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. 

Rose rose encyclopedia from Gardening Pakistan

Roses are considered the king of flowers. The gardening pakistan team is doing a great effort in compiling a list of most beautiful and famous roses both in northern and southern hemisphere. Of course it is expanding regularly and you will see many rose plants not available at other rose databases.

Here is the link to this rose encyclopedia http://www.gardeningpakistan.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1784

3 Months free floriculture course - Lahore

The Government of Punjab, floriculture department is offering a free 3-months course at Lawrence gardens, Lahore. Minimum education is matriculation and last date of application is September 27, 2013. Course will include landscaping, commercial cultivation of flowers, ornamental flowers and kitchen gardening.

Flower exhibition in Karachi 2013

The 62nd Pakistan Flower Show 2013 will be taking place at DHA Seaview Public Park on Thursday the 28th of Feb. The Flower Show will end on Sunday 3rd March 2013. The timings are from 9 AM to 10 PM.

Seed germination tips

Growing from seed is an addiction. Only those who are into it know the joy of successful seed germination. Here are some tips for successful seed germination. I hope other members will also contribute. Note that these are general tips, some seeds need special treatment.

1- Large seeds germinate easily and quickly as compared to small seeds. Large seeds can be soaked in water to let the moisture penetrate into the seed for germination.
2- Examples of large seeds are morning glory, sweet peas, bauhinia etc. Examples of small seeds include poppy, petunia, buddleja etc.
3- After seed is germinated, seedling will lean towards sun so keep changing the direction of container so that it remains even.

Sowing depth
Larger the seed, deeper it will be sown. Smaller the seed, closer it will be to the soil. Very small seeds which can not be handled through fingers are mostly surface sown. Surface sown means just place the seeds on the soil surface and do not cover. Very light sprinkling of coco-peat or peat moss is beneficial in most cases.

Sowing time
For spring blooming annuals, seed is sown in september-November
For summer blooming annuals, seed is sown in February-April
For perennials, seed can be sown either in September-october or in Spring (March). The optimum temperature for germination of most seeds is around 20C. Extreme heat and extreme cold both are not good for sowing seeds.

Sowing Medium
Whether it is soil based medium or soil-less medium, it must be well drained. If water stands, seeds will rot. This is the reason most seed germination mixes include sand as sand improves drainage. For precious seeds, vermiculite can be used. Following mixes are successful in my experience:
- 30% sand, 30% garden soil, 30% peat moss
- 50% peat moss, 30% leaf mold, 20% sand

Fertilizer
Somewhere i read 50% sand and 50% leaf mold but not tried yet. IF using vermiculite you can use top few inches of vermiculite while bottom can be filled with good soil mix having some light fertilizer. It is not only cost effective but also logical. Vermiculite will help in germination of seeds and when roots will develop and reach bottom they will get fertilizer.

Note that seeds do not need any fertilizer for germination, strong fertilizer will burn the seedling or seeds might not germinate. Best bet is add very little leaf mold. Another option is whenever you water your seedlings, add 1/6 strength liquid fertilizer in every watering.

Watering
Before sowing the seed, water the container or soil bed thoroughly. After hour an hour, sow the seeds. After that keep the soil moist but not damp. Always use spray gun to water, the one which hair dressers use. To keep it moist and not damp, there are few options. First, use moisture meter to check the moisture, most PH meters come with moisture meter. Second, check soil color, it will tell you whether you need to water or not. third, you can check the container weight but it is more successful in clay pots as plastic pots are already light.

Try bottom watering the seeds and seedlings. There are few ways to achieve it. First, sow in peat pots and place them in 1 inch of water, the water will automatically flow up. Second option is, sow in plastic seeds trays with bottom holes. Place the seed tray in water so that the water is half an inch over the tray from bottom. Soil medium must be light to achieve that. Check bottom watering on internet as well. There are self watering trays as well and they are best for this purpose

Prevent Damping off
In hot and humid weather mostly in monsoon and some times in march april, seedlings suffer from damping off. In this disease, seedlings fall flat. Try sprinkling cinnamon powder on the surface before sowing seeds and improve air circulation. There are some commercial anti-fungicide as well.

Which container to use
Remember clay pots need frequent watering as they dry out quickly. plastic pots retain moisture so less watering is required. I prefer plastic pots as i lost lots of seeds due to dry out problems. In spring sowing plastic containers help less watering. In fall sowing, clay ones are also OK as weather is not harsh. I never had the problem of air circulation in case of plastic pots.

