Castor Beans

As a child, my mom warned me about castor beans being poisonous.

Now, when reading, I again see that all parts of the
plant are poisonous.

I am not worried about humans: we have no children close by, but what about wildlife?

You would "think" their instincts would tell them to not mess with it, but does anyone know for sure?

I am trying to have a garden which will be a sanctuary for birds, bees, butterflies, beneficials, frogs, turtles, etc.

Any help will be most appreciated. This concerns me greatly.

Love, Lavanda

Had them for 9 years never had a problem.I do believe all parts are poisonous,so just take care with them,you should be fine.

Hi Lavanda,
The whole plant is poisonous, especially the bean. According to Cornell University, one bean can kill a child !! They recommend that if you grow the plant, you should remove and destroy the flowers so that it will not set seeds. Sure makes sense.
Good luck,
Ron

Thanks, Ron, but my main concern is for the wildlife.....

I'm right in the middle of the city,so wildlife is not the same here,I have heard they deter gophers,I would think animals would sense that they are poisonous,if you keep the flowers off,you will have a larger plant,I just learned this from Kyle,this may become tough in your area,you could have a ten foot plant...

I too have had Castor beans for several years now, and I have never had a problem with them. As far as wildlife being hurt by them....I can't say for sure positive. But in raising hogs my FIL said they wouldn't eat anything that would hurt them, yet they would eat everything else. Our goat was the same way...neither one would eat pok salad. Which is poisonous. The pigs would eat every green thing in sight, leaving only the pok salad stalks. Our goat use to do the same thing.
I know that the plants deter moles and voles, but I don't think it kills them I think it just runs them off.
It might be worth some further research though just so you'll know for sure.

MOllybee,

I have thought the same: that if something is poisonous to a species, they wont touch it. I would think that God grants
that to His creations (except humans our stupid curiosity.)

I am hoping to have a tropical "looking" and think the ricinis would look tropical and be fast growers too...

Which ones do you have?They do give the look!and other then Dw threating to make me Burritos out of them,I can't say they have done harm.

Yep if you want tropical and you want fast growing...you are planting the right plant!! Go for it!

LOL Root!

Root, I dont have any yet- I am a begger this spring, hoping to be able to give back to everyone who is helping right now.

There are two figs which are not leafed out yet, but the trunks are green underneath the bark.

But I am thinkin cannas, nanners, elephant ears, castor beans. And palms- and our septic tank drain field is always a warm microclimate in the yard, so I am gonna plant some of
the plants which like wet feet and are not that hardy here right over those drain fields.

Oh, and a southwestern area with hardy prickly pears, etc.

Whenever I have something to take pics of, I will and share.

I grew up in zone 10-11 and so have lots of ideas. I will NOT do bougainvillea, though because they just cant take any cold t all. They are too big (if you wish them to flower) to have anywhere but in the ground, and then they freeze!!!!

Lavanda: I live in the country and have planted castor beans for years. Mostly the wildlife leave the castors alone. It is the smell of the roots that ward off the moles, gophers and rabbits. I think I have read where not to plant them where horses or cows graze by fencelines, they must have the same curiousity level as we humans. I can include some castor seeds in with your sase, if you like.

WHOA!!!!!Back up,we need to rethink here,planting whoppers like these over a drainfield could be a problem!!!!!!Here is pulling a castor bean root out.

We planted ours in our leach field one year and they got so big we had to cut them down with a chainsaw,they didn't get as big 2 years ago,I didn't plant them in the leachfeild,the picture is the shorter ones.....LOL

LOL,looks like a good picture to point out how hard it can be to keep the flower buds off!Those are some whoppers!

Ok, so, Doc & Chick, after all that-- you'd grow the stuff again? Maybe I just need some dried root to ward off my moles. This sounds as bad as 4 o"clock tubers!

I have a flat going now,I love them!

Think about it,if the flowers are THAT high,no one is getting the seeds.......

And boy,is that a bad shot of my DH....he looks like Popeye.....LOL

LOL.had to take another look!Aye ye matie!!need to get him a pipe!

