The germination rate of castor bean seed is not the highest, so perhaps you've found yourself with a dud. Also, you may not have given it enough time to germinate.

The soil should be moist, but not overly so, and there must be good soil-to-seed contact so that the seed can absorb the water it needs to for the germination process to begin. Soil temperature makes a difference, too. The warmer it is, the faster the process.

Don't dig it up again. You could destroy the tiny radicle and certainly the hair roots when you do so.

I'm not familiar with that particular plant, but I'm assuming it's one that need heat to germinate. Putting next to a window isn't going to cut it this time of year in colder zones, the sun coming through the glass only 6 hours or so isn't going to keep the soil warm enough the rest of the day/night. The light becomes critical in terms of plant growth after the seeds have germinated; prior to germination, it's the heat (or lack thereof, depending on what you're sowing), that's critical.

So, I'd recommend getting a source of heat - heat mats are available at nurseries this time of year, or you can get one from an on-line vendor. Perhaps you can rig up a small light cart inexpensively - fluoro. lights put out enough heat to keep soil temps warm enough for germination (but keep the growing medium covered to keep in heat and humidity). Some people put the seed trays on top of the fridge or over the heat register, seems like it would work but I've not tried it.

if mx is right ...

window during the day .. top of the fridge at night ...

that will moderate the soil temp ...

oops.. she said that.. lol .. vote #2 ....

ken

Thank you so much for the inputs! :)

It has a hard seedcoat. You might want to notch it or file a bare spot on it before planting to speed up germination.

Seed with an impervious seed coat,such as caster bean,will do nothing until water has entered through the seed coat. Nicking or abrading in some manner followed by an overnight soak in warm water will cause a swelling of the seed and germination. Al

I had seeds left over from last year, these had all germinated after only 4 days, that was quick! I had not soaked nor nicked them, they had simply been planted in peat based soil that was slightly moist (they otherwise easily rot) and placed in a nice warm location. Seed collected from last year, these have been germinating erratically over the last two weeks.

Terry

twrosz, do you recall what month you sowed them?

I had begun sowing the seeds a few weeks ago, though as mentioned, some had germinated within days ...

New Zealand Kiwi Red

{{gwi:4403}}

You are in zone3 which is 2 zones cooler than where I live. I read that the seeds when sowed early will just rot. Did you mean indoor sowed?

Indeed indoor sown, it's still way too cold outside! I start them extra early to get a head start on the season ...

Terry

Tell me your setup please. Do you have heat mats?

btw, I love the potted plant with pink and lavender flowers on your deck. It's the one behind the castor bean plant.

And what is that low growing maroon plant beside the castor bean? Is it a young castor bean plant?

Thanks!

Thanks v1rtu0s1ty, that's just a pot of petunias hiding behind there ... the maroon foliaged plant is a potted Japanese maple.

I do not have any heating mats, but instead place my containers upon the basement floor which has infloor heating OR upon my satellite receiver that gives off a nice bit of heat. When plants are up and running they go in the sunny south window

{{gwi:4404}}

I had very slow germination last spring from saved seed of 'New Zealand Purple' - can't remember how long it took exactly, but certainly longer than 10 days. In the end they all came up, though. And I had pre-soaked the seeds.

I have never needed to nick castor beans. They always germinate rapidly just by being planted and being kept warm. I agree that they need heat for best germination, and since they don't need light to germinate, there's no need to put them on a windowsill at all; the top of the fridge or some other spot that stays continuously warm may be the best place, just check regularly and move to a spot with light as soon as you see germination.

But...

In cold climates it's tempting (and sometimes necessary) to get a head start but I don't recommend starting castor beans indoors, and certainly not this early. They grow rapidly and require full sun and lots of heat, so their growth indoors will always be weak. On top of that, they form a very long tap root so they are rootbound almost as soon as they germinate. Plants grown indoors for more than a week or two after germination will end up weak, spindly, and potbound. In my experience, plants growing from seeds planted directly in the ground caught up with plants started indoors (I used large peat pots) and planted out at the same time. Within a couple of weeks there is no difference.

Bottom line, if you're going to start them indoors, be prepared to give them deep pots and full sun.

I gave up. LOL. They didn't germinate. I'll just direct sow them on their final location on June 1. :)

Thanks for the help.

Your last frost date is June 1st? Or is that when you feel the soil will be warm enough? You can cover the area you plan to seed with black plastic for a couple of weeks to warm the soil (I've not tried this but would like to) and then plant a little early, then cover with a frost blanket like remay to keep the heat in, and allow light to the area?

I have some seed of the regular ones I didn't get to planting last year. I am going to try to germinate in coffee filters on the fridge top, just to see if they'll sprout. Then I will know how many seeds to throw in the garden come spring.

I had a lot of trouble getting these to germinate too. I finally decided to just wait until our last frost date and sow them outdoors wintersown style - small greenhouse containers. One to a container and I will transplant the whole thing once it's germinated. I got two seeds out of 12 to germinate. Not enough heat and too much moisture rotted them.

I have direct sowed castor bean the last couple of years. I soaked them in water for about 24 hours and then planted them in the early part of May. The soaking made them begin to sprout. I would say about 50% to 75% of those actually made it.

I bought the seeds from Onalee(on ebay). Her instructions also mentions to soak them for 24 hours. However, she mentioned to use warm water.

Our last frost date is May 15. I was thinking of June 1 since that's the time the soil is consistently warm.

Thanks folks!