Q. There is a flower bed outside our bedroom window and I want to plant it with a mixture of fragrant perennial and seasonal flowers. I am particularly keen to have flowers that give off their scent from sunset onwards and through the night. The reason for this is my husband. He has always loved flowers and gardens and is confined to bed now for the long term. He doesn’t sleep much and I think that the natural scent of flowers will sooth and relax him during the night when other family members are asleep. We reside in KDA, Karachi.

A. A beautiful idea! Having no idea of the size or orientation of the flower bed concerned, I can only make general recommendations and leave the fine tuning to you. Fragrant perennial shrubs which may be suitable include: Oleander — Kaner, ‘Frangipani’/’Plumeria’, ‘Murraya exotica’ — Kamni, ‘Cestrum nocturnum’ — Queen of the night, Raat ki Rani, ‘Tabernamontanae’ — Chandni, ‘Jasminium’ — Motia, and highly perfumed desi roses. Climbers to consider: ‘Lonicera’ — Honeysuckle, climbing jasmine — star jasmine, climbing perfumed roses, ‘Beaumontia grandiflora’ and ‘Quisqualis indica’ — Rangoon creeper. Seasonal flowers: sweet peas, sweet williams, sweet sultan, ‘Matthiola’ — night-scented stocks, Virginia stocks, ‘Heliotrope’, sweet alyssum, Japanese pinks, ‘Mignonette’, ‘Nicotiana’ and wallflowers. Bulbs and corms: Nargis, tuberose, Dutch hyacinth and ‘Freesias’.

Q. My purple ‘Coleus’ plants are dying. They were fine until the start of May but, one after the other, they suddenly started dying. I have kept them in partially shaded area and fertilise them with a little amount of cow dung compost, but there is no change in their condition. Kindly help me save my plants.

A. ‘Coleus’, unfortunately, are not long-lived plants and, especially if they have been allowed to flower, have a habit of dying off as soon as temperatures begin to rise. Ideally, grow from seed sown anytime from March to July or propagate from cuttings taken during early to mid-spring or, if the plants have, by some miracle, managed to survive the hot weather, during the summer monsoons. Between seed-sowing and cuttings, you can have these gorgeously coloured foliage plants on display almost all year round. Pinching out flower buds as soon as they begin to form, not only prolongs the life of the plant, it also encourages them to bush out rather than grow tall and leggy.

Q. I am eager to know which plants can be trained as wall (facing west) coverings and which can tolerate Karachi’s summer heat. I am thinking of using Dum-dum and ‘Conocarpus’ but would appreciate other suggestions.

A. Dum-dum is ideal but please do not plant ‘Conocarpus’ which is an imported problem that offers absolutely nothing to indigenous wildlife of any shape or form. Other possible hedging shrubs, some of which may require a support framework plus regular pruning, include: ‘Bougainvillea’, ‘Clerodendron’, ‘Eranthemum’, ‘Lantana’, ‘Murraya exotica’ — Kamni, and ‘Tabernamontanae’ — Chandni.

All your gardening queries answered here

Q. Can pecan nuts and avocado trees be grown in the area of Simly Dam, outside Islamabad?  

A. Yes, they should both do well if they receive plenty of water, on a regular basis, throughout their growing and fruiting period.

Q. What is the best way to propagate ‘Gazania’ plants? I have quite a large rockery type area in my garden in PECHS, Karachi, and think that covering it with ‘Gazanias’ will have a beautiful result. For this, I would need many plants and, as they are on the costly side, propagating them at home seems to be the answer.

A. Divide the roots of established ‘Gazania’ plant any time from the beginning of October to the end of March. You may need to use a sharp knife to carefully cut the roots apart. Each division should have a reasonable amount of root and leaves attached. Plant these, individually, in 6- to 8-inch pots of well-draining, sandy soil and keep watered until new growth appears. Once growing strongly, the divisions can be planted out into their final growing position. Alternatively, propagate from seed sown, just under the surface of good quality, organic compost in either September or October or during March. When they are large enough to handle and once fully established, transplant seedlings into individual pots and into their final growing position.

Q. I recently collected lots of seeds from the ‘Freesia’ plants in my aunt’s garden in Islamabad. When is the correct time to sow these in Lahore? What kind of compost should I use and how long will it take for them to flower?

A. Sow ‘Freesia’ seed during September and October. Soak them in water for a full 24 hours prior to sowing them, approximately 5cm apart, in pots/ trays of freely draining, sandy loam mixed with organic compost. Keep the trays/ pots in the shade and lightly sprinkle with water each evening. Once they germinate and send up their first, grass-like, leaves, slowly move them into partial shade and eventually into full winter sunlight. Some of them may flower the following spring, others the spring after. Do not transplant into their permanent growing position until after they have flowered and died back for the first time. ‘Freesias’ are one bulb that does best when left, undisturbed, in the ground all year round.

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, June 27th, 2021