Plant library
What can I grow now?
20 plants can be sown in April in West India. Narrow it further by space, goal or region — or step through the months below.
Heavy coastal monsoon, mild winters. Drainage matters more here than watering.
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Aak Bushआँकड़ाLeptadenia pyrotechnicaA leafless broom-like desert shrub that fixes sand and feeds camels.
AmaranthचौलाईAmaranthus tricolorThe monsoon green that grows itself — heat-proof, rain-proof, ready in a month.Champaचम्पाPlumeria rubraGrows from a bare cutting pushed into dry soil; scents a whole terrace.Crown Flowerसफेद आकCalotropis proceraThe desert milkweed, smaller than gigantea and even tougher.CucumberखीराCucumis sativusFast, thirsty and best trained up a net where air can move around it.
DrumstickसहजनMoringa oleiferaThe fastest useful tree there is — 3 m in a year, edible leaves and pods.Frangipani WhiteगुलचीनPlumeria albaThe white frangipani of temple gardens, tougher than the pink and just as scented.Green GramमूंगVigna radiataSixty days from sowing to dal, and sproutable on a kitchen shelf.Guggulगुग्गुलCommiphora wightiiA thorny desert shrub whose resin has been traded for millennia; now endangered.
Indian AloeघृतकुमारीAloe veraNear-indestructible succulent for a bright sill; water only when the soil is dry through.Indian Water FernअजोलाAzolla pinnataA floating fern that fixes nitrogen — fertiliser and fodder that grows itself.LemongrassगंधतृणCymbopogon citratusA clump of scented grass that mosquitoes avoid and tea drinkers cannot do without.Marvel of Peruगुल-ए-बासMirabilis jalapaOpens at four in the afternoon and self-sows itself around the garden.MilkweedआकCalotropis giganteaHost plant for tiger butterflies — plant one and the caterpillars arrive.OkraभिंडीAbelmoschus esculentusSummer staple for a sunny terrace; pick every second day or pods turn woody.PapayaपपीताCarica papayaFruit inside a year from seed — the fastest fruit a household can grow.