What's *not* to love?! That is stunning. I have to ask where you bought the tree or if you grew it from seed. (Thinking I might just want one of these....)

Thanks!

I grew it from seed this year (New Zealand Purple). These have turned out to be my favorite of all the types. I needed a smaller type for a little area...they don't get as big as the Giant Zanzibar, etc....but this one's almost 6' tall now. They're supposed to max at 3'-8'. I got the original seeds from J.L. Hudson and have none on hand. But I'll be collecting the beans from these this year and will be happy to share. :)

Great pic of a lovely plant! I'm growing these too (also from JL Hudson (a favorite of mine for almost twenty years now)). Mine are very nicely colored, but not very tall at all (they look great mingling with some red flowering salvias, but I want height darn it). Are you fertilizing yours? I love the color on mine, but they're three feet tall at the very most in full sun. Any secrets to yours?

In any case, thanks for the great pic. I really do like these castors.

Take care,
Grant

Thanks, Grant! It's nice to be able to compare notes with yours. (And here I wanted the purples because they were supposed to stay shorter!LOL) Actually, one other purple here is short, but all of the castors (11) were originally stunted from waiting too long in getting them transplanted outside...so I'm not sure what's due to what, lol. The shorter purple one is against a west wall, the taller one is against an east wall and it's the one I thought I'd lose for sure. They were all planted with compost and have been fertilized 3x over the summer. (The tallest castor of this stunted crew so far is the sanguinis red...it's grown about 10' over the summer.)

I'll be saving the biggest beans from the taller purple one and you're welcome to some if you'd like. :)

Love your Castor! I'm not sure which kind I have? I got it from Pagancat a couple of years ago :) The leaves are great for cement casting! This one was cast in cement, painted and varnished. It's 17 inches across. Mine is about 6ft tall now, last Fall I cut it back to about 3 ft. I'll do the same this Fall.
{{gwi:414119}}

Hi RdRnner and all,

Thanks for the information. I'd love some seeds of yours is you have any to spare, oink oink oink. Like you have to ask twice, heh heh. Feel free to drop me an email any time (grant_in_arizona@yahoo.com). I'd be happy to trade if I ever have mentioned anything you'd like.

Thanks for the cultural information on yours...I'll give mine a bit of fertilizer and see what happens. Mine are growing in not-heavily-improved soil so that may be stunting them a bit. In any case, here's a pic of them. They probably look best short since they reflect the red of the 'Lady in Red' saliva they're planted with, but I sure wish they were taller, heh heh. You need to view the pic on the website and not via email....here you go...be kind, lol.

{{gwi:414120}}

Very nice cement casting there, Trolip. I love it. I wish I was as crafty as you are. :)

Thanks again,
Grant and his red, but short, castor beans.

Thanks GT, and your casting is just gorgeous! Love the size, too. My Giant Zanzibar's leaves are just shy of 23", and it's still immature, lol. Don't you just love the big leaf sizes? Quick cheap shade and tropical looking, too...doesn't get better than that, lol.

Grant, very nice! Thank you for the photo. That's the size I'd hoped mine would stay. They're even more beautiful with your red blooms! One of the reasons I really enjoy their dark color (other than purple being my fave color, lol) is it seems to make companion colors just explode. (Your salvia is lovely.) Thank you for the trade offer. And no worries of being thought a seed oinker by me...I live in a glass house!LOL

Beautiful castor pics. My one and only N.Z.
purple, after a tenuous start, has turned into a real eye catcher. Rd Runner, yours is beautiful. Grant, your pic gave me an idea. Thanks.Garden trollip, is that the actual color of the leaf???... can't be. lol
milos

Hey there, Milos -- thanks! Funny how they can look so bad and then end up making a good recovery, huh? I was hoping you'd pop in with an update on yours. :)