We haven't yet had a hard freeze here in St. Paul. The castor beans don't seem to mind nighttime temperatures in the low 30's one bit. We'll need a saw to take them down in the coming weeks.
Erick
Minnesota Castor Beans
Holy Smokes, that's gigantic!! I think you'll need a chain saw for sure!
:) Donna
Agreed Donna. The trunks are as thick as any tree of their size. All in one growing season - amazing.
Erick
I see them grown here but never that tall! I always like them in somebody elses yard.
:) Donna
That is amazing! I will trade you ? for some seeds if you will dmail me.
Sure looks so happy!
Won't the first freeze make it all mush so it will be easy to cut down?
Donna, we were surprised at the height as well. We expected 8 - 10 feet, but ended up closer to 16 feet! They have been a real conversation point with our neighbors all summer.
KayJones, I would be delighted to share seeds if I had any. I can see the flowers and seed pods way at the top of the plants, but they won't have time to mature before our first hard freeze. I always buy them every spring from one of the seed companies. They are not expensive at all, and every seed I've ever planted has germinated.
Kell, we're hoping they will be easier to take apart after the first hard freeze. But we will still need to saw through those stems. They are amazingly solid. It will be a fun experience!
Erick
My husband and I just pulled up about 30 plants Fri. We had to take a big chain put it around the bottom of the plant, used a big log for leverage and a fence post to pull them out. There were some we didn't think we were going to get up but they finally came.
After a freeze it just turns the leaves to mush, doesn't have any effect on the trunk.
Kay if you want some seeds let me know, I have plenty.
Holy Smokes! You've got a privacy fence there for sure! Do you have two different kinds growing there?
:) Donna
Yes I have red and green ones. I used them to help shade my tomatoes this year. Last year I had the jumbo sunflowers, but I really like the Castor Beans the best.
how come my reds only grew to about 3 ft, in full sun?
jealous in houston
Is it maybe to hot or dry?
Like Vossner, mine only got about 5' tall. I was thinking yours might be a different variety, with a stronger growth gene.
Kay,
I have lots of seeds. Mine get about 10-12 ft tall. They're the red variety. If interested, send me a SASBE.
Jan...
Soil light and watering will play a huge role on how large your casto beans will get. The green variety tends to get a bit larger. I have grown the red ones to 20ft and the green ones to 25 ft. I have also seen a variegated form true from seed. Hard to find but its out there.
Mine are planted in a sandy soil, and they got full sun and I watered heavy about every other day. Whenever my tomatoes would get a good watering the castor beans would too. I think they were about 12 to 15 ft. tall. Both the red and the green were the same height.
Erick,
My castor bean was almost as tall as yours. She had lots of leaves and some blooms and seeds.
Wilma blew off all the foliage, seeds and knocked her half over.
Lucky me, I have been saving seeds, somewhere in a coffee can, so I can grow more later, on my own property instead of this rental place. That happens at the end of November.
Molly
:^)))
Hey, Brian
Can you show up a pic of the Variegated Castor?
Sounds really interesting? Is it also a showstopper?
Also info on where to get seeds would be great.
~Nuts
I saw the plant years ago in NC at a friend collectors house. I did not take pictures but he did have a website up with pics. Unfortuanitly he took his website down due to people stilling pictures to sell plants. So now I don't have a link or a pic of the plant. He had told me he would have extras seed I will have to contact him and see if he has some this year. He is in to variegated plants and had a lot of interesting oddities. I think he also have another form of casto bean. I will have to get more of the green form might be interesting to breed it with the red form? Anyone try this yet?
Also I should add that the castro bean is hardy here. Not the plant but seeds and it has come back for the last 5 years from seed. I do mulch some plants around so they maybe getting mulched up a bit. But every year I am picking them out like weeds. That and moon flowers.
OK, here is a dummy question. Is my castor bean going to come back from the seed I planted this year, or do I have to plant new seeds.
Molly, they are definitely worth planting again. I'm sorry Wilma wasn't kind to yours. Wind is definitely the biggest threat to them, especially when they are planted singly or in small groups.
Vossner, all the plants from last year rebounded again this year, so they are perrenial here. I was just shocked. But happy. Maybe yours will come back too. I am hoping for another year, they look like trees now.
Molly,
Can I change my mind on a couple of seeds? Now that I have no shade?
Hap
Hap,
If Molly can't find her's right now with moving, I have plenty for you.
Jan...
Hap --
Do you like Mexican Sunflowers? Needs no shade (makes its own) and isn't too thirsty, either. After both hurricanes whopped it down I used bricks to hold it up. Now it is horizontal and kinda funny looking but it is blossoming and I am taking many 'cuttings'. Just stick them in the ground and most have started new leaves. I have a couple in pots, too. LMK
:)
Sue
What does the mexican sunflowers look like?
: )Donna
OMG! That is one gigantic Castor Bean plant!! Kind of reminds me of "Jack and the Beanstalk".
Thanks Jan....
Just back online, Donna. Go to PlantFiles and do a generalized search for Mexican sunflower. I have the golden yellow version. It's my first season and I am cutting them for indoors. Very cheerful even if they don't last too long when cut. But they produce so many blossoms! Not to be off topic, Erick.
We're heading Twin Cities way in December and I wonder what will still be growing in your garden/yard!
:D
Sue
Hello Sue.
Unfortunately, the castor beans have now succumbed to our winter cold. They are frozen solid in the mulch pile, covered with several inches of snow. We will definitely grow them again next year!
Erick
Yeah - Just talked with folks in Lakeville, MN about the few inches of snow there yesterday. Nice...even for shoveling...not the 6:30am gotta shovel fast to get to work...
We had t-shirt weather here. Even trimmed and planted a few coleus.
Yea for the coleus, soozer. I took some cuttings myself a couple of days ago and will be putting them in the good ol' earth soon. Ain't is wonderful?
Hap
Spreadin' coleus color, too, Hap!
:)
Yup