Seeds Shops & Plant nurseries of Karachi

Many thanks to Sara Anis and Izhar ul haq, two keen gardeners from karachi, for helping me out in the compilation of this list. Any corrections or additions will be highly appreciated.

Seeds Shops

Abdul seeds store  : Selling flower , vegetables and grass seeds (its the only store that sells grass seeds here) and gardening supplies they have 2 shops :

Shop # 11, inside empress market , sadar, karachi
Phone: +92 21 32250852
khuda bux : +92 300 2385499
abdul karim : +92 300 2542796

shop # 5 , plot # 84 , 10th commercial stree, near al falah bank, phase 4 , DHA , karachi
Phone: +92 21 35312995
saleh mohammad : +92 307 2162568

Lotia sons : They have flower and vegetable seeds and lots of gardening supplies.
Shop# 2/A , hilltop arcade , gizri boulevard , phase 4 DHA ( near sunset boulevard signal )
Phone : +92 21 35836023
Shabbir lotia : +92 300 9202988

Micro Drip: Drip irrigation. F-178/3, Block-5, Kehkashan, Clifton.
Contact: Mr. Khadim Hussain. +92 300 3789432

Homes & Gardens: Seeds, Chemical Ferlizers, Tools, Compost, Pet food
3, 4 Amna Arcade, 11C, Shahbaz Commercial-II, Phase VI, Main Khayaban-e-Sehar, DHA
Contact Mr. Shamsi +92 300 8211214. Email: info@homesngardens.pk


Kaizen Enterprises: Compost.
plot No.294, Asu Goth, Malir, Karachi. Contact +92 303 2327649
info@gardenhelper.pk

Shareef seeds store: Deal in seeds, chemicals, fertilizers.
Shop No.18 & 12, Empress Market, Saddar.

Vitax garden shop : They have gardening supplies , flower and vegetable seeds and thier own products
Shop # 24-C, sunset boulevard near H.S.P. DHA garden center ,phase 2 , karachi
vitax_pak@hotmail.com
vitak_pak@yahoo.com
Phone: +92 21 6041800
Cell: +92 321 8281924

Another lady who is great is from Mom's Garden she sells seedlings , seeds and plants of vegetables and herbs and some fruits as well.
she is available to call on the 1st and 15th of the month and is always great with advice.
Cell: +92 301 2611687

Plant Nurseries

Dayem Nursery: plants, Orchids, Imported plants, seedlings
Main Khayaban-e-Qasim, Phase VIII, DHA. Contact: +92 300 2355864

Diamond nursery. Imported and local plants, Orchids, Imported plants, seedlings.
email: dnursery@super.net.pk
main branch :Plot No. ST 3/A, Block No. 13, Federal B Area. Karachi
Phone: +92 21 6800208, +92 21 6342883 Cell : +92 300 8237083

Other branch: Habib ibrahim rehmat ullah road , pns karsaz , karachi
Cell :+92 300 8281112

Gulshan Waqas Nursery: Plants, Orchids, Imported plants, seedlings

Main Karsaz Road, Karachi. Contact Mr. Ashraf +92 333 2545640    Email: g-w-nursary@yahoo.com        
International Nursery: Plants, seedlings, manure. Hamdard University Road, Hub pumping station.
Contact: Mr. Rana Abdul waheed +92 333 3274016

Makkah Nursery:  Branch 1: Plants, Orchids, Imported plants, seedlings. Main Karsaz Road, Karachi.
Contact: Mr Fareed +92 322 2495550
Branch 2: Landscaping, Rooftop gardens, pond. Main Khayaban-e-ittehad, Phase II, DHA
Contact: Mr Naveed Fareed +92 321 8296662
Manzoor Nursery: Main Karsaz Road. Contact: +92 300 8284442

Plants n Plants: Branch 1: Plants, Orchids, Imported plants, seedlings. Main Shaheed-e-Millat Road.
Branch 2: Landscaping, Rooftop gardens, ponds. 62 Khayaban-e-Janbaz, Phase V, DHA
Contact: Mr. Usman Haq +92 333 2128515

Rose Nursery: Plants, seedlings, Manure. Hyderi Market, Block D.
Contact: MR Abdul raqeeb +92 300 2337174

Sailors Nursery: Plants, Orchids, Imported plants, seedlings, ponds, bonsai.
habib ibrahim rehmat ullah road , pns karsaz , karachi
Phone : . +92 21 6040090
Cell : Mr Yameen Ahmed +92 300 8256492, +92 314 2282704
Email: sailorsnursery@yahoo.com

Shadab Nursery: Plants, seedlings, manure. Main Korangi Road, Phase II, DHA
Contact: Mr Mumtaz hussain +92 300 2286119


Mr. Green nursery : Plants, Orchids, Imported plants, seedlings, ponds
near pns raza , national stadium road, Dalmia, Karachi
Cell: Mr. Zar wali +92 300 2007757 , +92 333 2007757

Cactus and succulents : S M jamshed asmi
Cell: +92 300 9252594 , +92 313 9252594
Email : jamshedasmi2000@yahoo.com

Tanzeela planters : landscaping, maintenance and good advice about plants -mr. khawaja rizwan jameel
suite # 304, HMH square sir shah sulman road , gulshan e iqbal, Karachi
Cell: +92 345 2251062

Baahir :  stuff like  furniture , fountains ,planters, trellises, bbq grills ( they have offices all across Pakistan )
+92 111-222-447 , +92 800 22447
Cell: +92 336 5502021
Email : info@baahir.com

Flowers of Sweet pea, linum, anemone and gaillardia

Spring has just started and flowers have started to bloom all around. Weather is still not warm enough to sow morning glory seeds though. Here are some of flowers blooming in my small garden.

