plant hoarding
The Castor Bean Plant, Ricinus communis, what a fascinating plant. I wouldn’t exactly call this “rare” but it certainly isn’t wide spread up here in Victoria, B.C. The Victoria Parks department have a knack for using strange tropicals but other then that I haven’t encountered any amateur gardeners using it in their borders. Being an avid nursery junkie, it’s also quite rare to see these for sale in the stores. The Castor Bean has gorgeous tropical foliage and unusual spiky poisonous seed pods. I’ve been in love with this plant since the first day I spotted it at a botanical garden in Gottingen, Germany. Shortly after seeing it at the gardens I spotted a small package of seeds at a German garden center and “accidently” smuggled them back to Canada.
The original Castor Bean that sparked my interests in Gottingen, Germany.
The Castor Bean plant is native to Africa but can be found throughout the world due to human admiration. Ricinus communis dies at the first sign of frost but in the southern states, Mexico and beyond the plant tends to naturalize easily and sometimes even become a invasive nuisance. Ever clear a patch of 40 foot castor beans out of your ditch, oh what a life that would be. Due it’s deadly nature it’s no surprise to me to learn that it’s in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) and is related other menacing plants. Besides being cultivated for it’s striking good looks, Ricinus communis is also grown for it’s versatile Castor Oil. It seems to be used for everything from folk medicine (laxatives etc) to adhesives, inks and dyes. Fascinating!
Castor Beans are easily grown from seed.
I’ve had very few problems with this plant. The spider mites seem to enjoy it but by no means kills it, only slows it down. Another time I spotted some little green cabbage catapillars on them, but I suspect they wouldn’t be long for this world. Due to the fact that the entire plant carries high levels Ricin (A deadly poisonous chemical read more here) pests generally stay clear of this plant. Castor beans like regular watering and fertilization and will do best in full sun.
How to Over Winter Your Castor Bean
I would say the main cause of death to these plants in Victoria would be frost. In a panic last October I searched the internet seeking advice on how to overwinter these mindblowing specimens. At the time my stock was rather small and I considered bringing them indoors. Having had entirely too much to bring inside already I opted to take a different route and brought them into the greenhouses at work. While they lost all of their leaves, come mid March/April they started to flush out again and this year they were even more incredible. I still have the original 2 specimens that I grew from the seeds from Germany (1 red leafed and 1 green leafed) and both are loving life. Castor beans DO NOT have to be considered annuals in the north, just make sure to keep them in a greenhouse with plenty of sun, no frost, and lowered watering. Any stories of keeping them alive in a basement would also be interesting to hear, contact me and share a tale.
Needless to say, Ricinus communis is a great plant to add the collection and it will be a very sad day when the frost finally claims these beauties. My current specimen 2 years later is nearly 8 feet tall and in full bud, hopefully I’ll get some of those wacked out seeds I saw so many years ago.
Castor bean flower.
Unusual Castor Bean Planting?
Look at how similar these plants look. Fatsia japonica, Tetrapanax papyriferus & Ricinus Comunis. Your homework today is to create a mind blowing planting of the three, and take a photo to share with the world. Due date, next season! 🙂
A quick garden tour for those curious as to what’s blooming, and generally looking incredible right now.
I have a love hate for Polemonium boreale, of which I acquired my first specimen a couple years ago. The plant starts off looking like a fern in early spring and as thing’s get hotter sends up these spikes of purple flowers. Polemonium self seed rather easily and situate themselves in the strangest places. I wouldn’t worry about them being invasive, they come out easily if you don’t like, but in time you’ll have no shortage of seedlings to pass off to friends and family. This specimen in particular surprised me, looking quite photogenic at the time I took the photograph. I prefer them in spring as foliage plant, but this photo gives a close look into their interesting little flowers.
