Showing posts with label lahore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lahore. Show all posts

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Buying seeds and plants from Abroad

There is an increasing trend in gardeners in Pakistan to buy seeds and plants online and grow them in Pakistan. While there is no harm in doing that but one must keep in mind that local indigenous flora must be protected and alien species should not take over them. Here are some of the tips when buying seeds and plants from internet. Just a slight note here

What is Pakistan plant zone? Zone 9?
When buying seeds and plants online then every website has categorized the plant into various zones. Generally speaking the lower the zone, the colder it is. And higher the zone, warmer it is. But one must kept in mind that these zones were created keeping in mind the USA climate and not the climate of Pakistan. Basically plant zone (Also known as hardiness zone) tells you whether a plant growing in this zone will survive its winters or not? It does not tell you whether it will survive the summers or humidity of that area.
  
So zone 9 or zone 10 does give you a hint that a plant has potential to grow in that area but it does not give you guarantee that it will grow well there. So always consult your local horticultural society or Facebook group or any gardening forum whether this plant/seed is suitable to the area or not, before you buy. Remember, not only hardiness zone but relative humidity in that area, day night temperature difference also play an important role in success of a plant.

The higher you go in altitude, the zone goes lower, so Islamabad is cooler than Lahore and hardiness zone of Islamabad is 9 which is lower than zone 10 of Lahore. Similarly Murree might be in Zone 8 and Skardu might be in Zone 7 (approximate). So your motia cannot survive the winter of murree but grows very good in Lahore. Similarly plants like clematis and hydrangea do not grow in Lahore but feel at home in Murree and high altitudes.

In my experience, for Lahore, see if the plant grows well in Phoenix, Arizona, USA then it will survive the summers of lahore. Because phoenix arizona is also a semi desert city and Lahore is semi desert in summers. Lahore has subtropical and semi arid climate. Karachi is more tropical than Lahore. Hawai USA is zone 11 and it is pure topical, has lots of beaches and humid climate. Srilanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and all tropical in nature and this is the reason most of plant containers bought by big nurseries are always from this cities/countries :)

There is a relatively better measure than winter hardiness zone and that is called heat zone. Heat zone combined with hardiness zone are better indicator of plant success in that area.

From where to buy
Apart from local seeds vendors there are many online international seeds vendors who will deliver to Pakistan. Whenever you will buy from an online seeds/plant shop, first check if the website has Pakistan in its country list both in the delivery address and in the billing address. If Pakistan is not in country list in delivery address then it cannot ship to Pakistan. If Pakistan is not present in country list in Billing address then it means Credit/Debit card of Pakistan cannot be used for making transaction.
Always always mention to the seller website that the seeds packet must be marked as a gift item for horticulture use and must not mention seeds price. This will avoid custom issues :)
Online shops will send you through air mail but may not send you the tracking code. Tracking code can be checked on that country's postal website.

some of the reliable seeds shops which deliver to Pakistan include Chiltern Seeds UK, Thompson and morgran UK, Georgia Vines USA, Sunshine Seeds Germany etc. Also find some of my reviews of international seeds vendors here http://www.lahoregardening.com/2010/06/review-of-international-seeds-suppliers.html and here http://www.lahoregardening.com/2010/12/review-of-international-seeds-suppliers.html


Restrictions on importing seeds and plants
When importing seeds or plants through post or mail office, your package might get seized by the GPO specially if it is large order or a live plant. Either you can bribe the guys at GPO (not recommended) or go the official way. The official way is that you have to get certificates from both Environment Protection department and from seeds corporation department. The guys from environment protection department will physically check your package and then approve it.

Generally speaking small orders reach home directly. I have ordered up till 25 seeds packet to Lahore but never had a problem.

When bringing plants through luggage, there is not restriction, you can bring whatever you want unless it is a huge plant noticeable by everyone and some official stops you:)

For importing live plants through Post, phytosanitary certificate is required. This certificate is issued by the seller website and they charge extra for that. Again, there are workaround to resolve this issue in GPO :)

Remember, the GPO will always impose customs duty on your plants and seeds too, if they seize your package.

