Ornamental saplings hot among city's green lovers this season

Vasudha Zora | NT

Bengaluru: Ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, plenty of houses as well as commercial establishments in the city can be seen sporting poinsettia and mistletoes to enhance their visual appeal. The winter season also finds many buyers of vegetable saplings, be it spinach, cauliflower, capsicum, carrot or green peas.

Not everyone who wants to indulge in flowers and vegetables buys from the market. Some prefer to grow them. The best place to get going on this is a nursery. Not unsurprisingly, Lalbagh is probably the best place to shop for a diverse variety of seeds and plants. South of the city’s expansive lung space is an abundant spill over of this green attraction.

The relatively cooler Bengaluru weather coupled with the fact that most plants these days are hybrid makes the area the go-to place for plant shopping all year, not just this season, Devu, a nursery owner tells News Trail.

“Some popular varieties among Bengalureans are impatience, chrisanti, calendula, gazania (African daisies) and pentas lanceolata,” he said, even as he lovingly prunes a potted plant. “You can pick from a choice of over ten lakh species of flora, any of which can be arranged within a couple of days,” he added.

Most plants available in the many nurseries here are imported from Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia and Ethiopia. As plants are perishable items, their maintenance is a regular job. These plants are also sent to Lalbagh on a daily basis. There are about 10-15 major nurseries south of Lalbagh where almost any variety of flora is available.

Triveni, a nursery owner who calls herself a plant mum, said, “Different plants have different requirements. Indoor ones require watering at least once a week, while flowering ones need to be watered on alternate days.

“The type of soil used to pot the plant also plays a major role in its maintenance. Using DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser for home plants does wonders. It is a perfect supplement to assist flowers bloom rapidly, and promotes healthy future buds and flowers,” she said. Devu goes on to reveal their regular buyers.

“From celebrities, well-placed officials, MLAs and other politicians, hoteliers, farmers, government and private offices to people belonging to the middle class as well as those from below the poverty line make up my list of customers. Only, each of them has a different choice of plants; some pick ornamentals and ferns, while some go for indoor plants. Money plants are a popular choice. We also sell a lot of vegetables and fruit plants at our nurseries,” he said.

Ceramic, mud, metallic, cement, plastic and fibre pots also sell well because they are a basic need when one buys saplings. In order to promote sustainability, grow bags are also being used to cultivate vegetables and plants in, said Krishna, a shop owner with a wide variety of pots.