Q. I want to set up a seed saving organisation in Karachi to save heirloom seeds. How should I go about this and how to source heirloom seeds to save them for posterity?

A. A laudable objective and one which is long overdue on a professional basis. Firstly, you need to learn everything there is to know about saving seeds and how to retain total purity by avoiding cross pollination with other related species. You also need to create and maintain perfect seed storage conditions relative to the Karachi climate. Connecting with the various horticultural societies/clubs in the city, explaining your aims and requesting assistance in tracking down heritage seeds is an important, and potentially extremely useful, thing to do. Such a project needs a tremendous amount of networking to make it viable and I wish you all the very best with this.

Q. I bought what I was told is a desi lemon tree. It’s about three years old but hasn’t flowered yet. Kindly guide how long it takes to flower and how to tell if it is a desi lemon or not.

All your gardening queries answered here

A. Desi lemon trees can take anywhere from three to seven years and more to begin flowering and producing the wonderful lemons they are known for. Their leaves tend to be larger than those of other lemon varieties and the trunk and branches often have far more, and far larger, spines/thorns on them than the cultivated varieties that are generally available in nurseries.

Q. I want to plant olives in Muhammad Wala area near Multan. Is this advisable and where should I get the saplings from?

A. Some varieties of olives may — providing that heavy irrigation is maintained during the intense summer heat of that area — produce well. Please contact your local department of agriculture for specific advice about suitable olive species and sources of the same.

Q. What is a cabbage rose?

A. This term usually refers to Rosa centifolia, a very fragrant hybrid rose bred in Holland way back in the 1600s. Most commonly found in pink shades — although deep red ones have been known — the dense, many-petalled blooms, are said to resemble cabbages. The bushes tend to be shrubby and sprawling and there are climbing/rambling forms too. A gorgeous rose indeed.

Q. I bought a peace lily with me to Pakistan from Dubai. The pot got broken in transport so I re-potted the plant. Now the leaves are turning yellow and then brown from the tips, and no new leaves are growing. I water it when the top of the soil is dry and it is near a sunlight exposed area. What should I do to help it stabilise?

A. The problem is liable to be related to irrigation. Ensure that the drainage holes in the base of the pot are unobstructed so that any excess water can easily drain out and be removed. To check if the plant needs watering, stick a finger into the soil to a depth of about one inch and, only if the soil is completely dry at this depth, water lightly. Do not water if sub-soil is moist. Too much water causes root rot and death. Peace lilies thrive in bright natural light but out of direct sunlight. Feed, with an organic liquid fertiliser every six to eight weeks and, given time, your plant should recover.

Q. I have grown four papaya plants in my lawn in Peshawar. They bear fruits but before the fruit ripens the leaves shrivel and go yellow and slowly the plant dies. Two of them are dead but I want to save the other of two. I need your valuable suggestion at your earliest because I don’t want to lose them.

A. The problem could be a lack of essential soil nutrients and/or incorrect watering combined with bad drainage: papaya leaves shrivel up and turn yellow as a result of any of the aforementioned problems and the plants eventually die. Check that drainage is good, be careful not to overwater, and feed the plants, preferably with an organic liquid fertiliser, once a month throughout the blossoming and fruiting season. As Peshawar can get very cold in winter, also protect the plants from cold winds. If they are not too big by now, transplanting the surviving two trees into very large clay pots and placing them in a sheltered spot may help to save them.

Q. I reside in Karachi and am a beginner to home gardening. I have potted five eggplants in a 12-inch container, all of them producing plenty of flowers but none of them turn into fruit. Please let me know what I am doing wrong. I feed them every fifth day with a granular fertiliser as per the dosage recommended on the packet.

A. Planting five eggplants in just one 12-inch pot is a major mistake. Just one eggplant per 12-inch pot is ideal as the plants need plenty of space to bush out and grow. They are currently too overcrowded to do well as they are perpetually in competition for light, water and nutrients. Feeding them, preferably with an organic fertiliser not a chemical one, once every two or three weeks from flowering to harvesting fruit is quite sufficient.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 23rd, 2018