Castano - Care tips

Castano

Castano, or Castanospermum for the full name, has a pretty sad situation… The sad thing about this plant is that she’s a lonely beauty. She has only one species in her genus! But still, it’s a beautiful flowering plant from the Fabaceae family and it's native to the east coast of Australia and the Pacific Islands of Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

In an old book, this plant is also called Moreton Bay “Chestnut or Bean tree”, but the most known aboriginal name is “Irtalie”. This tree has a real backstory: it was an important seasonal gathering point for the Aboriginal peoples due to its importance as a food that they collected. Also the bark fiber has been used for fish and animal traps, baskets, bets and the empty seed pods were used as toy boats for their children. Such an incredible history, right?

Castano plant care tips

Light and placement for Castano

The Castano Magnifico has a preference for bright but indirect light. As a tough lady, she can tolerate some light shade but may become leggy. As for most of the plants, avoid direct sunlight as this may scorch the leaves, and we know that you don’t want to hurt your green friend, right? Moreover, she can tolerate cold temperatures like 10°C at a push, but avoiding cold droughts is the better option, so keep your lady far from the windows!

Water

Your Castano wants her soil evenly moist. Watering regularly is the best option to make her happy. But be aware that she doesn't have soggy feet! You can also water the soil when it feels slightly dry to the touch.

Nutrition

Your beloved Castano would love a little snack during the growing seasons! She will be pleased if you feed her with our biologic PLNTSnutrition twice a month during spring and summer. During the winter it will not be necessary.

Castano plant

Propagating Castano

Sadly for this beauty, the propagation is quite complicated. It’s only possible to propagate Castano by the seeds! The germination requires a temperature between 18°C and 25°C. After that, you can sow them in large, individual tubes and use a special mix of river sand and perlite. You can only start repotting your babies after the first pair of true leaves have formed!

Most common pest on Castano

The most common pests that can affect your Castano are spider mites, aphids, thrips, whitefly and mealybugs. She’s pretty sensitive to pesky insects. You can use a magnifying glass to check and prevent your beauty from being infested. Moreover, you can find evidence that your plant is suffering from a pest with different symptoms: yellow or brown leaves could mean spider mites if you see little webs on your plant. Fluffy white spot on your plant tells you that your Castano is suffering from mealybugs. Check our PLNTSdoctor page to recognise and eliminate your plant pests! If you are interested in biologic pest control, you can take a look at our blog: ‘Which natural and biological pest control against which pest?’.

Is the Castano toxic for pets or children?

Unfortunately, you need to keep it away from children and pets. Your furry friends and babies are attracted to the berries, but you should prevent them from having any access to your green cutie as the seeds are very toxic!

Buy your new Castano at PLNTS.com

At PLNTS.com we have the amazing Castano Magnifico to enlighten your interior, and thanks to this blog, you will be able to impress your guests with your knowledge of this plant! Here at PLNTS.com, we got you covered for your plants dreams!