This is some hummingbird moth i captured in lawrence garden bagh-e-jinnah lahore. Any identification would be highly appreciated.

Anemone has started blooming in pots as well. The ones in ground are yet to bloom.

Sweet pea also blooming right now. It is called phool matar locally.And what a magnificent fragrance it is. I sowed two types this year. Heirloom miss willmott and second one the fragrant spencer types. Will show you more blooms next week.

Then comes linum grandiflorum. There is another variety of linum with culinary use but with smaller flowers. This one is grandiflora with large flowers. Seeds were gifted to me. Will save seeds for sure.


If there is any plant in lahore which can bloom year round all 12 months, it is none other than gaillardia. Sadly it does not attract much butterflies here.

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

For Macro Monday Visit Lisa's Chaos
For Mosaic Monday Visit Mosaic Monday

Summer flowering annual plants for lahore, karachi, Peshawar and Islamabad

Seeds for summer flowering plants are sown in spring and plants bloom in summer. This time is specific for subtropical climates as that of lahore, karachi, peshawar, Rawalpindi and to an extent Islamabad as well. Morning glory vines is probably the one plant sown frequently for its colorful blooms in the summer. Zinnia is another one. so here goes the list.

• Amaranthus. Local name laal saag

• Balsam. Local name Gul-e-mehndi. Cultivars include Tom thumb with many colors

• Capsicum, Ornamental pepper. Local name Araishi Mirch. Cultivars include Solanum Joker round, Dwarf early pylon red, Fips, Gion and hot mix. Then there is F1- Hybird with cultivar Treasure red F1
• Catananche. Called cupid's dart. Most common species is catananche caerulea. Native to south africa a very beautiful flower. There is a white color variety called catananche caerulea alba. Seeds are not available here. The ones i grew from seeds will flower in summer of 2011. Will post pictures soon.
•  Cosmos Sulphureus, sulfur cosmos. Comes in color ranges of orange, yellow and red. No white and no blue. The other variety of cosmos is cosmos bipinnatus which is tall cosmos sown in fall for spring flowering. Cultivars of sulfur cosmos include dwarf ladybird ans sunset orange. It blooms from May to october.
• Coleus. Mostly grown for its foliage. Cultivars  include Rainbow mixture, superfine rainbow mixture and extra dwarf fairway mixture
• Celosia. One variety is known as Cockscomb. Local name kalgha. Cultivars include Amigo, prestige, celosia plumosa century, dwarf kewpie, dwarf kimono, gloria mix and dwarf coral garden mixed. 
• Coreopsis. Also called tickseed. Many cultivars but none of them is available here. It has long blooming season. Mostly in shades of yellow. There is a rare pink color variety named coreopsis rosea. Another cultivar having pinkish color is Sweet dreams and there is another one called american dreams having pinkish color. Coreopsis bicolor is also called calliopsis with flowers in two tone.
•  Dahlia. Although it is included in winter plants but its seeds is sown in August and September for flowering in December till May. The ones grown from seeds are mostly Pakistani dahlia. While the ones grown from tubers are fully double flowers are called indian dahlia. Seeds cultivars include Garden pride mixed and figoro mixed
• Datura. It is also called devil's trumpet. A toxic plant not suitable for growing in homes. Very fragrant flowers. Seeds easy to germinate. Some varieties are gone wild. Mostly in doubles and some triples. Blue and purple colors are most common. It is relative of Brugmansia which also has fragrant flowers and is also grown in lahore for evening fragrance. Both these plants might need protection in winters.
• Echinacea. Another plant worth of being a perennial. Most popular species is Echinacea purpurea. It is also called purple cone flower which has purple cone shape flowers. There is another variety with white flowers and fragrant ones called echinacea purpurea white swan. One cultivar with very large flowers is called echinacea magus. There is also a double flowering variety in which another flower formed on the top of first flower. This is called echinacea double decker. No seeds of any variety are available here. My plants are due to bloom in summer of 2011 and will post pictures soon.
• Egg Plant.Solanum melongena. Local name numaishi bengan. Ornamental squash. Cultivars include golden eggs.
• Gaillardia. If there is one plant in lahore which can bloom whole year that is gaillardia. Blooming year round in lahore it is naturalized as perennial and not annual. Consider it as a permanent plant. It self sows easily and it is very easy to collect its seeds to grow more plants.Cultivars include double gaillardia, bicolor and lorenziana
• Gerbera. Also called African Daisy. Grows in partial shade in lahore. Direct sun is not good for this plant. Many beautiful color combination exists with single and semi double and double flowers. Florist gerbera is the most beautiful of all and ideal as house plants. They grow well in pots. The plant does not like over watering and crown of the plant should be a little above soil so that water does not stay for long time.    
• Gomphrena. Local name gul-e-makhmal or gul-e-tukhma. Colors include white red and purple. Cultivars include extra dwarf gnome
• Ipomoea. Very fast growing vines. All are grown from seeds very easily. The variety most common is Ipomoea purpurea called morning glory. It is mostly in the shades of blue. If there is any climber which has so many color combination of flower then it is morning glory.It does not care about soil requirements, all it wants is full sun and water in hot summers, that's all. Another cultivar not common is milky way. Another variety is Ipomoea lobata also known as mina lobata.
• Another variety which is very common is Ipomoea cairica called mile a minute. Another name is railway creeper. Its Local name is Ishq Pechan.
• Only some of the varieties of ipomoea are fragrant. One of them is ipomoea alba called moon flower. It has fragrant white flowers very large which open in evening and close by dusk.      