Top 2 techniques for germinating difficult seeds
There are 2 techniques which i use:
1- Soon after sowing the seeds, pack the container in a polyethene bag which must be transparent so that light goes in. When you see the seed germinated, gradually acclimatize the seedling with outside temperature. Open it daily for few hours then increase it and then after few days remove it. This one i use mostly for very small seeds.

2- This method is applicable only for those seeds which are large and can be handled individually. Does not apply to very small seeds. place the seeds between moist sheets of cotton (which is used in wounds) and place them somewhere bright. just when you notice the cotton is starting to dry, water it through sprayer. This is a variation of famous Zip-Lock baggie technique for germinating seeds.

In my opinion, October is the best time to sow all perennial seeds, as the plants get established before the intense summer heat. If you sow in spring then seedling will have to go through strong summer heat. However some seeds including bignonia family seeds, passifloras, hardenbergia etc. needs temperatures into 30's to germinate.

2nd Tulip flower show lahore 2012

Second tulip flower festival was held 16-19 February, 2012 at Royal palm golf club, Lahore, Pakistan. No tickets were required as it was an open event. There were not a lot of people there may be due to lack of publicity of the show but the flowers filled that gap. There were some new varieties of tulips which were not present in the first tulip show last year.Here are those.

This one is Monte. I think most of these are darwin hybirds. My guess is none of the tulips there was species.


The close up. My favorite picture of the tulip show.


This is monsella is a an early tulip which is also called peony tulip due to its resemblance with peony.




This is Gerrit Van Der Valk.








These tulips at the lahore flower show were meant for exhibition and not for naturalizing. Probably early blooming tulips are more suited to naturalizing because late flowering tulips in hot climates like ours never get the time to gather energy for next year survival, this extra time is what makes early blooming tulips more suitable for naturalizing in hot climates. You can check out the coverage of other tulips flower festival on my blog.

I guess the bulbs were pre-chilled as lahore climate requires pre-chilling for tulip flowers. My experiment with species tulips this year is still in progress, will let you know if i am successful in that.

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.

Flowers of Cassia glauca and Crinum amabile

The winter here in lahore is in full swing. Not much perennials you will see in bloom but here are some of the flowers which i am seeing almost daily. The first one is Scrambled Egg Bush with botanic name Cassia glauca. This shrub is almost everywhere in lahore right now. The shrub is everywhere in lahore and also abundant in other subtropical climates. There are many other beautiful cassia shrubs including cassia javanica having pink flowers. Here goes cassia glauca.


The macro is very beautiful. The pollen color contrast with the yellow petal is eye catching.


There are not many crinum blooming right into December but this giant spider lily (Crinum amabile) is still blooming in start of December. A true giant with beautiful flowers. The scent is spicy and fills the air with aroma. Needs a large space to develop.


This post is included in Macro monday by Lisa's Chaos. Do visit her blog for more macro posts.

I have posted this post in the mellow yellow monday as well so do visit Mellow Yellow Monday for more yellow flowers.

Flowers of PC Bhurban - Lobelia, hosta, fuchsia, gazania and daylily

This is the second post in the series of garden flowers of PC Bhurban, Murree hills Pakistan. You can see the previous post covering delphiniums and roses here. As always, feel free to click on the image for full view.

The first one in this post is gazania. Now this is almost a perennial in lahore which is lot hotter than bhurban. It is a very drought tolerant plant and very suitable for hottest of the places in your garden.


Then comes the fuchsia. These are not suitable for hot climates of karachi and lahore. They prefer a cooler weather or at least a temperate one. They can be grown as spring blooming annuals in our southern plains but they do not tolerate the summer heat.


Here is another view from the balcony of PC Burban.


Lobelia, another spring blooming annual in lahore but not a common sight due to the small flowers. It blooms in summer in hilly areas of bhurban and murree hills. Planted in masses, all blue color looks just exquisite. Here is the macro view

Another view of lobelia flowers.


Hosta or plantain lily, grown rarely in plains at least in lahore. It is a bulbous plant famous for growing in shade. Its foliage is perhaps more pretty than its flowers and the is the main attraction.


There are some species which can be grown in lahore and other subtropical climates. But it is a plant not well explored here in plains. Does not come true from seed and does not flower early from seed, best propagated through division and not easily available as well.


Last in this post is the daylily. There are many cultivars of this beautiful and east to grow plant. If there is one bulbous plant which can well endure the heat of lahore then it is no other than daylily. In Pearl continental hotel Bhurban there are many varieties of daylily are planted. This was my personal favorite.


