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.
26 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
Wild ApricotचुलीPrunus armeniacaThe chuli of Ladakh and Kinnaur — blossom in April, fruit and kernel oil by July.
Wild AppleबनसेबDocynia indicaA north-eastern hill fruit, sour and used for pickle and jam.
Sugarcaneगन्नाSaccharum officinarumA few canes in a corner give juice, gur and a green screen by October.
Seabuckthornलेह बेरीHippophae rhamnoidesA cold-desert shrub of Ladakh, nitrogen-fixing and vitamin-dense.
WalnutअखरोटJuglans regiaThe nut tree of Kashmir and the western hills, needing real winter cold.
ApricotखुबानीPrunus armeniacaLadakh and Himachal fruit — blossom in March, fruit in June, dried for winter.
MulberryशहतूतMorus albaFruit in March, silkworm leaves all summer, and shade in between.
FigअंजीरFicus caricaTwo crops a year in the west, and content in a large container.
PomegranateअनारPunica granatumHandsome, thorny and productive on poor dry soil; good in a big pot.
SunflowerसूरजमुखीHelianthus annuusA fortnight of spectacle and then a head of seed the birds will take.
Onionप्याज़Allium cepaGrown from sets or seedlings; needs depth, sun and patience.
Sorghumज्वारSorghum bicolorJowar — drought-hardy grain and fodder in one, on almost no inputs.
Field BeanसेमLablab purpureusThe winter sem of the plains, purple-flowered and heavy-cropping on a fence.
ChickpeaचनाCicer arietinumA winter pulse that also gives the sour green leaf of the north.
BathuaबथुआChenopodium albumThe winter weed worth sowing — mineral-rich leaves through the cold months.
RadishमूलीRaphanus sativusA deep trough and forty days is all it asks. Thin ruthlessly for straight roots.
Not sure where to start?
How the library is organised