Best time to import bulbs/seeds
Never buy bulbs from abroad during hottest months specially Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar etc. Unless the bulbs are of summer planting like gloriosa lily, tube rose etc. Bare roots, try to get in cooler months, cooler the climate, better it is. Remember, and i repeat again, Spring of UK and most Europe is not our spring .Their summer is cooler than ours and not our summers. If you get bulbs from abroad, plant them as soon as possible. In case of bulbs, try to dispatch the bulbs to some relative of yours in the seller country like UK, USA etc and ask them to bring the package in their luggage. Buying bulbs through post creates many issues. Just to give you a hint, most south african bulbs do very good here. And some australian too.

Seeds can be bought year round. Although most of seeds mentioned in summer catalog of US and UK seeds shops are planted in Fall in hot climate cities like Lahore and Karachi however seeds like morning glory, rudbeckia etc are summer sown here. Seeds if need to be stored should be stored in fridge in zip lock baggie which are easily available. Here are some of my tips for successful seeds germination http://www.lahoregardening.com/2012/04/seed-germination-tips.html 


Making online transactions
Best option is to use your debit credit card. Remember Paypal does not support pakistan and for purchasing through paypal you need to have an international paypal account. Credit cards work fine but not all debit cards work. I have successfully used Standard Chartered debit card, UBL prepaid visa card, MCB prepaid visa debit card and i believe there are few others debit card as well. But not all debit cards work online. For some banks cards, you need to activate your card for internet shopping for limited time duration, always note that the website might complete your transaction immediately after completing your order but your card might be charged much later. Always use that website which make use of 3 digit CVV code on the back of your card.

I hope this guide was helpful to the newbies and gardeners interested in buying seeds, bulbs and plants online. Your comments are always welcome and i will try my best to give answers to any of your questions as soon as possible. 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Kitchen Gardening Training (Dada pota show)

Dear All,

It is a pleasure for me to let you know that PAMCO (http://www.pamco.bz/) is organizing a series of Kitchen gardening workshops with a collaboration from Data pota show website . You need to register yourself at http://doyourownbusiness.com/?page_id=76  and then you will be contacted to participate in the training.

Training will be held every Saturday by Mr Imran (Horticulture officer at PAMCO) and this Saturday its venue is railway station, lahore.

For more details, keep listening to data pota show and dada pota website. I will keep updating you in this regard.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Kitchen gardening - Hybird, heirloom and OP varieties

A hybrid vegetable is result of cross-pollination between two genetically different parent plants. Plant breeders develop hybrids to increase disease resistance, to improve yield, or to select for special fruit traits such as color, aroma, taste, or shipping quality. Whenever you see F1 or F2 with a seed, this is hybrid.

If you grow a vegetable/fruit grown from a hybrid seed then the seed obtained from the crop can not be re-used, you must buy the seeds again. This is the reason most commercial sellers sell hybrid vegetable seeds so that gardeners come to buy again and again. If you sow the seed from a hybrid crop, the resultant plant will never be as good as the parent.

Heirloom vegetables are cultivated forms of crops that have been perpetuated by gardeners who save seed (or propagate by some other means such as taking cuttings) from year to year. Some heirloom vegetable varieties have been around for more than a century! Gardeners have kept these varieties growing for generations because the crops performed well in a particular area or because they have outstanding flavor, unusual color, or other appealing characteristics.

OP stands for open-pollinated, meaning that wind, bees, or other insects, rather than plant breeders, transferred the pollen to fertilize the flowers. While all heirloom vegetables are open-pollinated, not all OP vegetables are heirlooms, since most seed companies offer modern-day varieties of vegetables that have been pollinated by wind or other means.

Seeds from the crop of Heirloom/OP vegetables are true to their parent. So you do not need to buy the seeds again and again.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Garden Geek wins Best photo blogger award at Pakistan Blog Awards 2010

It is a pleasure for me to announce that i have won the award of best photo blogger in my country pakistan's first blog awards held in karachi on May 28, 2010. The blog award show was arranged by CIO Pakistan. I could not have been possible without you, the readers, the fans of my blog. I would like to thank you all who voted or put some kind comments for my blog. The credit also goes to hundreds of my fans who visit my blog at regular basis.

