |
RE: tall castor bean
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Sat, Sep 19, 09 at 20:41
The species plant like you see in the picture will grow very tall. These are around 15 ft, with leaves more than 4' across. The trunks are about 6" in diameter. They were from seed sown direct in the ground when soil temps reached 55*. The pic was taken in late Aug, and the plants grew another 2' taller than you see before frost took them. I'm guessing that I could easily have had plants 18' tall had I started them indoors & worked at watering & fertilizing. I really didn't TRY to get them this tall - they did it even in spite of considerable neglect. I've posted the picture before:
 Look me up in the spring if you remember & I'll send you some seeds. Al |
RE: tall castor bean
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| Just saw your post! Awesome tapla! We can swap in spring. :) I have few red castor bean seeds. |
RE: tall castor bean
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Thu, Oct 1, 09 at 14:52
| These pics are from '08. This year I grew the smaller 'Carmencita Red' and 'Gibsonii', so I'll have lots of seeds from the more diminutive & red plants. I actually got the seeds for the plants in the picture from a local farm supply store. They have them every year and are very reasonable, so I'll be happy to purchase and send you some of those, too. Al |
RE: tall castor bean
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| wow. that is beautiful and now on my.. I gotta get that list. |
RE: tall castor bean
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| Al, what is that lovely variegated plant in front of the Castor Bean? Perfect foil for green Castor. Assume it's not hardy here but would like to investigate it. I could use an upright, variegated plant in a couple spots. Thanks! Leslie |
RE: tall castor bean
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Sun, Oct 25, 09 at 12:10
Hi, Leslie ........ and apologies for the cross-chatter to the OP.
Brugmansia 'Variegata' is the plant in the foreground. It's not hardy, of course, but I've over-wintered late summer cuttings for several years, though it never quite got to bloom stage. It would get buds, but the frost always took the plant before it could bloom, so I shipped some cuttings to a friend in CA and scrapped it. Even if only grown for its foliage it is still an attractive plant, though. You could prolly get it to bloom for you - especially if you over-wintered the whole plant, instead of taking cuttings as I did. Al |
RE: tall castor bean
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| I've been thinking about growing castor beans to discourage voles, which are a plague in my yard, but am hesitant because of the toxicity, and having grandchildren who visit occasionally. Do any of you think the toxicity is much of a problem, do you have trouble with the plant itself or getting rid of the plant after it dies down after frost? Is it easy to collect the seeds before they can scatter? |
RE: tall castor bean
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| Thanks for plant ID, Al. I like the 'Carmencita Red' coloration but don't have space with enough sunlight to give it a home. |
RE: tall castor bean
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Collecting seeds can be hard for some varieties as when they ripen the pod explodes but most will mature in their pods. Never have had a problem with the plant. Getting rid of the plant after a freeze may amount to having to chop it down and cut up as you know some grow very large. The toxicity isn't that bad. One wife after reading about the "poison" quality of the plant decided to try and murder her husband, it made his sick after a while. She went prison for attempted murder. My dogs nor my cats ever have any problems, they just aren't interested. My children or the neighbors never bother with the plant. I did grow one beside our home on the north side and it did much better, I believe because of our hot weather here in the summer. It was planted less than a foot from the garage and I never saw a problem but it only got to be about 8' tall and the seeds broadcast out into the yard where some tried to grow before being mowed down. I did once have a green Caster Bean and its pods looked like a chestnut husk with seeds the size of a jellybean. Those do not cast their seeds and are easy to harvest. I don't know what variety I have now but the seeds are much smaller and explode when ripe so I had to watch and as soon as they start to turn I would pick them and store in a envelope where they would explode within the day.
Paul |
RE: tall castor bean
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| Thanks, Paul, they sound like an interesting plant to grow and I am tempted at least for the sake of trying to poison voles. My brother in Houston did have an incident of a dog that got poisoned by eating a castor bean, I forget what the outcome was. It sounds like normal handling is safe enough. |
RE: tall castor bean
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Wed, Nov 11, 09 at 18:16
| I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket Hemnancy. The sites that have a ring of legitimacy to them, like universities that have none testing on the effectiveness of the beans and plants as a repellent for a variety of small mammals and rodents, voles specifically among them, have reported both beans and plants as ineffective. If you want to see how to control voles via a rodenticide, contact me off forum and I'll share the product and a picture/description of easily made dispenser that keeps non-target animals from accidentally ingesting. The only time I ever have trouble with voles over the winter is if I'm too lazy (or forget) to fill the dispensers in the fall. Al |
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