Q. I started my vegetable garden in February in Islamabad. I bought seedlings of chillies and tomatoes, and seeds for some other vegetables. The seedlings grew well but the seeds all failed to germinate. Now, I am planning my winter garden and need to know which vegetables to plant and when. Also, where should I get seedlings and reliable seeds from?

A. Planting guides for the coming month are given in this column on the first Sunday of each month. Please read these to find out what to plant and when. As your previous seedlings did well, I suggest that you buy from the same place again. As for seeds, lack of germination can be due to a number of things, e.g. seed sown too deep, soil conditions not suitable, incorrect watering and so on. Purchase seeds from a reputable seed seller, follow the seed sowing instructions provided on the packet and try again.

Q. I am new in Karachi and looking for a good place to buy clay pots and also plants like Areca palm. Please help.

A. I suggest that you search for nurseries in the Defence, Clifton and PECHS areas of the city as these should have the items you wish to buy.

Q. Is it possible to grow rosemary, thyme, oregano and basil in Layyah, Punjab? If it is, where can I get them?

A. Yes, providing that the correct growing conditions are provided for each species. I suspect that, due to your location, you may need to grow all of them from seed. Pakistan-based seed suppliers can be found via the internet.

All your gardening queries answered here

Q. I am doing a massive overhaul of my garden in Karachi and would appreciate advice on the best flowering trees and shrubs I can grow here. I am planting the usual suspects: Bougainvillea, frangipani, hibiscus, chambeli, motia, ixora, tabebuias, kumquat, lemon and pomegranate but do have space for more.

A. How about expanding on your hibiscus as there are some really beautiful ones around? Add some of the double ones in colours such as apricot, deep purple and bright pink for example. Other shrubby suggestions are: Brunfelsia — commonly called ‘yesterday, today and tomorrow’ as its flowers change from purple to mauve to white, cassia alata with its stunning candelabras of golden flowers, blue flowered duranta, hamalia patens with vermillion flowers, jatropha with pink or red flowers for most of the year and ice-blue-flowered plumbago. Flowering trees: Lagerstroemia indica — crepe myrtle, bottle brush, lignum vitae with its blue flowers and orange seed pods, kachnar and madre.

Q. We live in Nazimabad, Karachi and planted okra, bitter gourd, tomatoes, chillies and tori in pots. The pots receive at least six hours of sunshine every day. All the plants are also doing well and lots of flowers appear with the exception of the okra. No flowers grow and no vegetables form in this plant. We water them every evening. And even though there are no visible pests, we still occasionally spray the plants with neem oil and soapy water. The plants are fed with animal manure. What can the problem be? We are very disappointed and are losing hope of having any vegetables. Please advise.

A. Please do not spray with neem oil or soapy water unless pests are visible. It could be that you have inadvertently sprayed the pollinators, such as bees, hoverflies and other necessary insects, needed to pollinate the flowers so that vegetables/fruits do form. From your description of growing practices, this is the only potential problem I can identify, as all else is perfect.

Q. I have a nine-year-old lychee tree in Islamabad. The sapling came from Sialkot and was said to have originated in Bangladesh. It was claimed to be a seedless variety. It flowered and fruited when six years old, but the fruits were small with small seeds. The following year, the fruit was even smaller and it has not flowered or fruited since then. I feed it with farmyard manure every year and can see no insects or pests. What should I do?

A. If you are watering the tree during autumn and winter please stop. Overwatering a lychee tree can stop it from flowering. If this is not the issue, perhaps you have pruned the tree incorrectly or at the wrong time of the year, or perhaps you haven’t pruned it at all. Lychee trees are pruned mid-July, after fruiting has finished (the same time even if the tree didn’t fruit). This pruning encourages the growth that will produce the next season’s flowers and fruit. Pruning lychees is a little complicated, so search the internet for an instructional video to guide you.

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, July 12th, 2020