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.
18 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
Water Spinachकलमी सागIpomoea aquaticaGrows on water or wet mud and crops every fortnight through the monsoon.Sacred Lotus Stemकमल ककड़ीNelumbo nucifera (rhizome)The same lotus, grown in deep mud for the crisp rhizome of the Kashmiri kitchen.
Indian Water FernअजोलाAzolla pinnataA floating fern that fixes nitrogen — fertiliser and fodder that grows itself.
Ram Tulsiराम तुलसीOcimum basilicumSweet basil — indigenous cultivation across India long before its pizza career.Sugarcaneगन्नाSaccharum officinarumA few canes in a corner give juice, gur and a green screen by October.
PapayaपपीताCarica papayaFruit inside a year from seed — the fastest fruit a household can grow.
LotusकमलNelumbo nuciferaThe national flower — a big tub, full sun and patience is all it takes.DrumstickसहजनMoringa oleiferaThe fastest useful tree there is — 3 m in a year, edible leaves and pods.CucumberखीराCucumis sativusFast, thirsty and best trained up a net where air can move around it.CowpeaलोबियाVigna unguiculataPods, beans and green manure from one undemanding monsoon plant.Pumpkinकद्दूCucurbita moschataSprawls generously and stores well; the leaves and flowers are food too.AmaranthचौलाईAmaranthus tricolorThe monsoon green that grows itself — heat-proof, rain-proof, ready in a month.Poi Saagपोई सागBasella albaA thick-leaved climbing spinach that thrives in the worst of the monsoon heat.Green Chilliहरी मिर्चCapsicum annuumOne plant on a sill supplies a household, and crops for two years.OkraभिंडीAbelmoschus esculentusSummer staple for a sunny terrace; pick every second day or pods turn woody.Bottle GourdलौकीLagenaria sicerariaA monsoon climber that will roof a terrace in eight weeks given a frame.
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