RICINUS

Castor-oil Plant. Half-hardy annual



Although this plant flowers freely, it is grown in the sub-tropical

garden principally for its noble ornamental foliage, and also in the

shrubbery border, either alone or in conjunction with other fine

subjects, such as Canna, Solanum, Nicotiana, and Wigandia. Plants of

the dwarfer varieties may also be used with very decorative effect in

conservatories and greenhouses during the summer and autumn months.



To have plants ready for making a show in early summer they must be

raised as half-hardy annuals in February or March. From the commencement

a rich soil and abundant supplies of water are necessary for the

production of stately specimens. The seed is large, and may be put

singly into pots, or three or four in each, and the latter is the usual

practice. A temperature of about 60 deg. will bring them up. If several

plants are grown in a pot, they must be separated while quite young, and

put into small pots filled with very rich soil. It is almost impossible

to have the compost too rich, so long as drainage is quite safe. When

the pot is full of roots, shift to a larger size, and commence the

process of hardening, in readiness for planting out in June. This is

worth some care, for if the plant receives a check when put out, it may

take a long time to recover, and then part of the brief growing season

will be wasted. Many gardeners never raise Ricinus in heat, but trust

entirely to a sowing in the open on the first day of May. The seeds are

put in three inches deep, in groups of three or four, and finally the

plants are thinned to one at each station.



Prepare the soil in advance by deep digging and the incorporation of an

abundant supply of manure. The most effectual way of doing it is to take

out the earth to a depth of eighteen inches or two feet, and fill in

with decayed manure and loam, chiefly the former. Upon this put out the

plant, or sow seed as may be determined. If this is too great a tax on

resources, or the near presence of shrubs renders the proceeding

impossible, drive a bar into the soil, which, if light, can be readily

worked into a fair-sized hole. Fill this with rich stuff nearly to the

top, and over it either put the plant or sow seed. A heavy top-dressing

round each stem is also desirable, and the application of copious

supplies of water will carry the nourishment down to the roots.

Sub-tropical plants are only a source of disappointment under niggardly

treatment, but they amply repay all the care and generosity which a

liberal hand may lavish upon them. The plants will need the support of

stakes to save them from injury in a high wind.