In our country, castor oil plant is just beginning to gain popularity, but in its homeland this African plant occupies vast areas and grows up to 10 m in height.
The shrub got its name because of the special structure of the seeds, which outwardly are very similar to a tick.
Perennial castor oil plant is unpretentious, but does not tolerate frost, therefore in Russia the plant is used as an annual. The shrub blooms in summer. Small pale yellow, milky white or cream flowers are combined into long panicles, and on one bush there can be both female and male inflorescences. Fruits that look like spiny round hedgehogs look very impressive.
Landscape designers often add variety to their compositions with the help of unusual exotic plants, and the beautiful castor oil plant is just right for innovative ideas.
Castor oil is also called Turkish or castor tree. The plant loves open sunny areas where it can show itself in all its glory. Wide, large leaves of a beautiful shape in some varieties have a burgundy or purple hue, which makes it very advantageous to use the shrub as a tapeworm or for accents.
Different types of castor tree have incredible foliage shades. There are turquoise-purple, ocher or deep burgundy leaves with a bright shine.
Some varieties of shrubs resemble a palm tree in appearance, with wide spreading leaves up to 30 cm in diameter and a high stem-stem. Such plants look good on curbs near any fences as tapeworms.
A variety of foliage shades and many varieties of castor bean allow it to be used in group plantings and landscape compositions. The plant goes well with many flowers and other ornamental shrubs.
Castor bean grows fantastically quickly and reaches impressive sizes in a fairly short period of time. This feature of the shrub can be used to decorate a summer cottage and plant a plant near a house or fence.
The castor bean hedge looks very impressive. Shrubs planted along paths or a fence divide the site into zones, and in addition provide a thick shade that brings a long-awaited coolness on a hot summer day. As noted earlier, this wonderful plant does not require special care and grows rapidly, so a wall from a tall hedge will appear quite quickly.
Castor oil plant looks great on flower beds and mixborders in the company of dwarf conifers and flowering low shrubs. It is preferable to use a Turkish tree with undersized plants, as it can reach impressive sizes, especially if it grows on the unshaded side of the site.
In a mixborder, it is better to place castor bean in the background, otherwise other plants will simply not be visible due to its large spreading leaves. But even next to tall trees, casting a thick shadow, it is also better not to plant this exotic bush, since it will not have enough sunlight for full development and growth.
In the garden, where there are some drawbacks, the castor oil plant will be able to disguise them, focusing all the attention on itself. In this case, it is important to choose the right variety of ornamental shrub that will emphasize the stylistic features of the site.
The Turkish tree is sometimes used in the landscaping of Japanese gardens as specimen compositions. The castor oil plant is favorable to moist soil and therefore takes root well next to water bodies, which is also characteristic of the Japanese style.
It must be remembered that the seeds, leaves and stems of castor bean contain the poisonous substance ricin. If there are small children at their summer cottage, then it is better to refrain from planting this plant. In park areas, you also need to take into account these properties of the shrub and plant it away from recreation areas and playgrounds.
