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.
100 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
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.RiceधानOryza sativaHalf the country’s calories — and a bucket of it on a terrace teaches more than any book.
Golden Bambooपीला बांसBambusa vulgarisYellow culms striped green; the ornamental clumping bamboo of Indian gardens.Water Spinachकलमी सागIpomoea aquaticaGrows on water or wet mud and crops every fortnight through the monsoon.TaroअरबीColocasia esculentaBig heart leaves on a wet corner; the corm below and the leaf above both go to the…Umbrella SedgeमोथाCyperus alternifoliusSpokes of leaf on a green stem — the marginal plant that makes a tub read as a…
Spanish JasmineचमेलीJasminum grandiflorumThe chameli of the perfume fields — long-tubed white flowers picked before dawn.OleanderकनेरNerium oleanderPink or white flowers all year on a shrub that survives the worst urban roadside.Yellow Oleanderपीला कनेरCascabela thevetiaNarrow willow leaves and yellow bells; tough, fast and equally poisonous.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.Shoe Flower HedgeजपाHibiscus syriacusA hardier deciduous hibiscus for the hills, flowering through the monsoon.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.Nerium JasmineकुंदाTabernaemontana divaricataThe chandni — pinwheel white flowers, glossy leaves and constant flowering in shade.
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