Castor oil plant, the cultivation of which we will consider in this article, belongs to plants belonging to the family of euphorbiaceae. This is a rather thermophilic plant, therefore, in those regions where frosty winters are rare, castor oil plants can be grown for several years in a row. What can not be said about the middle lane of our country, where it is bred exclusively as an annual one. The grown bushes of castor oil plants are really very beautiful, so they look great not only in gardens or gardens, but also in city squares or parks. You can even create beautiful compositions from castor oil.
Despite the fact that the final size of castor oil plants depends on its variety, in principle, it can be considered non-capricious regarding plant growth. Even if the soil is poor, you don’t have to worry about how to grow castor oil. This plant feels great on such soils. True, its development will be slowed down. Therefore, castor oil plant is best grown on fertile soils. Ideally, if it is black soil. Of course, pre-fertilized with organic fertilizers.
Castor oil, the cultivation of which is practiced by some gardeners, gardeners, very “respects” those places that are well lit by the sun. At the same time, she will not refuse from abundant watering. It is undesirable to plant castor oil in open areas that are thoroughly blown through by the winds. From this, its stems can either break, or begin to spread to the ground, so they will need additional garter to the stakes previously inserted into the ground.
When to plant castor oil plant? I must say that even those gardeners who have not previously encountered such a plant as castor oil plant, they are quite free to grow it from seeds, because special efforts are not required for this. For this, it’s all that is necessary to plant the seeds directly in the soil. But it is advisable to do this when it warms up well. If you place the seeds in cold soil, then they most likely will not sprout. And if sprouts appear, they can soon die from spring frosts.
After maturation of castor oil plants and in the event that it is planned to grow further, seeds must be collected from its ripened seed boxes. However, this must be done before the autumn frosts “hit”, so that the seed bolls mature. The fact is that castor oil plants bloom only four months after planting, and seed maturation occurs another month after that. From this we can conclude that in order to get high-quality seed, castor oil is best planted not with seeds, but with seedlings. Although, with the collection of seeds, you can not particularly bother, but simply order these via the Internet or by mail.
Castor oil plant, the cultivation of which has recently become very popular, has thick-coated seeds. At first glance, they may seem dense, but shoots quite freely penetrate such a shell. So the seeds before planting do not even need to be pre-soaked. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to grow castor oil from seeds and this process requires patience and perseverance. And most importantly - do not forget the seeds planted often and abundantly watered.
Planting of castor oil seeds is carried out approximately to a depth of 9-10 cm. In some cases, the seeds can simply be laid out on the ground, and sprinkled on top with fertile soil. Sometimes it is practiced planting seeds in an ordinary way in boxes, although in order for seedlings to really turn out to be good, seeds for it are best to immediately place them in separate pots. So each shoot will have enough room for growth, and the roots will not be injured during transplantation. Seeds for seedlings are best sown in early March, at this time of the year the plant will develop well.