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Castor bean plants in rain water runoff creek.

12 years ago

Im curious if anyone has tried to grow Castor bean plants during the spring/summer time in some very damp conditions. We have major weed problems in this area in our back yard where theres a street gutter rain runoff system that goes though the back yard. I was thinking of planting castor bean plants as they seem to push away other competing plants and are very insect resistant.

Any experiences with planting castor bean plants in very damp and saturated soil?

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Comments (3)

albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
12 years ago
Their used to be, may still be, what I would call 'jungles' of Castor bean near Mazatlan where the average annual rainfall is reported to be 748 mm.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
arent they INVASIVE in some states??? if so.. it would not be wise to introduce them into the waterways .... seasonal or not ...

i would have googled it for you .. but you do not tell us where you are ... check out the link

this was at that site.. which shall not be named:

Castor Bean is very invasive in my South Florida area. It is a very fast-growing weed that quickly colonizes undisturbed sites around farms such as sugarcane fields and canals. I see them growing in huge, weedy bunches around many of those places as well as others in my area. It is found throughout much of zones 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11 and below through the Keys, mostly in the central and southern parts of the state, Florida. However, it may be a great houseplant indoors in a pot. However, it's bright-red seeds are extremely poisonous if ingested! If you have this plant, don't plant it outdoors, and keep away from young children!

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
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dirtaddshp
Original Author
12 years ago
Hello Ken,

They may be invasive in the lower states due to warmer temps, but anytime the temp drops below 30f they start to die. And if you noticed in my first post i am in Zone 8, which is North Georgia. Every winter they would die out and i would need to reseed in the spring time. I highly doubt the seems would survive the winter and germinate by the spring.

thanks for the link.

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