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flora2_gw

Can I grow the Castor Beans seeds from the pods?

flora2
14 years ago

I know this might sound silly but I am having a terrible time sprouting Castor Bean seeds from the pods themselves. I saved some pods thinking I would start next year plants from those seeds but so far nothing is happening. On the other hand, I had some seeds that I had bought (in a packet) and they sprouted in four days! The seeds in a packet look like a regular bean and the seeds from the pod look --well, like a seed--but nothing like the ones in packets. I am very puzzled and dissapointed. Any suggestions? Thanks

Comments (13)

  • yiorges-z5il
    14 years ago

    1)Soil temperature for germination should be 80-85F.
    2)I usually remove seed from pod to speed up germination...
    3)IF the seed do not look alike then the seed pod did not remain on the plant long enough to mature & therfore will/cannot germinate.

  • flora2
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    yiorges-z5i: I understand what you are saying but I am positive I left the seedpod on the plant --in fact until it turned brown.
    The seeds inside the pod are black and small and the seeds I buy in a packet are like a regular bean--I have collected the seeds many times but I had never tried growing them from the seeds I collected. Needless to say, I am curious. Any ideas? Thanks

  • karyn1
    14 years ago

    I've never seen a solid black castor bean. Some seeds are smaller then others but none are what I'd call small and they all look like beans. It sounds like the seeds you've collected haven't matured for some reason.

  • flora2
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    OK. Maybe I've got it all wrong. When the pods (which are red--although this may vary-- I suppose) turn brown on the plant, they are full of small black seeds. Once the pod dries up and opens up one can collect the small seeds inside. What I don't have clear yet is...if these are not the seeds, then, which are the seeds? I have grown Castor beans for a couple of years and all I have seen is the red pods full of small black seeds. Wish I knew how to post a picture here to be more explicit. Now I am really confused--maybe that is why I can't germinate them--maybe they are not the seeds after all. Thanks so much for discussing this.

  • karyn1
    14 years ago

    The seeds definitely aren't small and black. Take a look at these pics of castor pods and seeds. Hope this helps.

    Here is a link that might be useful: castor pods and seeds

  • token28001
    14 years ago

    Sounds like yours are not getting pollinated. The seeds should look like beans.

  • flora2
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks so much for the info. Now I understand the discrepancy between my seeds and the ones I buy in packets. So, now the question is...is there any way to fix this problem? As I said I have grown them from seed for about three years and this is the only kind of seed I have ever seen on my plants. I garden organically and see a fair amount of bees and wildlife in my backyard --for an urban backyard, that is. I have a couple of fruit trees that get decent fruit. What to do about my Castor beans? Thanks so much. I would have never known otherwise.

  • cheerpeople
    14 years ago

    Hmm,....
    Solid black seeds? Just a thought.... Sounds more like a canna than a castor. You'll have to take a pic and post it. Castor pods are painfully spikey and I have to remove them from the pods them with gloves. Canna 'pods' are smooth and do not require gloves.

  • DebreneLePage
    12 years ago

    I tried growing castor bean plants 2 yrs. ago. Took the seeds off the plant, let them dry, planted them the next spring and nothing came up. Last year I clipped the entire flower head off about 4 inches below the bottom flower. Let it dry, then wrapped it in newspaper. I just dug out 1 of the seeds from the pod, planted it and it is now about an inch high. Since it grows so big fast I'll wait to plant the rest til later on in spring. Hopefully when they get too big for my sunroom, it'll be nice enough to put them outside.

  • wally_1936
    12 years ago

    So far I have never seen any caster bean seeds that did not look like beans. My red caster bean plant seeds explode when they ripen and have to picked when the first start to change color and split or there will be no seeds to harvest. If I did not have time to keep track of when they ripen I would put a paper bag or cheese cloth over them to keep them from broadcasting themselves all over the place. When I was growing the large green caster bean plants with the prickly husk I could leave them on until the following spring as they split open but do not explode.

  • flora2
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi
    I think you guys are very right--the seeds in my pods were not fertilized and thus did not germinate. I do not know how to fix this, unless I can "hire" some bees. I will keep trying because I do love the Castor Bean plant. Thanks a lot

  • JoshFitz
    12 years ago

    Another route you may try, Air Layering. Although this is a little more of an intense method to propagate, it should produce really good results on this plant. I actually currently have some casterbean seeds I've collected from some plants were I work and am going to see if I can get them to germinate myself.

    Hope things work out for you, best of luck.