Sedum album (coral carpet sedum) is flowering all over my garden. I originally found this specimen in a crack of pavement down by Dallas Road Beach. From 1 strand of sedum beads I’ve spread this plant all over my garden and Victoria (plant sales). This sedum is vigorous and practically idiot proof. The sedums have been flowering for a couple weeks now and now it’s Sedum album’s turn. What interesting little flower heads it has.
My girlfriend and I dug up this Onopordum acanthium last season and this one is starting to flower. Well over 6 feet tall this potted specimen reaches towards the sky. I like tall fast growing plant species, in a garden where much of the interest is a foot level, it’s nice to have things grow taller then myself. These add great architecture to the garden and are as bizarre as they are practical. Being a biannual this specimen will die, but not before leaving me 1000 seeds to replicate it’s good looks. Great natural deer fences, Onopordum are a tough plant indeed.
This Abutilon pictum Thompsonii (variegated flowering maple) has been flowering since I got it at the UVIC Annual Plant Sale in early May. Although Abutilon are commonly referred to as flowering maples, they aren’t a part of the Acer family at all. Abutilon pictum is native to Brazil.
One of the latest plant hoarding must haves, Desfontainia spinosa is an interesting cusp hardy perennial native to the Andes in South America. I first saw this plant at Abkhazi Garden a couple of years ago and it blew me away. I recently spotted this specimen for sale and I had to have it. While it looks like a relative to a holly tree (Ilex), it’s something much stranger. Desfontainia spinosa is the only species in it’s genus, and holds magical powers beyond it’s spiky demeanor. After a little research it turns out Desfontainia is a mild psychedelic. A tea can be made from it’s leaves that can be drunk to produce wild visions, some medicine men of the Andes say they “go crazy” under it’s influence. Needless to say I won’t be trying it anytime soon, but I’ve always enjoyed the lore and tales magical plants have to offer. If anyone knows anything else about this plant I’d love to learn more. Wild stuff eh?
Another plant hoarding moment, I aquired this Tetrapanax papyriferus last week after many years of admiration in selective gardens throughout Victoria. They all might have come from one grower on the island, and it’s interesting to have finally tracked one down. I will go into further detail on this plant at a later date, for the moment let me just say I love it.
Just another photogenic moment with a Pulmonaria and a Salvia hotlips.
This patch of Digitalis ‘Suttons Apricot’ was planted last season and spent most of it’s time concentrating on leaf growth and root development. This year the real fireworks came out with over 5 stalks of mind blowing pink blooms. This stalk in particular is over 6 feet tall and has lasted more then 3 weeks. Incredible!
I found this tree lupin on a beach in the winter of 2009 and is really making it’s debut this summer. What seems like endless flowers and amazing leaf structure, I grew this 6 foot tall specimen from a seedling no bigger then a can of coke. After a rainstorm the leaves hold water like little diamonds, there are so many reasons this is a great plant to grow.
I found this Dianthus barbatus in my garden well before I knew anything about gardening. At the time, it looks almost weed like, but it had a couple characteristics that made me double think composting it. After 2 years of novice gardening it bloomed, and every since it’s only got bigger and more impressive. A closer look at the flowers reveals almost orchid like markings.
Farfugium crispata is increidbly photogenic, oddly aquired at a Thrifty Foods grocer Store. You never know where you’re going to find the latest plant strangeness. I’ll go further into this another day.
We recently harvested our purple sprouting broccoli and made a delicious chicken stir fry. Funny how it took 3-4 months to create enough broccoli for one meal, vegetable gardening is still not my main fortay. I can make every flower in my garden bloom like clockwork but getting a decent head of broccoli proved a challenge. We will try again in the fall.
Yes my Hoya carnosa is still flower, 2 and a half months later, and still more buds shows up everyday. This plant has outdone itself and has earned my eternal admiration and respect.
The buds of the Hoya drip a sweet syrup nectar to encourage polinators. It has a sweet scent and taste. The hummingbirds would love this plant if it was outside, tis a shame inside it only gets pollinated visited by the odd house fly.
Until next time, thank you for coming for the tour. Happy Canada Day!
