Plant library
Explore Plants
Filter by what you want to grow, the space you have and the season you are in.
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49 plants match your filters
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Proso MilletचीनाPanicum miliaceumA short-season millet of the northern hills, sown when the season has been lost.
Water Lettuceजल सलादPistia stratiotesA floating rosette that shades a tub and starves the algae — but a weed if it escapes.
Golden Bambooपीला बांसBambusa vulgarisYellow culms striped green; the ornamental clumping bamboo of Indian gardens.
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.
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.
Bottle BrushचीलCallistemon citrinusRed brushes of stamens on drooping branches; a hardy naturalised garden tree.
Indian Water FernअजोलाAzolla pinnataA floating fern that fixes nitrogen — fertiliser and fodder that grows itself.
Neem-leaf Chaste Treeनिर्गुंडीVitex negundoA scrambling roadside shrub with palmate leaves and small blue flower spikes.
HennaमेहंदीLawsonia inermisThe mehndi hedge of the dry west — scented flowers and dye leaves.
VetiverखसChrysopogon zizanioidesKhus — a grass whose roots hold a slope together and scent a summer room.
Cotton Nativeदेशी कपासGossypium arboreumDesi cotton — the indigenous species, hardier than the imported kinds.
KarondaकरौंदाCarissa carandasA thorny hedge shrub that gives pickling fruit and keeps animals out.
MulberryशहतूतMorus albaFruit in March, silkworm leaves all summer, and shade in between.Not sure where to start?
Answer three questions on the home page — your region, your space and your goal — and we will name two plants to sow this month.
How the library is organised
By regionEach entry notes where the plant grows well across India, from the Gangetic plain to coastal soils.
By seasonSowing windows for every month, so you never plant a winter green in May.
By spaceWindowsill, balcony, terrace or ground — filtered so you only see what will survive with you.
Checked by a botanistNames and facts are reviewed before publication; traditional uses are labelled as traditional.