October 23, 2006

From planting sweet peas to maintaining bougainvilleas, gardening expert Z.N. has all the answers

Q My son brought me a packet of a product from Canada and its active ingredient is ‘psyllium hydrophilic muciloid’. It is obtained from a plant like our ispaghol. I wonder if you could throw some light on this plant. Can we grow it here? Where can we get its seeds? Please also explain how to cultivate ispaghol in Lahore.

A Ispaghol is the Urdu name for ‘plantago asiatica’ and ‘plantago psyllium’ both of which are members of a very large genus, over 200 species, of plants falling under the botanical heading of ‘plantaginaceae’. Plantago asiatica and plantago psyllium have the same basic chemistry and are used interchangeably. Their medicinal properties were known by the Chinese as long ago as 250 BC with both the seeds and husks being used depending on the treatment being given. The product you mention appears to contain a large percentage of ispaghol, usually only the seed husk not the seeds themselves and I suspect it is used for the same type of purpose.

Plantago asiatica, plantago psyllium, along with countless other members of this particular family of plants, grow wild and are also cultivated in many areas of Pakistan.

Seed should be sown either during autumn or early spring in the Lahore area but you would need millions of plants to produce a sizeable quantity of usable ispaghol husk. Soil should be reasonably fertile and well drained but keep the plants watered on a regular basis or they will die out during very hot weather. As to a source of seed, perhaps your local agricultural department can assist although if you only want a small quantity then I suggest checking out your local medicinal herb market/store and you may find some there.

Q When is the right time to plant sweet pea seeds in Karachi and how should I go about it? My daughter brought me two packets of mixed sweet peas from Lahore and I want them to grow well and flower as I simply adore the fragrance.

A Sweet peas should be sown during late October through to the end of November in Karachi. It is best to soak the hard seeds in warm water for up to 12 hours prior to planting as this softens the outer skin and promotes germination. Sweet peas require very rich, heavily manured soil in order to thrive and provide the mass of bloom you are hoping for.

You can sow the seed either directly in prepared ground or start them off in plant pots and transplant them when they reach the four to six leaf stage. They need handling with care as the seedlings are quite brittle. You can, of course, grow them in very large clay pots and keep them in these if you prefer. Seed should be planted at a depth of approximately two to three inches and the soil kept moist, not soaking wet, throughout their growing and flowering period.

Once they come into bloom, keep picking as many as you like to admire inside your home as, the more you pick the more flowers they produce until the heat of early summer cuts them down. If your sweet peas are of the climbing variety they will need support to climb up, canes are ideal but need to be reasonably strong. If they are of the dwarf varieties canes should not be necessary.

Q Do Californian poppies come in any colour other than orange?

A Definitely yes! Californian poppies are to be found in all the colours of the rainbow and, what’s more, have both single and double flowers, too.

Q I live in Rawalpindi and have a bougainvillea planted in the ground for the last 10 years. The problem is that although it is flourishing there are very few flowers each season. Please suggest a remedy to make it full of flowers.

A Perhaps you are ‘killing’ your bougainvillea with kindness. In rich, heavily fed and regularly watered soil they grow tremendously but bear very little blossom. They much prefer almost total neglect, poor soil conditions and very little water if any at all. Try putting your bougainvillea on a strict diet and it should reward you with lots and lots of colourful blooms.

The only time that bougainvilleas require watering is when they are newly transplanted and even this should be stopped once they are established.

Q Are ornamental cabbages really edible? A friend tells me that they are but I disagree.

A Your friend is correct. Ornamental cabbages are perfectly edible and the young leaves are a delightful addition to salads and stir fries. Fully grown ones can be cooked in exactly the same way as their green friends.

Q I belong to an NGO which is building an educational complex at Fatehjung, District Attock. Kindly tell us whether olive and fig trees will grow in this area. If so, where can we find saplings?

A Olives and figs should both grow very well in your locality and you are to be commended for intending to plant them there. To have a good crop of olives you need both male and female plants and you may have to wait up to five, possibly even seven years for them to begin fruiting.

Figs on the other hand, grow and fruit rapidly and, depending on the size of the saplings you put in, can start to crop in as little as three to six months. You should be able to find saplings in the Islamabad/Rawalpindi area during January and February, failing this then either in Haripur or Peshawar over the same period of time. Good luck with your project.

Q Please recommend a book, in Urdu, about how to grow fruit and vegetables as my English vocabulary is poor.

A I am sorry but I cannot help you with this problem. There must be an Urdu book available and I suggest that you check with the booksellers in your area to see if they can help you out.

Q I am facing a termite problem in Korean grass in Islamabad. It is rapidly damaging the grass and I need to know some treatment, preferably organic, to eradicate these pests.

A Termites create dreadful problems in some localities in and around Islamabad and the damage they do, to building foundations as well as gardens, has to be seen to be believed. Sadly, however, I am not aware of any reliable organic solution for such a problem with termites.

Send your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com Answers to selected questions will appear in a future issue of ‘The Review’.

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