Pakistan Gardening Forum

To all the experienced gardners in lahore:
Need your advise for growing following plants in Lahore : need info if they will survive and grow to flower profusely.
1. Lavendar trumpet vine
2. Carolina jasmine vine
3. Brugsmansia
4. Dombeya Seminole
5.honey suckle vine
6. Mandevilla vogue
7. Alstroemeria inticancha

Hoping that will be able to share your experience about some if not all of the above.
JazakAllah,
Shahid

1. Lavendar trumpet vine
Should grow fine in Lahore. But i have not seen yet in Lahore. Pink trumpet vine and orange ones are common in Lahore.
2. Carolina jasmine vine
Brig Arif is growing it currently, It grows in Lahore but i am not sure if it likes Lahore climate. Better to contact some one who is growing it in his garden.
3. Brugsmansia
It does not like Lahore high summer temperature but it grows here. I have it in my home and it requires lot of water. Zero drought tolerance. Difficult plant. Gets bugs/fungus in monsoon.
4. Dombeya Seminole
All Dombeya grow fine in Lahore.
5.honey suckle vine
Not all varieties grow good in Lahore. But i have seen mature specimens blooming in lahore so it can be tried.
6. Mandevilla vogue
Mandevilla does not like high summer temperature of Lahore and can be tried as an experiment.
7. Alstroemeria inticancha
Alstroemeria is not a plant for beginners, but the seller would never tell you that It is also a plant to experiment if you have extra money.

Basically all these plants are sold at sky high prices (but very small plants) by some vendors in lahore. I would advise you to contact a gardener like you who has purchased these and ask him if these are growing good for him. A seller is a business man after all and will never tell you flaws of his product.

Dear Mr.khabab,
Thanks for the information. It was a big help. So many businesses dealing with plants are making exuberant profits by selling plants to amateurs like me. I have lost so many plants (and money) in this process of experimentation. I guess it is my love for nature that keeps me going back again and again. The information on the net is mostly limited to hardiness zones where the primary concern is winter weather whereas summer is our big concern. The knowledge hub on this forum is a big help but doesn't cover everything. Wish there were places in Lahore where prices were reasonable and knowledge free. Wish forums like this could do something in this respect.
Thanks once again for sharing. Will be needing your advise again and again.
Shahid

You are welcome Shahid. I would suggest you to share your experience of which plants you have tried and they did not perform in Lahore, it will be beneficial to other amateur gardeners.

Dear Mr Khabab,
The list of failures is pretty long but my desire to have a house full of lush flowering plants keeps me going back to same vendors again and again. One mistake in the previous years has been in buying plants from Thailand where probably the climate stays mild year round (like Karachi). The second and probably more fatal mistake was to hurry up. In my zeal to have the plants growing in ground, I did not give them a chance to acclimatise to lahore weather. From the mistakes I have learned to be really really patient. Do not put these foreign baby plants outside in ground in March or later before the monster of our summer heat. Let them grow indoors (lighted cool spot) for the summer. Wait until August September and then put them in the ground outside. Currently I am being patient and have following babies(first year in lahore) growing in my indoor glass area: bleeding heart bush,clematis, lavendar trumpet vine, buddleia , Alstroemeria Inticancha, Spiraea Anthony Waterer, Mussaenda, Carolina Jasmine. Have lost , once again due to my impatience, Streptosolen jamesonii. Wish I had waited until our growing season. I guess it is people like me who keep the nursery business going.
Please correct me if I am wrong. From the little I know, would the weather and location of Lahore fit into USDA hardiness zone 10a, Sunset zone 13, and AHS heat zone 11. Can we use these as a guide in selecting our plants. Hoping to hear from the better experienced and knowledgeable members.
Shahid

You are learning fast.
You learn from your own mistakes and not others.
You are correct the only time to transplant is in October, till then keep your pots in coolest humid indirectly lighted place.
Keep collecting.
Arif

Dear Arif sahib,
Thanks for your input. I have been admiring your garden and birds ever since I joined this forum. I am planning to add a few climbers to my small yard in this fall. Mr. Khabab has mentioned that you have Carolina Jasmine growing in your garden. Can you please guide me as to how it is behaving in Lahore conditions. How vigorous is it? Does it flower profusely? At what time. Etc. etc. Your input would be really helpful.
A second question is regarding birds. Do you have your Rosellas outdoors? Do they survive outdoor in summer and winter. I tried last year and failed. Need your advise.
JazakAllah, Shahid.

Shahidrazzaq wrote:Dear Arif sahib,
Thanks for your input. I have been admiring your garden and birds ever since I joined this forum. I am planning to add a few climbers to my small yard in this fall. Mr. Khabab has mentioned that you have Carolina Jasmine growing in your garden. Can you please guide me as to how it is behaving in Lahore conditions. How vigorous is it? Does it flower profusely? At what time. Etc. etc. Your input would be really helpful.
A second question is regarding birds. Do you have your Rosellas outdoors? Do they survive outdoor in summer and winter. I tried last year and failed. Need your advise.
JazakAllah, Shahid.

Pay me a visit and see it yourself.
Arif

Thanks Arif sahib, for the kind invitation. Will try InshaAllah
Shahid