Huge tropical palm trees can grow not only in Africa, but also in the yard of each grower. This is a huge castor bush, the cultivation of which from seed we will discuss below.
Castor: Description
The castor is a representative of the family of milk plants. She migrated to us from Africa and was cultivated in the form of a variety of ornamental annual varieties. Among flower growers, this plant is valued for its unusual appearance, attractive shape and color of very large leaves, similar to palm leaves. The leaves and stem of the castor can be colored green or red, although there are other equally attractive shades.
At home, some varieties can reach 2 meters in height and about 1 meter in diameter. However, most varieties are still undersized and rarely stretch more than 1.5 meters. 
Important! The castor is a very poisonous plant. Its seeds contain the substance ricin, which when released into the body can cause severe poisoning. For this reason, children and animals should not be allowed to contact this plant, nor should it be planted near the road and garden plants. When refilling, even strawberries or zucchini berries can be poisoned.Flowers castor gives not very attractive, although the majority of ornamental varieties in the period of flowering over the leaves can be produced several large panicles. The flowers themselves are very small, mostly red, but collected in large inflorescences. They are not suitable for cutting, but after flowering they allow to collect seeds for subsequent planting of the plant.
The castorpane in growing is quite unpretentious, but when planting it is important to remember a number of mandatory rules that will allow you to get a really beautiful and large plant.
Choosing a place to plant castor oil
In the question of how to plant castor oil from seeds, the most important thing is to choose the most comfortable place for this plant. Keep in mind that when group planting castor beetle plants will turn your flower bed into tropical thickets that does not look very attractive. For this reason each plant is better planted at a sufficiently large distance from each other, or used as a center for multi-species plantings.
Lighting, humidity and temperature
As a tropical representative, castor beetle prefers to grow in lighted areas where there are no drafts. Keep in mind that this plant is very high, but it is not very resistant, therefore, due to strong wind it may even break.
For good growth seedlings castor is important to ensure sufficient moisture. Air temperature is no less important, since at low temperatures castor can stop growing and lose its decorative appeal. Therefore, planting it in open ground should be as late as possible, and with the arrival of autumn cold weather, it should immediately be removed from the flower bed, because the plant will start to wither very quickly, and only the brown skeleton will remain from it.
Did you know? Among the large variety of varieties castor bean emit stunted (up to 2 meters) and tall (about 4-6 meters). The first are Zanzipalma varieties with a purple-red leaf color, Gibson with a red metallic color and Cambodian with a dark trunk color. Among the tall, popular varieties are the green Northern Palm, Impala Bronze with bronze leaves and red flowers and the Cossack with a red stem and dark green leaves.
Soil for planting seeds
When casting from seeds at home, castor beans require the availability of a nutrient soil. Most of all, she likes to grow on loose black soil, which is able to provide a large plant with sufficient nutrients. If the soil on your site is not very fertile, then it needs to be corrected manually - since the fall, prepare a large pit for planting castor oil, which must be filled with humus and imported black soil.
How to grow castor oil from seeds
The question of how and when to plant castor oil depends on the climatic region of your residence, as well as on the exact period in which you want to get flowering. It is worth noting that in the middle climate zone, castor bean is recommended to be sown for seedlings, because due to the short summer period, the flower does not always have time to survive the full vegetation period when sown in open ground.
Planting dates: when it is best to plant seeds
When it comes to castor oil and its growing from seed, the main question is when to plant these seeds. When grown for seedlings they are recommended to be sown from March to April. But it is more rational to do this in April, especially if the seeds are properly prepared, thereby ensuring quick germination. The fact is that with too early sowing, castor bean seedlings may begin to be pulled out even in pots, which will ruin the whole decorativeness of the plant.
The process of seed scarification: how to prepare planting material for planting
In order for the castor oil plant to quickly show seedlings, it is not enough to know how to plant the seeds, it is very important to prepare them in advance and subject them to scarification. The fact is that there is a very dense oil shell around each castor bean seed, due to which the germination period can be delayed for 3-4 weeks. In order to speed up this process as much as possible, it is recommended to gently comb this layer using ordinary emery paper (preferably with the smallest grains, in order not to accidentally damage the seed core). 
After scarification, castor bean seeds will also need to be soaked for one day in warm water, changing it regularly to maintain a stable temperature. Instead of water, you can also use special growth stimulants, which include "Epin" and "Heteroauxin".
Seed planting process
It is time to figure out how to plant castor from seeds. To do this, prepare a large enough pots with a diameter of about 20 cm. The castor is able to grow very quickly even at the stage of a small seedling, so each seed will have to be placed in a separate container.
Take the soil for planting seedlings on seedlings nutrient, preferably black earth. Watering it is not necessary. Place each seed in the middle of the pot and deepen it by about 2-6 cm. After planting, the soil is also not watered, but we tighten the pots with transparent polyethylene and place them on a well-lit window sill. If the temperature in the room stays at +20 ° C, and the seeds before that have undergone the scarification procedure, seedlings should appear within 4 days. As soon as they begin to "peek", it is advisable to water the soil gently. 
Important! When sowing seeds, do not fill the pot with soil to the brim. It is better if the land in it will be only half or two thirds. This will allow the period of growth of seedlings to periodically fill the soil, thereby making the plant stronger and its stem thicker. Such a trick will not allow the plant to stretch much.
How to care for castor bean seedlings
Castor bean seedlings will require regular watering, as well as sufficient light. However, it is recommended to limit it in the heat so that the plants do not grow upwards, but gain strength in the stems and leaves. Therefore, as soon as the first true leaflets appear on the seedlings, transfer it to a room where the temperature is at +15 ° C (but not lower).
Pickling seedlings in open ground
When planting castor bean seedlings, it is very important to properly implement picking First, it is necessary to do this only when the temperature is stable (it is important that it does not fall below +12 ° C at night). Secondly, you should not remove the plant from the pot, because it can damage its roots. To prevent this from happening, when picking, it is recommended to transfer the soil from a pot to a hole in a flowerbed. This procedure will ensure the most rapid survival of castor in the open space. Consider also that there must be enough free space between the plants - at least 1 meter. 
After planting it is very important to water the plant abundantly. The more it becomes, the more water it will need to provide. An adult plant is recommended to be watered once every 4-5 days, pouring 2-3 buckets of water into its bottom circle.
Did you know? Castor bean seeds are one of the sources of castor oil. However, for its manufacture it is necessary to use special equipment and chemicals that will neutralize the life-threatening poison.
Is it possible to plant castor oil immediately in open ground
Despite the fact that in Ukraine castor bean is recommended to grow through seedlings, if you suddenly missed the period for sowing seeds, you should not worry. Castor bean seeds can be planted directly in open ground, but it should be done only after completely avoiding any danger of a repetition of spring frosts, that is, at the very end of May, or even at the beginning of June. In terms of how to seed castor beans in the ground, you can repeat all the recommendations that we gave for planting castor seeds for seedlings.
Important! Castor bean leaves may appear yellow or dry in hot summer. They are a signal that the plant lacks moisture. To save him will help not only abundant watering, but also evening and morning sprinkling of leaves.However, with such planting it is very important to prepare the soil well in the flower bed - loosen it and feed it with humus or urea. Best of all, if fertilizer will be applied in the autumn or early spring. Perhaps due to weather conditions, the first seedlings will need shelter for the night.
Hopefully, after reading this article, you will not have a question regarding the characteristics of castor oil and when to plant it for seedlings. The main thing during growing - do not forget about the toxicity of this plant and do not allow children to contact with it.
