Plant library
Explore Plants
Filter by what you want to grow, the space you have and the season you are in.
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Water Lettuceजल सलादPistia stratiotesA floating rosette that shades a tub and starves the algae — but a weed if it escapes.
Chinese Hibiscusगुड़हलHibiscus rosa-sinensisFlowers nearly all year in a warm city, and sunbirds find it within a week.Arabian JasmineमोगराJasminum sambacA pot by an open window does more for a summer evening than any air freshener.Indian Water FernअजोलाAzolla pinnataA floating fern that fixes nitrogen — fertiliser and fodder that grows itself.HennaमेहंदीLawsonia inermisThe mehndi hedge of the dry west — scented flowers and dye leaves.
Sugarcaneगन्नाSaccharum officinarumA few canes in a corner give juice, gur and a green screen by October.TecomaतेकोमाTecoma stansYellow bells almost all year on a shrub that survives a forgotten terrace.
PapayaपपीताCarica papayaFruit inside a year from seed — the fastest fruit a household can grow.Frangipani WhiteगुलचीनPlumeria albaThe white frangipani of temple gardens, tougher than the pink and just as scented.Crown Flowerसफेद आकCalotropis proceraThe desert milkweed, smaller than gigantea and even tougher.Lantana NativeराईमुनियाLantana camaraA relentless nectar plant — and an invasive that must be kept in a pot.Ixoraरुग्मिनीIxora coccineaCompact evergreen with flower heads butterflies work all morning.TuberoseरजनीगंधाAgave amicaBulbs planted in March give heavily scented white spikes through the monsoon.Zinniaजिन्नियाZinnia elegansThe most reliable cut flower for an Indian summer terrace.SunflowerसूरजमुखीHelianthus annuusA fortnight of spectacle and then a head of seed the birds will take.Portulacaकुल्फा फूलPortulaca grandifloraOpens in full sun on a terrace where nothing else will survive noon.Not sure where to start?
Answer three questions on the home page — your region, your space and your goal — and we will name two plants to sow this month.
How the library is organised
By regionEach entry notes where the plant grows well across India, from the Gangetic plain to coastal soils.
By seasonSowing windows for every month, so you never plant a winter green in May.
By spaceWindowsill, balcony, terrace or ground — filtered so you only see what will survive with you.
Checked by a botanistNames and facts are reviewed before publication; traditional uses are labelled as traditional.