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August 31, 2006
Growing perennial plants
Ready to grow flowering shrubs and prune roses? Zahrah Nasir can guide you on how to do it
Q We have a cottage in Khanspur, Ayubia, with a small garden which is surrounded by pine trees. It is very shady although it does get filtered light during the summer months. In winter the place is entirely inundated with snow which melts very late. Could you please suggest some appropriate flowering shrubs and seasonal flowers which one could plant here? Also, we want to grow lavender plants but cannot locate the seed. Can you help?
A Roses, both bush and climbing, may perform well if the light is sufficient. You may also like to try various varieties of jasmine, honeysuckle, cistus, clematis, wisteria, hydrangea, spiraea and buddleia (although not the white or yellow species of the latter as these are not frost tolerant).
Perennial flowering plants, ones which continue to grow and multiply year by year, which are suitable for your garden include: kniphofia (red-hot-pokers), digitalis (foxgloves), campanulas, dianthus (both perennial pinks and sweet Williams), hollyhocks, delphiniums, lupins, blue flowered sage (salvia officinalis) and cerastium (snow-in-summer).
Suitable annual flowers, or bi-annuals grown as annuals in your climate, include: pansy, petunia, antirrhinums, rudbeckia, phlox, stocks, larkspur, bellis and many more. You have overlooked bulbs but might like to try: nargis, daffodils, gladioli, anemones, snowdrops, monbretia and dahlia tubers, though these should be lifted and stored in a frost free place for the winter and re-planted in the spring.
Lavender will not grow well in your climatic conditions.
Q I have about 20 grafted roses in the ground and would like to know when to prune them. My mali says this should be done in August but I am not sure. Also, how much should I prune as I saw that in England they cut back to only four or five inches from the roots? We also have a problem with our roses as they get something like cotton wool on their branches and the leaves get tiny black things on the back. What is the name of a suitable spray to deal with this?
A Presuming that you reside in Karachi, your roses should be pruned back during late spring when temperatures begin to rise and the flowers have finished. Alternatively they can be pruned after the end of the summer monsoon, not during the rains as the high humidity can cause fungal infections in new cuts at this time. Pruning them back to between six to eight inches is usually sufficient in this climate.
The cotton wool like thing that you see is most likely an infestation of wooly aphids and, as I do not advocate the use of any chemicals in the garden, I suggest that you remove this with warm soapy water and a sponge or use garlic water to spray them with. Garlic water is made by boiling a quarter kilogram of roughly chopped whole garlic in one litre of water, leaving it to stand for 12 to 24 hours, then straining this through a fine cloth, ‘mulmul’ is ideal, and spraying this liquid over the infested parts of the plants. Garlic water is suitable and safe to use on all plants and vegetables in the garden but should be repeated on a regular basis to keep your plants pest free.
Q We have a khangi palm (ficus revolute) in the lawn. It is about three and a half feet tall with a seven and a half feet diametre. Once in a while it produces a flower, instead of a bunch of leaves, over a previous flower which is almost dried out and on such occasion the growth of fresh leaves is delayed. Presently it has two layers of leaves. Do you think it is advisable that the lower leaves should be trimmed in order to stimulate fresh growth?
A There is absolutely no need to trim the lower leaves of your khangi palm unless they are dried out or otherwise damaged. This would only make your plant appear unsightly and will not speed up leaf growth in any way.
Q Kindly suggest how I can take cuttings from my flourishing money plant. I have not been successful despite trying many times. It grows in soil in a clay pot.
A Taking cutting from your money plant should be a simple process and I am not sure why you have not yet succeeded in this. Cuttings should be taken from shoots growing from the sides of the main stem and can be anything from three to six inches in length. It is best to keep these cuttings in water, not earth, in a clear glass container until the root systems are fully developed. After this you can either continue to grow them in water or try transplanting them into soil as with your existing plant.
Q The leaves of my money plants are turning yellow and the plants are dying. What can I do?
A If your money plants are growing in soil then I suggest that you take them out and put them in water instead. They are perfectly content to grow only in water as long as it is not brackish. Perhaps your plants are receiving too much direct sunlight as this can damage their leaves and turn them yellow. Money plants much prefer partial shade to sunlight. Try removing all of the yellowed leaves, cut them off cleanly with a sharp pair of scissors, and then cut the plant to six-inch-long segments, with or without leaves, and propagate new plants as described in the answer preceding this one. Good luck!
Q Can you please give me the Urdu names for the following: rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley and
honeysuckle.
A Rosemary is known as rusmari, thyme is called sperkai in Pashtu and possibly the same in Urdu, Basil is naazboo, parsley parsil and honeysuckle phut.
Q Is raat-ki-rani a vine and what is its botanical and common name?
A Raat-ki-rani is the Urdu name for the popular night flowering, heavily perfumed shrub known as queen-of-the-night in English. Its botanical name is cestrum nocturnum.
Q Where can I obtain a lotus vine? Please be specific in naming a nursery.
A Lotus is a water plant which can be grown from cuttings or from seed. For details of where to purchase plants I suggest that you look under Gardening in the advertising section of Dawn’s Sunday edition.
