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.
14 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.Filters3 on
Shoe Flower HedgeजपाHibiscus syriacusA hardier deciduous hibiscus for the hills, flowering through the monsoon.
Indian Horse ChestnutपांगरAesculus indicaBig palmate leaves and white flower candles in the western Himalayan valleys.Bottle BrushचीलCallistemon citrinusRed brushes of stamens on drooping branches; a hardy naturalised garden tree.Wild ApricotचुलीPrunus armeniacaThe chuli of Ladakh and Kinnaur — blossom in April, fruit and kernel oil by July.Himalayan CherryपदमPrunus cerasoidesPink blossom in November, out of season by every other measure — the hill wild cherry.ChinarचिनारPlatanus orientalisThe plane tree of Kashmir, planted for four centuries and unmistakable in autumn.
Madderमंजिष्ठाRubia cordifoliaA scrambling hill plant whose root gives a lasting red dye.RhododendronबुरांशRhododendron arboreumBuransh — scarlet trusses across the mid-Himalaya in March.DeodarदेवदारCedrus deodaraThe Himalayan cedar — a slow, magnificent, cold-climate conifer.Chinese Hat Plantटोपी फूलHolmskioldia sanguineaA sub-Himalayan scrambler with brick-red bracts through the cool months.KachnarकचनारBauhinia variegataOrchid-like flowers in February, and buds that go into the north-Indian kitchen.Ginger Lilyकपूर कचरीHedychium spicatumA Himalayan ginger relative with scented white flowers and aromatic rhizomes.
Amaranth GrainरामदानाAmaranthus cruentusGrown for seed rather than leaf; magenta heads over the whole monsoon.RatanjotरतनजोतAlkanna tinctoriaA dry-hill root used to colour oil a deep red; slight above ground, tough below.
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