Plant library
What can I grow now?
17 plants can be sown in March in North-East India. Narrow it further by space, goal or region — or step through the months below.
High rainfall, cooler hills. Sow two to four weeks earlier than the plains.
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Blue Vandaनील ऑर्किडVanda coeruleaThe blue vanda of Meghalaya — tessellated flowers, and protected in the wild.
Brahmiब्राह्मीBacopa monnieriA creeping marsh herb happy in a wide bowl of wet soil — the one plant you cannot…ChirataचिरायताSwertia chirayitaAn intensely bitter Himalayan herb of mid-altitude meadows, slow and particular.
Chow Chowइस्कुसSechium eduleThe squash that covers a whole roof in one season across the eastern hills.DendrobiumसंचारीDendrobium nobileCane orchid of the eastern hills, flowering along last year’s bare canes.Elephant Foot YamजिमीकंदAmorphophallus paeoniifoliusOne corm fills a large pot and returns a much bigger one in a year.Foxtail Orchidद्रौपदी मालाRhynchostylis retusaThe kopou phul of Assam — hanging foxtail sprays, and the flower of Bihu.Himalayan CherryपदमPrunus cerasoidesPink blossom in November, out of season by every other measure — the hill wild cherry.Indian ValerianतगरValeriana jatamansiA hill herb of stream banks with aromatic roots and heads of small white flowers.JuteपटसनCorchorus olitoriusBengal’s fibre crop, and its young leaves are a monsoon green.Lady’s Slipper Orchidलेडी स्लिपरPaphiopedilum insigneA pouched terrestrial orchid of the eastern Himalaya, cool-growing and slow.LemongrassगंधतृणCymbopogon citratusA clump of scented grass that mosquitoes avoid and tea drinkers cannot do without.Poi Saagपोई सागBasella albaA thick-leaved climbing spinach that thrives in the worst of the monsoon heat.Red Water Lilyरक्त कमलNymphaea rubraThe deep red night-flowering lily of eastern tanks and temple ponds.RhododendronबुरांशRhododendron arboreumBuransh — scarlet trusses across the mid-Himalaya in March.Water LilyकुमुदिनीNymphaea nouchaliA cement tub of still water becomes a dragonfly habitat in one season.