Castor oil plant - planting and care in the open field on the site

In home gardens, you can find a large plant that resembles a palm tree. This is a castor oil plant, planting and care in the open field does not require much effort. Gardeners are attracted by the beautiful carved leaves and unusual flowers of the ornamental plant. A flower can be dangerous to humans, so before growing a plant, you need to familiarize yourself in more detail with its properties.

Features of castor bean

Castor oil is a prominent representative of the Euphorbia family. Africa is her homeland. In the wild, the plant is found in the north and east of the continent. Castor bean has been cultivated as a cultural species since the second half of the 18th century. Then almost every garden in Britain was decorated with this flower. The plant was brought to Europe from India in the 19th century, where oils were obtained from it.

Flowering castor bean bush

Castor oil plant is the only representative of the species. It grows best in loose, sun-warmed and well-hydrated soils that are rich in nutrients. The plant has a powerful stem and beautiful large leaves, the width of which reaches 80 cm. Most often they have a rich green color with prominent veins. Inflorescences resemble panicles and are densely arranged. After the castor oil plant, the care of which does not require much effort, has faded, oval-shaped fruits with thorns form on the stem. They are quite large in size.

Ripe fruits

Classification of castor bean species

Several types of castor bean are known. Most of them are completely different from each other. The most famous are:

• Borbon view. It has a red trunk, in structure it looks more like a tree with large glossy leaves.
• Zanzibar view. The trunk reaches two meters. It has huge dark red leaves.
• Indian or Cambodian species. Its height is only 1.2 m, which is not enough for a representative of such a family. The leaves are dark green in color.
• A variation of Gibson. The plant can grow up to one and a half meters. The leaves are dark red.

In Russia, the most commonly grown variety is "Kazachka". It has a powerful stem and beautiful flowers. The plant blooms throughout August and September, but feels great until the first frost.

Castor oil plant: growing from seed, when to plant for seedlings

Castor bean can grow from seeds that have fallen into the ground, but it is also bred by growing seedlings. In central Russia, seeds begin to be prepared for planting from mid-April. In the southern regions, this can be done a month later. For seedlings to remain healthy, they need ten hours of daylight. It can be provided with additional lighting.

Before sowing, the seeds must be processed to get rid of the thick shell that makes it difficult for the sprout to exit. Scarification takes place with sandpaper. It is used to treat the surface of each seed. After the procedure, the germination process will accelerate several times. After processing, the seed is soaked in a growth-stimulating composition or ordinary water for a day.

Castor bean seeds

Plastic containers are used for planting. They are half filled with nutrient soil.Then the seeds are spread over the surface, pressing 20-30 mm. Scarified castor bean seeds sprout already on the third or fourth day.

Home seedlings are developing very actively. After the first leaves appear, it is necessary to rearrange the containers to a cooler, but well-lit place.

As the flower grows, the container is filled with additional soil. This is done until it is full. If the castor oil plant, planting and caring for which is quite simple, develops too quickly, it needs an additional transplant into a more spacious pot. The size of the shoots before planting in the ground should not exceed 100 cm in height. When the threat of night frosts has passed, the plants are planted outside. To reduce the likelihood of injury to the root system, it is better to do this with a clod of earth.

Dive seedlings

Features of planting in a seedless way in open ground

With this method of growing, plants are less resistant to natural disasters. In this regard, the castor oil plant, which is grown immediately in the ground, must be protected from low temperatures with a covering material. The beds are prepared not earlier than the first ten days of May, when the air temperature warms up well. Place 2-3 seeds in the hole.

Features of care in the garden

Correct care of castor oil plant consists of several procedures. Watering should be abundant (a bucket of water per bush), but not too frequent (once a week). The place where the plant is located should be sunny and sheltered from the wind.

When deciding how to feed the castor oil plant for rapid growth, you need to take into account its size and needs. The plant responds well to nitrogen compounds. It is better to start feeding a couple of weeks after planting in the ground. The soil in which the castor oil plant will grow, when to plant it, you can find out on the Internet, should be nutritious.

You can not sow culture where children and animals are. This is a deadly risk for people who are hypersensitive to such plants. Even when using gloves, wash your hands with soap and water after handling the flower.

When and how it blooms

The plant has rather small flowers, collected in a brush. There are male and female inflorescences. The former have a pistil and are located in the upper part of the stem. The latter have stamens, and they grow below. The fruits hide in the foliage and are covered with thorns. The boxes are colored yellow, pink and purple, and the seeds are copper-colored with an original pattern of brown lines.

The plant is pollinated by the wind. This should be taken into account when deciding how and where to plant castor oil plants from seeds. Flowering begins in late July or early May and can continue until the very cold. Blooming castor oil plant literally transforms the site.

Plot decoration

Post-flowering care

Castor oil plant cannot survive severe frosts, so the next year you have to plant it again.

Before winter comes, some gardeners collect castor bean seeds for planting. This is done at the end of November. However, the seeds do not always fully ripen. It is much easier to buy them at a seed store, which sells already selected material with good germination. Self-collected seeds can be stored for no more than four years.

To get seed, you need:

1. Choose the fluffiest inflorescence, removing the rest of the peduncles from the stem.
2. Carefully pick and split the grown and dried fruits.
3. Dry the resulting seeds for several weeks and put them in canvas bags for storage. When winter passes, it will be possible to grow seedlings from them.

Possible growing problems

Castor bean rarely needs chemical treatments, as it can cope with most pests on its own. However, the shrub is not immune to disease. The most dangerous for the plant are:

• powdery mildew;
• rot is gray;
• late blight
• bacteriosis.

For the treatment and prevention of these diseases, the plantings are treated with fungicides or Bordeaux liquid.

Of the pests, the most dangerous are the caterpillars of the moth; wireworm; sandy lollipop and bedbugs. To protect young growth, after planting in the ground, it is treated with potassium permanganate in a weak solution or spices are planted nearby, which scare away harmful insects.

All this you need to know in order to understand why castor oil plants grow poorly in the garden.

The benefits and harms of castor bean

The beneficial and harmful properties of a plant are due to its chemical composition. The plant contains fatty acids that are necessary for the body, and ricin, which is dangerous for humans and animals. During processing in production, all toxic substances evaporate, but the risk of negative effects is possible if the end product is used uncontrollably.

Castor oil is made from castor oil, which effectively cleanses the intestines and, if taken correctly, is completely safe even for children. Castor oil is sometimes used to stimulate labor during prolonged labor. Any use of drugs with castor oil must be agreed with the doctor.

The plant is also widely used in cosmetology. It helps with such problems:

• brittle and dry hair;
• dandruff;
• slow growth and loss of eyelashes;
• acne and black spots on the skin.

The plant contains poison that can harm humans and animals. That is why you cannot touch the castor oil plant without gloves, and after contact, you should immediately wash your hands and face. At the first sign of poisoning, you should cleanse the stomach with a probe or induce vomiting, take activated charcoal and wait for an ambulance doctor. In people with hypersensitivity to castor bean components, its use causes an allergic attack.

Use in medicine and cosmetology

The beauty and uniqueness of the castor oil plant makes it popular with gardeners all over the world. The plant has a number of beneficial properties. But do not forget about the toxicity of the flower and the care that must be observed when growing it.