ricinus germination

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chris

ricinus germination

Post by chris »

Hi there, have sowed some ricinus this year for the first time (zanzibarensis) in a 2l pot of multi purpose compost and placed it on a reasonably sunny windowsill about four days ago but no signs of growth yet. Am I being impatient or is something wrong, thanks chris.
Don

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Don »

Very Naughty Boy. :lol: Perhaps a large seed like Ricinus should be sown in a 3" pot, and once germinated "pot them on". You should see signs of germination within 10-14 days assuming the seed does not rot in that vast expanse of pot. A small amount of bottom heat will bolt the thing into life within 10 days at which stage stop the heat and allow it to grow naturally for a month or so before planting outside.
Just treat them as runner beans but don't eat em :wink:
Mark

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Mark »

My variegated Ricinus are just showing. No bottom heat , just the warmth of the sun...and a little poly heat 8)
variegated Ricinus.JPG
Nothing showing on the normal ones yet.

Chris, Don's right. Thats a lot of compost to warm for a little seed. I don't think they like to be transplanted too much.
Adrian

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Adrian »

Variegated Ricinus :shock:
So what dont I know then Mark?
Adrian

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Adrian »

I have zanzi palm, zanzibarensis, red stem giant and NZ purple all hardening off outside now.
Planted one Red stem giant already, if it cops a frost then so be it, if it doesnt then its on its way.
Mark

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Mark »

The plant is called "Paul D Bont" I saved a few seeds from last years plant.

There should be pictures of it if you use the search button :D
Adrian

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Adrian »

Nothing on search under Paul D Bont, bet theres 500 pages on Ricinus so Ill wait till I see yours :lol:
Mark

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Mark »

Sorry , I cocked the name up :oops: :oops: I knew it was Dutch though.

Here's a picture of Simons one ( same as mine)
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... t=+ricinus
collins99

Re: ricinus germination

Post by collins99 »

Does it matter which way up the seeds are placed in the pot ? can you tell this is the first time i have grown these :D

nick...
Mark

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Mark »

No Nick, Any way will do.
Don

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Don »

collins99 wrote:Does it matter which way up the seeds are placed in the pot ? can you tell this is the first time i have grown these :D

nick...
No-but when in doubt, with any seed, plant them on their side.
collins99

Re: ricinus germination

Post by collins99 »

Cheers , i have just been to check on mine and the first and only one of the seeds i checked has split and is starting to move :D

nick...
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simon
Posts: 2418
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:02 pm
Location: Slough, Berkshire

Re: ricinus germination

Post by simon »

I just put mine in this weekend. I did them a bit too early last year and they went leggy so I held fire a bit this year. Did all my seeds yesterday afternoon.

There was some discussion about whether the variegated one was supposed to look like that because the picture on the tag showed a plain red plant. It will be interesting to see what the seeds come out like. It's not a big plant so it needs to have something else going for it.
DavidF

Re: ricinus germination

Post by DavidF »

Quite a few of my Zanzi's have popped up this week, in a cold greenhouse (but it does get pretty hot during the day). I sowed them about 2 weeks ago.

I've been "stung" before by sowing them too early, they only get leggy and then are so much harder to harden off. As has been said, they don't seem to like being potted on/up either.. they're basically weeds... so the less they are messed about with the better IMO.
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Las Palmas Norte
Posts: 1892
Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: Lantzville, British Columbia (Vancouver Island)

Re: ricinus germination

Post by Las Palmas Norte »

I started some 'Carmencita' from seed I'd found that was a few years old. Daytime temps in the mid to upper 20's centigrade and overnight lows about 4°C. They seem quite easy to germinate.

Cheers, Barrie.
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