I planted from seed in 2004, didn't grow much in 2005. Didn't die back last winter but right now I have two beautiful small trees, one 3 ft and one 5 ft. I don't want any more, so, do I need to cut the red pods right now? thanks for your help
Castor Bean
here is a closeup of the red pods
Oh yes Nery, cut the pods! You will have them coming up by the hundreds if it goes to seed. (and the seeds can fly a long way) And let me tell you.....just try to dig that tree out of the ground! LOL My DH goes around pulling any that he sees after working for hours a couple of years ago digging a dead tree trunk out! They get huge!!! (But beautiful)
uh oh, the pods have been there for about a month. do you mean seeds have been flying all over the place? I'll cut them off today! yikes
This message was edited May 18, 2006 5:48 PM
Oh no, you'll know when the seeds ripen. That normally doesn't happen til much later in the season.
LOL There used to be a thread on this forum, I think it was titled "Tallest Castor Bean Contest"! It was tons of fun! I'll look for it.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/390294/
Hmmm...wonder what that famous RootDoctor is up to???
This message was edited May 18, 2006 5:48 PM
So here in Dallas what do I have to do to get these to overwinter? Would love to get some that got BIG!
Even here in Minnesota, our green castor beans got 17 1/2 feet last year - in one season! The reds only got to 10 feet or so.
Erick
I think mine in the first pic are supposed to be carmencita, but I don't know for sure. would you agree? IF what I have is not Carmencita, I sure would appreciate a seed or two for SASE.
Mitch, I've not heard of anybody overwintering them since they grow so fast in 1 season, but I'm sure somebody does. You might want to post question in cool weather gardening.
The seed pods are gone. Not only was I concerned about them growing in unwanted areas, but the pods are so cute, that if/when they fell to the ground, it would be the kinda thing my little baby would put in his mouth, and this is a poisonous plants.
I had thought that maybe with mulch the root ball would live... wish I still lived in the tropics some days!
I overwintered a plant in the greenhouse. It is about 2 feet tall now. I'm gonna plant it outside if it ever warms up here in PA.
there ya go, Mitch!
Lol - I would have to build the greenhouse - that means giving up room in ground.... just cannot do that!
What a doll Vossner!
Been watching this thread and I checked on my castor bean today. Low and behold, the darn thing is blooming and it's less than 2' tall. What's up with that? Seems like it happened overnight, too. Now will it keep getting taller and bloom more? I know I have to watch out for the seeds from these blooms. About how long after blooming should I anticipate seeds?
Thanks all,
Barbara
setting the record straight:
I got the true Carmencita seeds from a lovely DGer, via another DGer, lol. The leaves look totally purple right from the get go. Here is my Carmencita seedling, transplanted inground just this week
This message was edited Apr 12, 2007 5:51 PM
the very first pic on this thread is a castor bean I planted 2 years ago, under the impression it was Carmencita. It is not. There is some red coloring in the leaves, but not solid burgundy like Carmencita. Wish I knew what it is, but won't lose any sleep over not knowing, lol.
It has made a wonderful tree. This Feb. it got zapped by a crazy and totally unexpected freeze, but it's coming back. The trunk is about 2" thick. And even though I was diligent in trimming the seed pods off, I still found about 10 seedlings this spring. They were easy to remove.
This plant is poisonous so not recommended in gardens with kids/pets that put stuff in their mouths. I have no small children and my pets don't seem interested in it.
Here it is, with dead limbs trimmed off. New leaves coming up like crazy.
7 months old
I over-wintered a Carmencita, in the garden. It was bitten pretty bad by frost; the upper part of the tree died. I cut it back to about 2 feet above the ground.
It's growing like crazy - leaves all over it, and it's widening out. I'm sure I'll have a big'n this summer. I'm using it to shade a variegated alo mac.
Steve
i used mine last year to shade my new garden and i let the seeds fall because there were just too many of them and i couldn't reach most of them anyway. i dug them out this winter. oh boy, what a job that was. i had four and they were trees! luckily, the sprouts pull up easily. i guess i've pulled 2 or 3 hundred so far. yikes! oh, nery, one other thing. the bees absolutely love them and, at least in florida, so do all the different kinds of stinkbugs, it didn't faze them though.
I have free castor seed of the above phttp://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=3383611lant I just harvested a big truss with a couple hundred seeds in it. Dmail me and me know how many you need (limit 20).
All I ask is that you send me 2 'forever' stamps when you get your seed.
I haven't had the pleasure of getting to know a stink bug yet, and something tells me I don't want to.
Steve