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.
43 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
Job’s TearsगुरलुCoix lacryma-jobiHard glossy grain used as food, as beads and as a brewing grain in the hills.Kodo MilletकोदोPaspalum scrobiculatumThe kodo of the Deccan and central hills — drought-proof and long-storing.
Foxtail Orchidद्रौपदी मालाRhynchostylis retusaThe kopou phul of Assam — hanging foxtail sprays, and the flower of Bihu.
Staghorn Fernस्टैगहॉर्नPlatycerium wallichiiAn antler-shaped epiphytic fern of Assam’s forests, mounted on a board.Water Lettuceजल सलादPistia stratiotesA floating rosette that shades a tub and starves the algae — but a weed if it escapes.Lotus-leaf PennywortखुरखुरीHydrocotyle sibthorpioidesA tiny creeping mat for the wet edge of a tub — the softest possible ground cover.
Golden Bambooपीला बांसBambusa vulgarisYellow culms striped green; the ornamental clumping bamboo of Indian gardens.Red Water Lilyरक्त कमलNymphaea rubraThe deep red night-flowering lily of eastern tanks and temple ponds.Water Hyssopनीर ब्राह्मीBacopa floribundaA small creeping marsh herb for the shallow edge of a tub pond.Umbrella SedgeमोथाCyperus alternifoliusSpokes of leaf on a green stem — the marginal plant that makes a tub read as a…Hameliaरक्त पुष्पHamelia patensOrange tubular flowers, continuously, and the sunbirds that follow them.Chinese Hibiscusगुड़हलHibiscus rosa-sinensisFlowers nearly all year in a warm city, and sunbirds find it within a week.MussaendaमुसैंडाMussaenda frondosaOne enlarged white sepal per flower, so the whole shrub reads as pale bracts.Durantaनील कांटाDuranta erectaBlue flower sprays and orange berries at once; the standard clipped Indian hedge.LantanaपंचफूलीLantana camaraInvasive across Indian forests — grow the sterile garden cultivars only, never the wild kind.Madhavi Lataमाधवी लताHiptage benghalensisA woody climber with fringed white-and-yellow flowers and a heavy sweet scent.
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