If you find castor oil in a strange garden (the photos showing this plant show a palm tree) - then it is possible that you will not be able to forget it. And want to plant on your site.
This is a powerful, hardy and very decorative plant. If you want to create a subtropic effect in your garden, castor oil will help you a lot. Landing and caring for it is not difficult, and even more than will pay off. It is only necessary to consider some features.
Castor oil plant: planting and care
Three plants will be enough for you to create a spectacular composition in the flowerbed. They grow very fast. A month is enough for them to reach a height of one and a half meters. Castor oil plant in Russia is also called castor tree, or simply “castor tree”. This plant comes from Africa - there it is perennial.
In the days of the pharaohs, castor oil was used as a component of cosmetic formulations, as well as poison. In the subtropics, castor oil (planting and caring for it is not practiced there - this plant in that area is most often wild) can reach ten meters in height. True, this requires several years. In the middle lane, castor oil plant is an annual. Therefore, such a height is unattainable. The plant in question is extremely unpretentious. All he needs for life is the bright sun and the absence of cold weather. They can easily be avoided by planting seeds in the ground in late May or early June. All other difficulties - drought, shadow, draft - castor bean are not afraid. If possible, fertilize and loosen the soil in your area, moisten it as much as possible. But if you do not have time to care for the soil, then this will only affect the splendor and duration of castor bloom. In general, she, even groomed, looks good. Large leaves resembling palm trees do not lose their brightness. And the seeds appear from the ovary almost always.
Breeding
Collecting spherical spiny fruits is the only way that the mentioned plant can be propagated. But the seeds give almost one hundred percent germination - castor oil is also beneficial. Planting and caring for seeds harvested in late summer are simple and straightforward. After removing from the prickly boxes, you need to place them in a cool place for wintering. And in May or at the end of April to plant. There is a direct connection between how early the seeds are in the soil and how tall the plant is.
Castor oil plant: poisonous or not?
Animals most often bypass this plant. And they’re doing it right - because it contains powerful poison. It is found in seeds and is called ricin. This is the only dangerous substance that contains castor oil. Planting and caring for it should exclude the possibility of contact of children with the seeds of the plant. This toxin is extremely dangerous and has no antidotes. Despite such a dangerous feature, castor oil is considered a useful plant. Some substances isolated from it are used in the pharmaceutical industry. For this purpose, castor oil is grown in Brazil, India and Ethiopia. Currently, scientists are actively exploring the possibility of using substances contained in castor oil plant for the treatment of neoplasms.