The last post on the flowers of PC bhurban will take some time because there are lot of un-identified flowers in the post and i am trying hard to get their names. Meanwhile there will be a series of butterflies of Pakistan and that includes a few species i captured in murree hills and one special butterfly i saw in the garden of PC Bhurban. So the butterfly lovers, stay tuned for next few posts!!!

This post is included in Today's flowers  so do visit there to see flowers from around the world.
For macro monday, visit Lisa's Chaos
For Mosaic monday, visit Mosaic monday

Flowers of PC Bhurban - Delphinium and Roses

This is the third post in the series of hilly area flowers. The first two you can find here and here. If you ever go to murree hills and other gailyat and do not visit the garden of PC Bhurban, you did nothing. One of the most beautiful gardens i ever saw. Very well maintained and well planned. The landscaping is excellent so is the choice of plants. You will find flowering bulbs, shrubs, roses, perennials, annuals etc.

When you enter into PC bhruban, the first row of flower bed, that is all delphinium. And what a sight it is. almost every color of delphinium with full glory. And it is not 6 inches delphinium from a hot climate, this is grandiflora which gets tall to its full extent as this cool climate is ideal for its growth. We, the natives of subtropical climate, are content with its warm weather cousin larkspur though. Here comes the delphiniums, you can click on the image for full view:







If you visit Pearl Continental hotel bhurban chances are you will be seeing one of the best roses display over there. And these are not floribundas or other miniature ones. The giant roses. Bright colors, very large blooms and that too on a single stem.


The white roses are my personal favorite. Roses love temperate climate. Neither too hot not too cold. This is mid May and weather is very pleasant in bhurban. Roses are enjoying it too. What a delight it is, having a cup of coffee among these beautiful roses, looking at the snowy Himalayas. What a treat.  






There will be at least two more posts on flowers of PC Bhruban Murree ahead. So keep visiting for more alpine flowers. There will also be one post exclusively on butterflies of Murree and galiyat. So stay tuned and enjoy these blooms.

This post is included in Today's flowers  so do visit there to see flowers from around the world.
For macro monday, visit Lisa's Chaos
For Mosaic monday, visit Mosaic monday

Flowers of murree hills - Nathia gali

During my recent trip to murree hills and galiyat, i captured lots of flowers, some wild, some naturalized. Here is my first post from this series. These flowers i shot in Nathia gali.

First one is hydrangea which likes to be in cool position. Does not grow well in our subtropical climate of lahore.


These plants were grown by a plant enthusiast and you will not find any wild plants of hydrangea over there. There are two variants available there. The tall one which is common one. The dwarf one is perhaps imported one.


Clematis, queen of flowering vine. This is true wild clematis species in murree and nathia gali and other galiyat region. Native to hilly areas. This one seems to be clematis armandi i guess. Fragrant large flowers in clusters.








Chrysanthemum leucanthemum daisy. Another wild flower.


Murree and nathia gali is full of these honeysuckle shrubs. I thought they might be lonicera japonica but it is a climber not a small tree. So it is some lonicera shrub or small tree with mildly fragrant flowers.


The yellow iris flowers. They are not wild but grown in many home gardeners in murree and nathia gali.




Lupin, another plant which likes cool climate. We do grow them in lahore in our fall for spring flowering but flowers are small and stalks are never as tall. This one was grown by a home gardener in nathia gali.


To see other flowers from around the world, visit Today's Flowers

For macro monday, visit Lisa's Chaos

Also visit Dear little red house for mosaic monday

Small cabbage white butterfly - Pieris rapae

For other wordless wednesday posts, visit Wordless Wednesday.

Spring flowers of aquilegia, beaumontia, gardenia and thunbergia

I am pleased to be part of Garden Bloggers bloom day once again, a monthly event hosted by none other than Carol from May Dreams Garden . Gardeners from around the world showcase their gardens and show the lovely blooms. Here goes mine. And don't forget to visit my previous post of free tomato seeds away. It will only last till last day of April.

I caught this butterfly at these paper flowers on the flower exhibition in the Canntt lahore. There were two more butterflies which i captures there but these will be posted separate.


My favorite aquilegia. Blooming happily in my soil bed. Not a perennial in my hot climate but blooms long enough.

This is gardenia coronaria. Not much fragrant but the flowers are very pretty. A relative of gardenia florida but it blooms in spring instead of late summer. This one shot at the lawrence gardens lahore.

And this one is the favorite creeper of gardeners of Islamabad. This is beaumontia grandiflora also called nepal trumpet vine. Not as fragrant flowers as famed for but still very pretty blooms.