Debby, please I would love some!

Not to worry, THESE are not going over the drain field!

They are going out in the back forty where it will be a wild un-watered-by-humans garden.

It will be reserved for my pampered delicates, tropical babies which NEED water and warmth in the winter.

I still have a ton of seeds if you want some.:0)

Yes, please, what kind?

And what should I do to get them.

Send me an Email with your address.:0)

Rootdoctor: My husband threw his back out yesturday, trying to pull out the castor beans from last year. I told him to pull them out with the truck. So of course it was all my fault...LOL.

Lavanda: I will send you some of my Carmencita Red [grow to 6ft. tall and the gorgeous Purple castor bean[grow to 10 ft.] Then you will be a castor bean addict too, after enjoying them this summer.

Lavanda,mine have the green stalk,I am doing some others too this year.You will love them.

Thanks I am lookin forward to it!

I love you guys!

These are really great!Have a little place away from the horses that I would love to make a little tropical hidaway.If you guys have any seeds for sale or sase I would love to try them!Really love the red stem.Its awsome! Thanks!

CC: Do you have a name for the red stem variety. I have grown it for several years. Last fall my seeds weren't viable, must not have matured. I still would like a name to it, never ran across the name.

never knew the name.....

holy jamollie, i'm planning on planting these this spring. wow, that is a big plant. i have moles and i need to get rid of them. they were in my front and back yards last year. all over the place. my back yard abuts the woods which is where they originated from. where should i plant them? i want them to go to the woods again, not push them to stay in my yard. :) help!!!!!!

I'm with you, Debi, are those moles horrible? The "mole chaser" from Harriet Carter didn't work for me tho some in the "Birds an Blooms" crowd claimed it did. Have you seen my pleas for help on this subject? I, too, border the woods.

The last thing I saw was a spray of Castor oil and another oil--anyone have suggestions on how to make our own? It's been a constant battle and I'm gettin nowhere, don't know if my garden with survive until I get the Castor Bean Plant.

Any Master Gardeners here to help?

I'm not a Master Gardener,Just a guy with lots of Castor beans.

Root©ट©¬

This was a really funny thread for me to read. i have grown Castor beans for many years, no problem except when it come time to get the old ones out of the soil!! asper Roots picture. There is one stalk still in my garden, must get it out soon. They are really good for flower arrangeing. I have taken a large leaf or several, used a sharp knife to remove all of the leaf except for the large veins. If left to dry they will assume all kinds of wiry shapes. Also have used the pretty seed pod stems in with other flowers. The small leaves hold up well for flower designs also. Donna

Ok I am ready to plant and have a wall of caster beans, is it best to start them indoors or out?? How fast do they grow? what do you feed them??

Best to start them in the ground,right where you want them,Do you need seeds?

Hey Doc, can I ask some more questions? Just started CB seeds in peat cells, will this be ok?

I was thinking of growing a wall to help shade my Brugs, Got any ideas of spacing here? Good or bad idea?

Thanks :) Vi

BTW, sure miss your "specs" !!!!

LOL,You will be fine,I started some in peat pots,be ready for them to want out of them in a few days,I cut off 2 liter bottles for next pots,What color do you have?the Reds don't get as tall as Greens,For me anyway.
I would put them 2 ft apart,maybe 3 to a group,and save space for Brugs,Kyle gave a good tip,keep the buds of them till they get good height.
for you Hon any time.Root©ट©¬,LOL

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOh Root!

I got Red from Miss Mollybee. Do the green have the red flower as well? (duh?)

Thanx dear, You made my day!

Vi

Nope,the ones I have flower white and the pods are pale green,leaves are green with powdery green stalks.
Blushing like ricinus communis here,LOL

Vi,
This is what the plants looked like last year, but this was early in the growing period. They did grow to at least 9' tall.
I have always called these "red" should I be calling them somthing else?? lol Just saying what I read on the seed pack is all.

This is the seed pod and the flowers on the same plant.