PlantFiles: Red Castor Bean
Ricinus communis 'Carmencita'

I love this plant.

I just transferred one - about a foot tall. I didn't get any soil when I dug it up - just bare root. All the foliage wilted away, but after a few days, it looks as though it's growing new leaves - I think it's going to be OK!

This is grown as an annual up in Alberta,Canada. Any sign of flowers on them are removed in my garden because I have pre-schoolers visiting my garden. The seeds (beans) are toxic!

Even though this site says not to over water, this plant grows best for me in my bog garden. Last year it reached well above 8ft! Love this one!

Here in Kentucky, many people know these unusual plants as mole bean plants. I've never seen the plant available commercially. My family has joked about them for many years. Seeds look like fat ticks, but they are easily gathered in fall for the next season, or simply let them self sew. My father-inlaw suggested them to me years ago to control moles. He said "moles will stay away from any area with these plants near as moles hate them". Ha , ha, ha ! So I tried them in my garden and they seemed to attract even more moles. It is deffinetly an eye catcher. I've always said it has a "pre-historic" look. My experience is they will tolerate very poor high clay soils and thrive anyway. Now an anual requirement in my garden.

Ricinus
This genus from northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia contains a single species, a fast-growing, tree-like shrub grown for its foliage. The spikes of small, cup-shaped flowers appear in summer. All parts of the plant, especially the seeds are extremely poisonous and can cause death in children; however, the seed oil is used medicinally after heat treatment and purification.
Cultivation: This marginally frost-hardy plant prefers full sun and fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil. It may need staking. Propagate from seed.
Ricinus communis - Castor Oil Plant
The purgative of universal renown comes from the seeds of this species, which is mostly grown as an annual. Rounded, prickly seed pods follow the summer display of felty clusters of red and greenish flowers. The plant's leaves are large, glossy and divided deeply into elliptical lobes. Ricinus communis grows rapidly, reaching 12' in height and in warm climates it often becomes a weed. 'Carmencita' is a tall form that grows to 10' with bronze-red foliage and red female flowers.
Aones 9-11.

I planted a 3 inch CB in April, and it's now 4 feet tall in late July! I will always plants these from now on...the flowers are just amazingly ornate and unusual! They remind me of the little pom-poms our dresses were ornamented with as a child!
I'm with someone else who posted earlier...I don't consider a plant "invasive" just because it grows fast and self-seeds! It's easy to pull up the seedlings...that's just nature's way!! Invasive to me means undergrown roots that disappear...pop up...impossible to weed out...like Bermuda grass when you don't want it! LOL

I don't know why people consider these "invasive". I think they are purely gorgeous plants and you have complete control over them. If you want a small plant-keep it in a flower pot. It really won't grow any larger than you let it. I've had the same castor bean plant for several years and the only way it produces new plants is if I plant the seeds and care for them. Otherwise the seeds just fall off and die.
It looks like a tropical mini tree--or it can be as short as a two feet. Once established in the ground, it's pretty hardy (freeze resistent) and tolerates dry conditions. BUT you have to really care for the seedlings and juvenile plants. When the plants are small they die easy. After the plant reaches about 6" or so it becomes very strong.

The first year I grew them, my son came in one day and asked why I had fake plants in the yard when I had so much other stuff!!
Start from seed in ground after last frost or indoors and transplant. But with the growth rate (IF enough sun,fertilizer,water are available) you're just as well planting in ground. Even though they're not hardy on the ILL/WI border, I've discovered they can successfully self-seed. For extra winter interest, do NOT cut them down. After the first good frost, I snap off all leafs at the trunk and cut off any leaders that do not have seed pods. The maroon trunks with the bright red spiky seed pods get even more comments and hold color well into the dead of winter.
An absolutely fantastic plant for so little investment.

These plants cannot survive freezing weather. I gather my seed in the fall. About 6 weeks before the last frost, I plant the seed in peat pots and place in a sunny window. By the time we have our last frost, the plants are approximately 6" high. Plant in a sunny area, they love water when they're young and watch them grow! Some of my castors have gotten as tall as 15 feet high with trunk diameters of 4-5" and leaf spans of up to 28", These are awesome plants although they are to be treated as annuals in this area. Tree frogs love these plants!

We grew this plant in our vegetable garden one summer. It was recommended to control rootknot nematodes, but didn't seem to work. Knowing it is invasive, we were careful to cut off the blooms so it would not form seeds.

I,ve been growing these monster plants for about 20 years. i got the seeds from my father he use to grow them in the yard for moles the seeds came from down south, i have had good luck with the plants growing them out by the main highway i get a lot of talk about the plants, a lot of people asking about seeds, i let my plants seed ever fall,thay allways grow back each year.

In my zone 4B/5A garden this is obviously an annual - but I planted this from a 3" pot in late spring and it is now 7 feet tall and still going strong (Sept. 16th)! Is is in the front of my home on the north side, just off one side of my front door. The son of my next-door neighbor (he's 30ish) said, "You have a mutant plant growing in your yard!" I just laughed, knowing fully the potential size of this! And I am indeed delighted! It has been at least 2 years since I have been so entertained by something growing in my gardens! This plant is indeed worth growing even as an annual, if you enjoy "shock value" or "amazement" reactions!

I got this seed from my grandmother, planted it in the spring. This plant is now about 6 feet tall and really pretty.