• Kochia. Local name Jawari. Grown for foliage which turns red in winter. Cultivars include summer cypress.
• Marigold. Local name genda. It is sown first from February to July then again July to November. Flowers are mostly in shades of yellow with mostly double flowers. Two kinds are very famous. First is african marigold and second is french marigold. Bonanza series is most common of all. There is also an off white color variety but it flowers late and flower size is not very large as well.
• Mimosa. Local name choi moi. Another local name is Lajwanti. Flowers are mostly pink or purple color. Cultivars include pudica.
• Mirabilis.Most common is mirabilis jalapa. Called marvel of peru. Local name is Gul-e-abbasi. Flowers are fragrant in evening. It is a medicinal plant. It does not like water retention so it is grown in soil just above soil surface.
• Portulaca. Portulaca grandiflora also known as moss rose has largest flowers in the genus. Local name is Gul-e-dupeher. Its flowers open only in sunlight and close in shade. There are two types, the native portulaca also known as dupeher boti which is actually a perennial and is not removed easily, you can think of it as a weed. Flowers of this one are opened in afternoon and close by evening. Color is mostly pink in this kind. The second one are the modern hybirds which are annual. Most common is F1 sundial mixed. Colors are in all shades. They are single, semi double or full double. Flowers remain open for most of the day hence called full day portulaca. It is very heat tolerant plant and can be grown with little or no water.
• Passiflora. These are vines from warm climates. The most common is passiflora caerulea. It is also called passion flower. Flowers are very beautiful. Other varities grown include passiflora edulis, passiflora foetida and passiflora incarnata which is also called Maypop. These vines do not like fertilizer else they will promote leaf growth but no flowers. They love full sun. Young plants need protection in winter. Another cultivar of passion flower is called 'Incense' which has very fragrant flowers. They are famous for late flowering hence potassium should be given to the plants. One method of doing it is to bury banana peel under the soil.
• Rudbeckia. Also called black eyed susan. Although there are many varieties of this plant including the one with red colors, it is only available here in the common yellow color. Recently there has been some seeds of bicolor as well but not common. There is a magnus type with extra large flowers of rudbeckia.
• Salvia. It is also included in spring and winter flowers. The most common color is red which is most heat tolerant. Red color is more suitable to southern plains. Seed is sown from july to november.
• Sun flower. Local name Suraj mukhi. Although a wild plant here but some cultivars are worth growing. specially the dwarf teddy bear and the one with chocolate color. There is a red color variety as well and then there is a white color variety called moonwalker. The bicolor variety is called florenza red. Seeds are large and easy to germinate.
• Sterilitzia. Bird of paradise. Its plants are widely grown in lawrence gardens lahore. Very large flowers not suitable for growing in pots.
• Vinca. Also called periwinkle. Another plant gone wild. Local name sada bahar. It is also called ratan jot here. It is a medicinal plant as well. It flowers almost year round and one of the toughest plants i have come across. It is difficult to remove this plant. Newly introduced cultivars include vinca victory and then there is a hanging mix suitable for growing in hanging baskets. There is vine from this family Vinca major not common here.
• Venidium. It is relative of arctotis. South african native plant so very heat tolerant. Flowers are daisy type and very pretty. It is a low growing plant. Seeds are easy to germinate.It does not grow well if sown in spring. Its best time is sown in fall but it flowers into the summer as well.
• Zinnia. Most popular summer flowering plant. Famous cultivars include super yoga, elegans, F dreamland, F1 profusion, Magellan F1, swizzle bicolors, lilliput and persian carpet. My personal favorite is the one i am unable to get seeds of. It is called zahara starlight rose.Zinnia cactus are also very beautiful having cactus type flowers.

Annual Spring flower show 2011 Karachi

60th Annual flower show 2011 is held in Karachi at sea view. Here are the details.
Dates:
24th February 2011 6pm - 11pm
25-27 February 2011 8am - 11pm

Location: DHA Sea view Park (near McDonalds) Karachi.

For details, contact +92 51 35881158 and +92 51 35373738