Castor Bean contest?

I think they will still keep growing, give them lots of water if you can.

Cut off the flowers. It will waste it's energy with early blooming. It will continue to grow.

Okay, I've been watering them every two days. Oh, I'll cut off the flowers then.

Do we have any seeds yet?

no seeds yet.

mine is on it's second round of seeds.
The largest has a 12 inch round trunk. It became so big that large branches have broken off when it bloomed. It didn't help that there are heavy woodrose vines in it too..I have to keep pulling them off.

I'm wondering if we're on the verge of a drought...it's been hot and windy for weeks with no rain in the forecase for this area.
rj

Bubba,
Your seeds went out Monday.

Thank you very much! I look forward to getting them!

Bubba
Did you get the seeds?

I'm sorry. Yes, I did. Thank you! They are soaking now, getting ready to plant.

I've got some seeds from 2 seasons ago. Do you think they're still worth planting? Should I just soak them till they pop open then plant or should I start them as seedlings inside till they get their true leaves then put in the ground. What's your advice?

Thanks everyone!

Barbara

Soaking isn't necessary. Just pop them in the dirt and keep damp. Germinates very quickly. I always have lots of babies coming up year round from where ever they hit the ground. Fortunately, they are easily to pull or hoe up when small.

Hey! Anybody know? Are castor bean plants just as lethal to insects as they are to people and animals? I have something chewing on mine and I am hoping whatever it is is gonna die! Does that sound cruel?

nope...I keep trying to get the squirrels to try it.

That makes me laugh! I have 3 squirrels. (That I know of.) When I first noticed them a few years ago I thought they were cute. I still think they are funny. When I go out in my backyard and catch one running across my roof or in my tree I think it's funny the way they freeze and think I don't see them. I walk right up to them and look them in they eye and talk to them 'til they can't stand it, they have to look. But it is irritating to go out and find the new branches of my blushing bride hydrangeas broken. They are not very big to begin with. I have seen ants crawling on my castor bean plants. I am hoping the castor bean plants will kill the ants. We are having a terrible time with them here. I have put 7 granules in the grass and flower beds. I even tried a home remedy last year that called for grape jelly mixed with poison powder. Didn't work.

aaahh...I was wondering why I still had pears on the pear tree in june, because usually there all chowed by then. I think they must have been nesting, because no sooner had I marveled at the fact of having pears, I came home to see pears all over the ground with a bite out of each and tossed. A couple of the squirrels are big as cats, my friend and I couldn't believe our eyes because it was so big. No freezing on this one..he just looks back at you unconcerned. I call it the mutant squirrel. And the behavior...it chased off some pidgeons from the bird bath, and then postured like a an angry bear or chimpanze, boxing the branches of the tree it was in after chasing the pidgeon.

I heard there was an invasion of a new species of ant in Texas this year that was pretty difficult to get rid of because of their numbers.
I haven't tried it, but was told that coffee grounds deter ants. The concept is that the coffee odor interferes with they're communication and navigation.

I sent my sasbe several days ago. Have you received it yet?
Many thanks.
M.

As many ant holes as I have? My yard would smell like coffee. Coffee isn't cheap either. Are you suppose to put it in the hole? Or sprinkle it around?

all of the above. Starbucks gives away their grounds

There isn't a Starbucks in Woodward, but thank you for trying to help. By the way, does your squirrel have a collar and a leash? Ha! ha! Do your pears have growth hormones in them?

LOL, it's probably drinking starbucks coffee!

That would explain throwing the pears! Wrapped a little tight, are they?

They are...They really get irratated at the vines, as they both travel the same pathways, and I've seen the squirrels just go off on the vine

Busybee,
Got yours and several others. Been putting in alot of OT at work but they are all ready to go out in the am. Did you have seeds in yours. Wasn't sure what your note meant but there wasn't anything in it if there was supposed to been. The flap was loose so they could have fallen out or been hyjacked.

Budgie...do you have any red seeds left?

Yep. Just send sasbe. Always have plenty.

On it's way tomorrow!

You're a gem!

Thanks.

I hate squirrels. Call them Tree Rats! Before we had kids, use to shoot them with a bb gun. It just keeps them away for a few days, then they come back. I know a friend that grew up in southern georgia and his mother eat them. She can come and get mine anyday.

*snort* tree rats.

Up in Wisconsin we called them roof rats lol lol

Party Rat

I think they are cute, but they are really starting to aggrivate me. I wait and wait for my cannas to start peaping out of the ground. When they start getting big enough to have the first leaf, I go out to find it's broken. Same with my elephant ears. They broke my bird feeder. How do you feed the birds and thwart the squirrels?

I feed all or none at all , simple☻

They're greedy. Even if you feed them, they will still get in your birdfeeder. Hate 'em.

K people. I need assistance. This is my first year to grow castor beans. LOVE THEM!!! Love the foliage, but I have a question. I have planted both green and red. Aren't the leaves of the red one supposed to be burgandy colored? All mine seem to be green so far. I have spied a purple leaved one on ebay I would like to buy. When I get it and plant it, am I going to be disappointed 'cause when it grows the leaves are going to be green also? I like the green, don't get me wrong, but I was anxious to see the differing colors of foliage. I have also just purchased two new ones, giant zanzibar that is supposed to have leaves up to 3 ft. wide and zanzi palm which is supposed to grow like a palm. Anyone ever grown these varieties before? And can anyone tell me why my red ones are not red?

I can't get my castor beans to germinate. Do you just stick yours in the ground and look for them to come up next year. I'm actually pretty good with seeds, except Castor Beans, Plumerias and Passionflower Vines!

I soak my castor beans overnight, then plant them. In March, when I got my first bunch from Henry Fields, I put them in peat pellets, put the peat pellets in a Jiffy tray, and put a plant light on them. They always started popping out of the pellets in a week. Once they popped out of the pellets, it wasn't long before I had to put them in pots because they just got too tall for the jiffy tray. Also, the roots grew out of the pellets and into the pellets next to them. Once it got warm enough, I just stuck them in the ground. I have heard others say you don't have to soak them but I always have. Not all of them come up, but most of them do. How are you planting yours?

I did soak them for about 24 hours and then I'm trying to germinate them in the coffee filter method. It's hard as a rock. I even sanded them down a little.

I don't know what the coffee filter method is. Put some peat moss in a baggie, dampen the moss (not wet) and plant them in it. I have some ruffled fan palm seeds that are hard as rocks. I soaked them, put them in peat pellets, then put the pellets in baggies. The instructions on these seeds said it would take 60 days at least for them to germinate (or not at all). It said they needed a certain temp. I had the baggie sitting on my kitchen counter for the longest time. Nothing. Then I tried laying it on my heating pad set on low. I finally put the baggie outside where I knew the outdoor temps would keep the bag warm, but I put it in the shade so they wouldn't cook. I just checked them today. Two of them have a root. Have you tried just poking them in the ground and keeping the soil moist until they germinate? It shouldn't take very long. How many seeds do you have?

I planted mine directly in the ground where I wanted them.

Budgielover!!!

I got my seeds! Thanks so much for sharing!