OBSERVING & LISTENING

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

01/V/2025

These days when I visit nurseries, I keep my eyes and ears open. Eyes, not only to absorb the colours and greenery at display but also for a few other reasons. Ears, not only to listen to the ‘sound of silence’ but catch the chats in whispered tones of exchange of conversations between nursery workers.

Plants come from outside Rajasthan in the Sun City. The weather at the places of their origin and here are at extreme variance. The nursery people sell plants as fast as possible. Those who buy them understand the difficulties of rearing plants. Care those plants require is phenomenal.

The first question I ask the ‘nursery owner’ is “when” did the plants arrive and “from where”. That would tell you a story of the soil they travelled in. “When” and “from where” is important. The longer the plants have stayed in the nursery, means they have well acclimatised to the local weather conditions. One can pick them up with a hope that they will do well with you. Rest is how you take it from there.

With new arrivals, one has to keep the fingers crossed. Before leaving the nursery, I also pose a question, when is the next lot arriving? The nursery owners generally do not disclose it, as they know plant lovers will keep visiting at their convenience. But nevertheless, those questions help you in making up your mind for purchases.

Then what one observes is the location of the plants. Shade, semi-shade, in direct sun in the nursery. Here, even summer plants get scorched. So invariably you find plants under a ‘green net’.

Another thing to understand is the “watering pattern”. Plants in a nursery are in poly bags or plastic pots. Most of them are kept in shallow trenches. Water is sprinkled on the leaves and the trench gets half filled for the soil in the pots/bags to absorb water slowly. Sprinkling on the flowers is avoided as it spoils the flowers and they get ‘daagi’ or spotted with water residue. This must be incorporated at home too. Water should be enough to keep the roots moist and not drenched.

Some plants enjoy total shade. There are numerous trees and bushes in big nurseries under which they are kept. The ideal equivalent place for them is our open garage, where the air flow is sufficient and there is morning sunlight. Once they have adapted to the new environment, one can consider changing their location.

Then comes the ‘hear’ part. Most of the nursery workers are ladies. They know what and how to do their job. What needs to be heard is the instructions being passed to them by the owner/manager about watering timings, manuring schedule, placement, repotting etc.

Generally, plants come well fed for about fifteen days to a month. One has to have keen ears and eyes to notice if certain repotting is going on. After the repotting procedure the plants need rest or else they might not be that happy if one buys them. If one is not observant, the nursery wala will not tell.

Regular labour become experts overtime. He/she would give instructions of caring for a plant to a novice. Those tips are equally important. From where to hold the polybag or pot, what support is required while moving, if the plant needs a trim are hints for you.

The soil in those bags which come with the plant I recommend should be changed as soon as possible with due care. Manuring can be done once the plant is well settled. We carry a myth that the more the manure, the better is the plant growth. It is not true. For those who use chemical fertilizers, need to be extra careful. A little extra and the plant goes into a shock and sometimes it becomes irreversible and “die back” happens.

Taking all this into consideration, we too have deployed the green net in our open space. Plants are shaded from one side by the trees and when the sun gets high, the green net protects them.

Advantages that accrue from this net are obvious. Indirect shade, no falling leaves from trees, cooler environment, reduction in watering, even our drawing room is cooler as it acts like a sun screen. Plants are happy because of less torture from the sun. I recommend it for all those who have pots under direct sunlight.

Observation and listening is very important in gardening. Nursery people will never reveal their secrets otherwise their plants won’t sell. Make friends and inroads with them to learn some ‘Ustadi Nukhtas’. Learning is a continuous process. There is no harm in learning from the labour in the nursery.

Have I shared some good points with garden lovers? I wonder!!!!!!