I could not attend the ceremony due to some personal commitments but got the trophy somehow. Here is the trophy. The trophy came with goodies bag as well, wonderful stuff. I would also like to congratulate Google Pakistan and CIO Pakistan on doing a great job of Pakistan blog awards.

There are very few gardening blogs from Pakistan and i am sure this award will inspire other bloggers from Pakistan and from lahore as well to blog and blog good. It will also inspire those folks who are passionate about gardening but do not blog. I would love some companions along the way.


For more information on the Blog Awards, please visit: www.blogawards.pk

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Where to get plant seeds and garden accessories in lahore?

I have prepared a list seeds shop which sell seasonal/permanent flowers seeds. Currently this is for lahore.These shops also sell gardening tools and fertilizers and various gardening accessories.

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Sunny View Seed Store Old Club Lahore Mian Muhammad Farooq 04236301925 0321-9401925 They are probably oldest and have got some seeds not available anywhere else including moon flowers.

Pride Seed Store, Hussain Chowk Lahore Muhammad Ashfaq 04235763069, 0300-8436799 They also sell cactus and other succulents. This is their website http://prideseedstore.com/

Chanan Din Seeds, Gulberg Lahore Mian Usman 04235763898, 0300-4231410 I think they have got largest bulbs collection in the season i.e in fall and summer bulbs.

Arain Seeds , Sabzi mandi, Multan chungi Lahore 04235422358 They also sell seedlings for veggies and seasonal flower seedlings. This is their website http://www.arain-seeds.com/

More Green seeds, Liberty market Lahore 04235875547


You can also get garden accessories from Metro and Hyper-star but they are a bit expensive.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

List of plant nurseries of lahore

Being a garden enthusiast, i would like to share with you plants nurseries of lahore. Find below their contact numbers as well. These are without any sorting or rank.