Gram blue butterfly captured on flower of erythrina suberosa. Will post pictures of Erythrina suberosa and cristagali in next post hopefully.

This is an uncommon gardenia. Gardenia lucida. Very fragrant flowers, a small tree. Blooming happily in lawrence gardens lahore. A plant must have.

You all will be familiar with thunbergia alta and perhaps thunbergia grandiflora (bengal clock vine) but not this one. This is thunbergia erecta. Dark blue flowers. Blooms almost whole summer once established.

And last but not least, this flower also shot at Flower exhibition held at polo ground lahore canntt.

Free tomato seeds give away

I am glad to announce this tomato seeds give away on my blog. Sherilou is a generous gardener from New south mexico, USA. And i received freshly harvested heirloom tomato seeds from the mountains of Zuni courtesy to Sherilou. I also got some other cultivars of tomato which are extra. So Any one who is interested in these seeds, just reply in this thread and send me your address at muhammad dot khabbab at gmail dot com and i will send the seeds. I will send seeds wrapped in bubble wrap to those who are overseas. For overseas gardeners, i will send through airmail but may not be able to send first class.

Remember, maximum 2 packets per person. And one packet of seeds will contain around 10 seeds. This offer is only for amateur gardeners !!!!. I will add more tomato seeds in coming few days.

Porter dark cherry tomato - from sherilou
These are some tough heirloom tomatoes. Very heat tolerant. Indeterminate type.
Packet 1 - M. Subzwari, Karachi  - SENT
Packet 2 - Jahanzaib, Islamabad - SENT
Packet 3-  F, Irum. Rawalpindi - SENT
Packet 4 - S, Shahid Karachi - SENT
Packet 5 - Waqas, Lahore - SENT
Packet 6 -  
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Packet 8 - 
Packet 9 -     
Packet 10 -         
Packet 11 - 
Packet 12 -  
Packet 13-  
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Packet 15 - 

Tomato pole beefsteak
Packet 1 - M. Subzwari, Karachi  - SENT
Packet 2 - S, Anis, Karachi - SENT
Packet 3-

Tomato hillbilly
Packet 1 -
Packet 2 -

Tomato golden jubilee
Packet 1 - S, Anis, Karachi - SENT
Packet 2 -  
Packet 3-  
Packet 4 -  
Packet 5 - 


Tomato rio grande
Packet 1 - 
Packet 2 -  
Packet 3-  
Packet 4 -  
Packet 5 -

Growing sparaxis in warm climates

This is 8th article in the series of growing warm climate flowering bulbs. Sparaxis is a south african native flowering bulb endemic to south africa. It is also called Harlequin Flower. It goes dormant in summer and grows actively in winter and flowers in summer. There are many species suitable to lahore and other hot climates but sparaxis tricolor is the most common one.

1- Choose fat, large bulbs. Discard soft bulbs.Try to buy sparaxis bulbs not from same vendor but from different vendors, this way you would have better chances of different color combinations in flowers.
2- Try to buy those bulbs which are either very fat or those bulbs which have their offsets (child bulblets) attached. The offsets will flower next year. Plant bulbs in fall. Try some bulbs in november and some in december so you will know which one does better. In my experience, December is better than november.
3- Good drainage is essential for all flowering bulbs and sparaxis is no exception. For extra drainage, you can out a fine layer of sand beneath the bulb although this is not necessary for loamy soils.
4- Water the soil before planting the bulbs. When water is fully absorbed in soil, plant the bulbs. Planting depth is 1-2 inches below the soil.
5- After first watering, do not water the soil until the foliage starts appearing.
6- Few hours direct sunlight preferably morning sun is essential for flowering. But they will still flower in full shade. Avoid full sun when heat arrives in late march.





7- One or two stalks per bulb and there will be 1-3 flowers per stalk. Sadly the flowers do not last very long, just two days. But planted in masses they are most beautiful flowers.
8- Sparaxis is a perennial in lahore and other warm climates. Keep it in soil, it will grow again next fall. You can also leave it in container. Keep watering in summer.

Ixia and sparaxis are from same family. Will try ixia in fall and share my experience with you.

This post is included in Roses and Stuff by katarina. Do visit her for other blooming friday posts.
Also visit Tootsie time for fertilizer friday. This post is also included there.

Note: For those who are reading this, there is a free heirloom tomato seeds away week in first week of April on my blog. So do come back if you want to grow tomatoes in your yards. First come first basis after i announce it in first week of April. Happy planting.