Explore Plants
Indian plants documented for the way people actually garden — filter by what you want the plant to do, the space you have, the month you can sow and the region you are in. The result count below is live.
Use the filters on the plant archive to narrow by goal, growing space and season. Every record carries a Hindi name, a botanical name, a care note and the months in which to sow.
42 plants match your filters Answer three questions on the home page — your region, your space and your goal — and we will name two plants to sow this month.Filters2 on
Malabar Glory LilyकलिहारीGloriosa superbaFlame-red reflexed petals on a climbing lily — the state flower of Tamil Nadu.
Lemon Grass Palmarosaरोशा घासCymbopogon martiniiThe palmarosa of the Deccan, distilled for a rose-scented oil.Coral Jasmine VineकुंदJasminum multiflorumA soft-haired jasmine that flowers through the cool months on a low wall.Spanish JasmineचमेलीJasminum grandiflorumThe chameli of the perfume fields — long-tubed white flowers picked before dawn.OleanderकनेरNerium oleanderPink or white flowers all year on a shrub that survives the worst urban roadside.LantanaपंचफूलीLantana camaraInvasive across Indian forests — grow the sterile garden cultivars only, never the wild kind.Night JasmineहरसिंगारNyctanthes arbor-tristisWhite flowers with orange tubes that open at night and are on the ground by dawn.
Sausage Treeबलम खीराKigelia africanaMaroon night flowers on long ropes, then metre-long fruit that alarms everybody.Flame of the ForestपलाशButea monospermaBare branches and orange claws of flower in February — the tree that announces Holi.Silk CottonसेमलBombax ceibaFat red flowers on a bare grey trunk, then pods of cotton that blow down every street.Indian Kinoपलास बेलButea superbaA big orange-flowered climber of central forest, dramatic on a strong pergola.HennaमेहंदीLawsonia inermisThe mehndi hedge of the dry west — scented flowers and dye leaves.Kans GrassकांसSaccharum spontaneumThe silver-plumed grass of autumn riverbanks — Durga Puja in plant form.Silk Cotton RedसेमलBombax ceibaRed February cups feeding every bird in the neighbourhood at once.
Roselleअम्बाड़ीHibiscus sabdariffa var. altissimaGrown for fibre and calyces in the west and centre; a striking tall annual.Cotton Nativeदेशी कपासGossypium arboreumDesi cotton — the indigenous species, hardier than the imported kinds.
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