Castor Beans

Hello,

I was reading the entry in the plant database about castor beans and I have some questions. It said to use this plant with caution. Are they a vine? I see that the seeds are poisonous. Is the whole plant poisonous? Do they need a supporting structure?

Thanks,
Sharon

i grew 2 kinds this year-i luv them. over 10 ft tall and tropical looking. i have 5 boys and kittens and we all made it. they are a show stopper.

Thanks for the info. I guessing wildlife such as birds and rabbits tend to leave it alone too. I don't have any small children and my dog is inside 99% of time, except for latrine trips. I think I'll give it a try.

Thanks,
Sharon

I grew two different varieties this year and next year I am growing two more varieties. They are very tropical in appearance, I had one get to 15 ft. tall. The pink and the red varieties are shorter about 6 ft. tall. They are supposed to repell Moles, rabbits and such. They don't like the smell of the plants. When we were Kids, my Aunt always had a row of castor beans planted. We would play amongst them with no ill effects. Debby

Mine grew to 15 feet this summer also and were a show stopper. I had to go around and under and through the castor beans plants to get to the tomatoes plants and did not have any ill effects but if you have sensitive skin it could be. I hope to always have these plants in the garden - have a few cats and dogs were around and were alright. So I say - plant the beans...

Mine didn't quite make 15', but I do have a picture of it in my have list. Just click on 'More Info'. They are very impressive.

Hi,
I'm new here. Not banned yet on the GW but I don't comment much on it, just read the threads and trade seeds, sometimes plants. I'm sorry to hear about the troubles on GW. Anyway, I have grown castorbeans for years. I wouldn't make any castor bean burritos or chili but they make a great screen. Mine usually get about 10-12 feet tall. They will tolerate our extreme heat, dry and windy conditions. They grow like a tree, looking very tropical. When the seeds set in bunches of pink or red balls they look great. I've read that the leaves can cause dermatitis but I've spent a lot of time gardening around them brushing up against them with bare arms, legs even my face and have not had any irritations develop. We have had small children and animals in the yard but the children know that they are not to mess with the plants and they pretty much leave them alone. None of my pets seem to be attracted to them. They are easy to start.

Tom

Hey, Tom, you're just a few miles(80-90)west of me. I go to Independence about once a month. I grow caster beans too. Moles and other underground tunneling critters hate the smell that the roots exude. If you grind the beans and spread the powder around the garden the burrowing critters will leave too. I've never even had one of our poultry eat one of the seeds.
I do understand they are extremely toxic and there is no trace of the substance which is lethal in the system. There is also no antidote. The beans have been used to commit murder. It appears to be death from natural causes. My DH found this info on the internet.
We've only raised the green and red ones. I didn't know there is a pink cultivar.

Castor beans are beautiful. When our home was new I planted them around our raised deck and in a couple other areas. They were so pretty and grew so fast. I don't grow them now because I don't have enough sun. I know the seeds are poisonous, I don't know about the rest of the plant. We played around casterbeans when we were children and none ever became sick because of it. A lot of very common plants are poisonous. As a precaution I removed the seed pods as they came on except for a few in the very top for seeds.
http://www.geocities.com/nelsbj2000/casterbeans.jpg

I wanted to post a follow up pic of our upper deck as it is today.
http://www.geocities.com/nelsbj2000/home/upperdeck.jpg