1 Hassan Nursery, Qazzafi Stadium Lhr Mr. Ashfaq 5764446 0300-4309634

2 GEO Nursery, Johar Town, Lhr Mr. Ali Raza 0300-9485713

3 A-One Nursery, Johar Town, Lhr Mr. Javed

4 Malik Nursery, Johar Town, Lhr Mr. Slaeem

5 Pattoki Nizami Nursery, Lala Zar, Lhr Mr. Mudassar 0300-4331247

6 Shakeel Nursery, Lala Zar, Lhr Mr. Jalil Ahsan 0300-4536733

7 Golrha Sharif Nursery, Lala Zar Mr. Shoaib 0300-9434009

8 Data Nursery, Lala Zar, Lhr Mr.Rai Maqsood Ahmad 0300-8856532

9 Brother Nursery, Lala Zar Mr. Aslam 0300-4331352

10 Arain Nursery, Model Town, Lhr Ch. Akbar 0300-4134614

11 Wahab Nursery, Model Town, Lhr Mr. Arif 0300-4287867 5853225

12 Ali Nursery, Model Town, Lhr Mr. Shahid

13 Pak, Nursery, Model Town, Lhr Mr. Mukhtar 5834086

14 New Pak Nursery, Model Town, Lhr Mr. Fahim 0333-4232616

15 Abbass Nursery, Lhr Muhah Din Sb. 0333-4222731

16 Haq Nursery, Kalma Chowk, Lhr Mr. Anwar Sb 5869095

17 Al-Riaz Nursery Township, Lhr Ali Sb 0333-6982275

18 Haji Chirag Din Nursery, Walton Rd, Lhr M. Amin 0321-4076021

19 Karmanwala Nursery, Walton Rd, Lhr Mr. Nazir Ahmad 0300-4132162

20 Amjad Nursery, Qazzafi Stadium, Lhr Rehman Naeem 0300-4716445

21 Nishat Nursery, Kalma Chowk, Lhr Muhammad Muzamil 5833535

22 Ghulam Nabi Nursery, Gazzafi Stadium, Lhr Ghulam Nabi 5764233, 0300-4297756

23 Rich Green Nursery, Model Town, Lhr Habib Ullah Khan 0321-4348269

24 Akram Nursery, Qaddafi Stadium, Lhr Ch. M. Akram 0300-4253571

25 Rahat Nursery, Walton Road, Lhr Mian Khlid Noor 0300-4646676

28 Shaheen Nursery, Hakim Chowk Lhr Ch. Asghar 0300 5544428

29 GEO Nursery, Wapda Town, Lhr Mr. Abbass 0321 4243340

30 Al-Imran Nursery, Pattoki Mr. Shaukat 0300-4253626

31 Golden Nursery, Shalimar Link Rd, Lhr Mr. Ata Muhammad 6846058

32 Mian Ishaq Nursery, Kalma Chowk Lhr Mian Muhammad Ishaq 0300-8464424

33 Lahore Nursery, Kalma Chowk, Lhr Haji Latif Sb.

34 Yasin Nursery Qazzafi Stadium, Lhr Yasin Sb.

35 Islam Nursery Wapda Town, Lhr Sarfraz sb 0300-4575913

36 Zulfiqar Nursery, Civil Hospital DHQ FSD Aslam sb. 0333-6517335

37 Mian Flower Land, FSD Abdul Manan 0300-7637667

38 Lyall pur Gardens, Faisalabad 0320-5453564

39 Evergreen Nursery, Faisalabad Muhammad Tahir 0300-6636815

40 Arain Brothers, Wapda Town, Lhr Mian Tariq 0300-4012210

41 Zain Nursery, Wapda Town, Lhr Zahid Moeen 0300-4307987

42 Pattoki Nursery Farm, Peshawar Morr Islamabad Liaquat Sb. 0300-9546261

43 Ahmad Garden & Cut Flower, Zafar Ali Rd, Lhr Mian Javed Ahmad 0333-4221574

44 Plant Age Nursery, Cantt Lahore Muhammad Ali 0300-9492197

45 Mardan Nursery, Islamabad Hasham Khan 0300-5012568

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Top 25 fragrant perennials for lahore

25-Ixora parviflora - white flowers scented
Ixora parviflora lahore
23-Passion flower-- ghari phool-- climber--- late summer bloomer --slightly fragrantpassion flower ghari phool

 








22- Brugmansia or angel's trumpet-- late summer bloomer -- fragrant

brugmansia angel trumpet
21- lemon/tangerine/orange-- they all flower almost whole year. Chinese naranji is more fragrant than others

citrus orange naranji











20-Tropical water lily - perennial water plant in lahore/karachi
tropical waterlily nymphea lahore
19- Rose - blooms year round specially in temperate climate
rose ghulab












18- Jasminum officinale (desi chambeli) -- climber--blooms in winter months and spring
poet jamsine chambeli jasminum officinale



 







17- Jasmine polyanthum -- climber--winter jasmine-- early spring bloomer
jasmine polyanthum winter jasmine pink jasmine




 









16- jasminum fluminense (juhi) - climber--blooms mainly in summer
indian juhi jasmien azoricum fluminense





 





15- Jasmine nitidum -- climber--blooms year round (specially in lahore)
jasmine nitidum angelwing jasmine










 14- Honeysuckle (lonicera) -- climber-- blooms in summer
 lonicera japonica honeysuckle












13- wisteria-- climber-- blooms in spring
wisteria vine













12- Gardenia jasminoides -- shrub-- blooms in summer ans sometimes in wintergardenia florida jasminoides






 







11- Star jasmine -- spring/summer bloomer -- star shaped white flowers. a bit slow growing.star jasmine Trachelospermum jasminoides






 




10-Plumeria (Chumpa) - blooms in summer - does not like winters





























9- Stephanotis Floribunda -- climber-- very fragrant











8- Artabotrys -- very slow grower -- summer bloomer







 




 7- Brunfelsia -- Francisea -- shrub
6- Buddleia Asiatica -- Butterfly bush-- white flowers

5-Quisqualis indica - Rangoon creeper (jhumka vine)




















4- vallaris glabra - Soniya vine - night scented flowers









  











3- Cestrum Nocturnum -- raat ki rani -- summer/autumn bloomer
 





 



2- Jasmine sambac (motia) -- indian motia or lebanese motia is more fragrant than pakistani motia. While mogra is not fragrant at all.














1- murraya paniculata (chinese marwa) -- shrub-- blooms in rainy season and if its Desi murraya then in spring as well
 

Winner of best photo blogger